Council takes over the leash at Wingecarribee Animal Shelter
Following the departure of The Lost Dogs Home from the Wingecarribee Animal Shelter late last month, Council’s management of the facility has to date proven trouble-free.
“It’s business as usual,” said Council’s Deputy General Manager Operations Phil Marshall. “The Shelter is still running seven days a week with staff on hand to ensure all the animals are cared for.”
“In fact, in the first two weeks since we’ve taken over we’ve already had a number of animals re-homed including six kittens this week alone.”
New staff – many of them previously employed with The Lost Dogs Home – have started employment at the Shelter on behalf of Council. Current arrangements in place have staff on site for a total of 176 hours per week.
“Importantly, the existing care and comfort of the animals has been transferred and the ongoing welfare of all the dogs and cats remains paramount,” Mr Marshall added.
“As part of Council’s management of the facility, we’ll also be implementing a number of new initiatives designed to ensure greater transparency and to give the public a greater insight into the running of the shelter,” Mr Marshall added. “These initiatives are also intended to further improve the already impressive re-homing rates.”
“To kick off we’ll shortly be launching a direct link from Council’s website so people can see for themselves the number of animals that have been re-homed and the current euthanasia figures.
“Whilst these figures were previously reported in our Annual Report and to the Department of Local Government, we’ll also be updating these figures on-line each month,” Mr Marshall said.
“We’ve also already set up a dedicated Facebook site so potential owners can view the animals they’d like to re-home,” Mr Marshall said. “In the first week that we launched this site we attracted a lot followers and we thank them for their continued support.”
Other Council initiatives include hosting a public Open Day and volunteer drives in the new year.
“We remind people that the Shelter is open seven days a week and members of the public are always welcome to drop in and view the animals or the facilities for themselves.”
“In the interim, our existing relationship with Friends of Wingecarribee Animal Shelter will continue, as will the high standard of care for all of the abandoned and rescued animals housed at our shelter.”
For information on animals available from the shelter visit www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/animals-for-adoption or phone 4868 1520.
The Wingecarribee Animal Shelter is located within Council’s Resource Recovery Centre on Berrima Road, Moss Vale.