Another wonderful Spring

Wow, time again to update you on our latest activities and events, and of course, enjoy the experience of another wonderful Spring.

Spring is a fantastic time of year and everyone in Canberra comes out of hibernation, and we enjoy the new blooms and unfortunately at RSPCA we see lots of unwanted litters of kittens arriving at our shelter. We are gearing up for this, and will be running an extensive campaign to encourage desexing and that these neo natal kittens desperately need their mothers, and should remain with their mother for their first vital weeks.

We continue to be busy here with new dogs and cats arriving every day, and many of them have been here for quite a long time. We can do with your help to encourage your friends, family and associates to adopt their new friend from RSPCA, and not only give one of our animals a new home, but also assist us to provide care for the thousands of animals that come to the shelter every year.

As the weather warms we are encouraged by our Inspectors to raise awareness of providing some of the basics for your dog. We need to make sure that all your pets have plenty of large water containers, and our inspectors recommend having multiple sources in case one fails. Too often they see water left in a metal container in the sun, and not only is the bowl hot, but the water evaporates quickly.

They also have a lot of calls from dogs that have accidentally gotten themselves tangled, around objects and bushes in the yard, or inadequate shelter from the sun.  Dogs should not be tied up too closely to the fence line – they can jump and hang themselves.  Dogs do die in hot cars but also can die very quickly if they end up tangled without being able to access water and shelter.     

Enjoy this great weather, and all the fun of Spring, and we will bring you updates on all of the festivities and activities that will occur towards the end of the year, and we hope you will join us.

What a busy year!

It has been a while since we have blogged our readers – so much has kept us busy, but we are back again, and will be keeping you up to date each month so you can enjoy reading about life at RSPCA ACT and the animals and activities that keep us busy every day. Here are a few things that we have been doing and some that are on the horizon.

We had a very successful Million Paws Walk (MPW) with over 12,000 people attending and about 6,000 dogs, and a number of cats and rats. We raised record funds from registrations, sponsors and stalls, and we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day!

No sooner were we packing up MPW than we started planning and promoting our Cupcake Day – the sweetest event of the year. This is a fun event, where our supporters bake cupcakes and sell them throughout the month to their friends and family. This year we hope to raise over $100K, which equates to 55,000 cupcakes sold. Standby for the update of our achievements, thanks to the support of people just like you.

Our staff have been busy re-homing numerous animals throughout the year. We have had lots of happy outcomes, and continue to encourage the community to adopt rather than shop. There are smiles all round when one of the animals finds their forever family, and it isn’t just the staff and the new owners! Our Wildlife team have had their hands full with a range of species being brought to the shelter, with injuries from car strike or domestic pet attack. We have noticed an increase in Kookaburra’s and Owls and feel this may be due to the increase in rodents in Canberra, and hence an increased food supply. Many local resident are advising us that they are certainly hearing the call of the Kookaburra throughout the day, and feeling a part of our unique bush capital.

Kitten season is again fast approaching, and even out of season we have had a number of litters arriving at the shelter – perhaps the unusual weather conditions have contributed to the change. We recently had three two day old kittens left overnight at the shelter surviving the freezing conditions in a shoe box! One of our staff volunteered to take on the role of foster mother, and has nurtured the little ones to eight weeks old.

They are tiny for their age, but they are doing well, and their “mother” deserves lots of congratulations, and is proud of her tiny charges for being so tough.

We would like to take a moment to thank all of our supporters, volunteers, staff and the community providing us with their time and financial assistance, to allow us to continue to deliver our products and services, and put smiles on so many faces – animals and people.

A look back at 2010

2010 was our busiest year on record.
We supported more animals, investigated more cruelty complaints and supported more families in crisis than ever before. We also remained very active in our push for improved animal welfare legislation in the ACT for companion, production and wild animals.

In total, 8,371 animals were cared for by RSPCA ACT.

We adopted 2214 animals, which represents an increase of three percent from last year.

The most popular breed that came into RSPCA was the Staffy.

We managed 3,224 incoming wild animals. This represents an increase of 10 percent over last year.

We investigated 1,211 complaints made by the public concerning animals in distress.

Your support and dedication have helped save the lives of many animals and we would like to thank you for helping us. We have high aims for 2011 and we hope we can count on your ongoing support again this year.