Free to good home

Animal shelter staff Lani Dorning with Truffles the cat, Shannon Ward, Leesa McCann, Kailey White, and Harry Hollister-Clarke with Gogo the dog.

If you think council-run animal shelters are places where dogs and cats are taken off the street and locked up never to see the outside world again, Leesa McCann will tell you that’s not the case.

“Our main purpose is to reunite animals back to their owners,” says Leesa, who’s operations supervisor at Community Animal Shelter & Pound Mornington. “The shelter is a refuge for stray or lost animals; it’s a place of rehabilitation with food and love. Animals can recharge here so they are thriving and ready to be reunited or rehomed if necessary.”

And we’re not just talking cats and dogs. “We have what we call ‘pocket pets’, such as ferrets, rabbits and guinea pigs,” Leesa says. “Livestock – we have three paddocks – we get lots of llamas, alpacas, goats, sheep, cows, pigs and horses. And then we have cats and dogs.”

Reunification is the aim for lost animals, but the shelter also receives surrendered animals. “We’re at full capacity with surrendered animals. For instance, we have 51 cats here now. We recently had two cats dumped at the front door and a few months before that ferrets were dumped. I think financial pressure on people is having an impact.”

Animal adoption is a big part of what happens here. There’s no cost to adopt an animal. For shire residents, adopted pets receive free pet registration for one year and all initial vet care, including desexing, vaccination, microchipping and a general health check. “We work closely with Pet Rescue, a pet adoption organisation. We’ve strengthened a lot of great relationships over the last two years because everyone has had to rely on each other. It’s been one good aspect to COVID.”

Animals that are available for adoption at the shelter are fortunate because the number of days they can be there isn’t limited. “Animals stay here for as long as it takes to be adopted. It’s as simple as that. I always say there’s someone for every animal.”

There is, however, a sad side to the job when an animal needs to be euthanased, such as a diseased animal or wild cat. The decision to do so isn’t made lightly. “We put a lot of resources into rehabilitating wild cats and giving them a chance at a new life.”

The other time euthanasia is needed is when a dog has bitten somebody and is surrendered to the shelter. “By law we can’t adopt that animal out. It’s a safety concern; we can’t put that dog out in the community. It is sad. We’re the ones that have to take the animal to the vet.”

Leesa wants the community to see the wonderful work the staff do here and the effort they put into it. “They go beyond their job description and do things like bring in snuffle mats they’ve created at home.” What’s a snuffle mat? A fabric mat with treats hidden within that the animal has to forage for. It is, she says, an enriching activity for the animals.

If you think you’d like to adopt an animal, jump online at https://bit.ly/3YVx3Hn and see the cats, dogs and pocket pets waiting to win your heart.