Let me tell you about my dog Ziggy. He is a boarder collie / Kelipe cross and he is nearly six months old. He’s full of energy, he’s cheeky and he loves to cuddle up on the sofa. Ziggy has lived with us for just over three months and he has turned all our lives upside down in the best possible way.
Things could have been very different for Ziggy. He’s a rescue dog. That means that when he was born the people that owned him couldn’t take care of him.
He went to live at a rescue home called Wally’s Rescue Dogs on the Central Coast. If they hadn’t have picked him up when they did then he could have ended up being neglected, abused or worse – sometimes unwanted dogs get used in illegal dog fights.
It makes me really sad when I think what could have happened to Ziggy. Thankfully, he came to live with us and now he is living his best life in Leichhardt driving my mum crazy digging up the flowerbeds.
Ziggy is one of 3.2 million shelter animals that get adopted in Australia each year. They are the lucky ones.
The sad truth is that the numbers don’t add up. There are simply not enough families willing to adopt.
It is horrifying to think that more than a quarter of a million healthy cats and dogs get put down every year because there are not enough homes for them.
If you’re thinking about getting a dog then I would urge you to get a rescue dog instead of buying a dog from a commercial breeder. Here’s why.
You’ll be saving more than one life. Not only are you providing a forever home to a dog in need, you’ll be freeing up a place at the rescue centre for another dog.
If you rescue, rather than buy, then the demand for designer breeds will drop. This means that you’ll be helping to break the cycle and stop cruel puppy factories operating.
The fee you pay the shelter is used to help rescue more animals. So you get a new fury friend, you save multiple lives and you support an organisation to do more great work – you can’t get a better deal than that!
