The people of Mandurah have opened their hearts to help dogs in need at K9 Dog Rescue after the Mail ran a story last week about urgent upgrades needed at the facility.
With the onset of winter and the skyrocketing number of surrendered dogs due to the rental crisis, the group reached out to the community for support and was amazed at the outpouring of generosity.
K9's president Jake King said they had nine dogs adopted after the story ran, which is a much higher number than usual.
They have also received numerous donations of cleaning products and building materials from people in the community, including construction workers who have offered to donate leftovers from jobs.
Construction company BGC have even offered to donate concrete to the group to use in cleaning up the mud patch currently used as parking for the volunteers.
"We just need a truck to pick it up [the concrete] and possibly a bobcat to clean up the area," Mr King said hopefully. "We've had such a good response. So many people have dropped off materials and we're so grateful."
The group has also been fielding plenty of phone enquiries.
"I think the story got people thinking about adoption which is great," Mr King said.
As wonderful as the nine adoptions last week were, Mr King said getting people to adopt is one thing, but making sure the dogs are matched with suitable owners and that it works out long-term is quite another.
"I've heard every excuse I think there is for returning a dog."
"We're still being flooded with surrenders and quite a few of those are ex-K9 dogs being brought back because the new owners don't want to put the work into training them.
"Most of our dogs are in need of on-going training and quite a few are larger breeds. It's a big commitment," he said.
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According to Mr King it's a constant rotation, as a dog is re-homed another one comes in or is returned.
He said more education and accountability is needed with dog owners.
"I've heard every excuse I think there is for returning a dog," Mr King said.
"The best one I heard was the other day someone said the dog was 'too friendly to train'. I really feel like we're fighting human stupidity sometimes."
Besides adoptions and materials, the group has also been able to raise $2,500 on it's new Gofundme page, which Mr King was over the moon about.
The money will go towards the on-going costs of running the volunteer-based service.
K9 will also be holding an induction for new volunteers on June 5.
Their volunteer numbers are still "seriously low" according to Mr King, so anyone interested in helping out should contact them to register on 9581 9005 or via their Facebook page.
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