By Margaret Maccoll
The RSPCA just about reached their target to Clear the Shelter last weekend when adoption fees were dropped to $29 and the animals just walked out the door.
At Noosa RSPCA there were 37 animals sold on Friday alone with only 14 cats and 11 dogs remaining on Saturday and by the end of the weekend there was one day and four cats remaining.
The price might have been low but finding the right pet was still a difficult decision to make.
Rosemarie Way was looking for a senior dog. She recently lost her brother and her 18-year-old Corgi cross had also passed away recently. Rosemarie had been to the shelter a couple of times and spotted a staffy cross, Bessie, that had come to the shelter as a stray.
Unsure if she was the one on their first meeting she went home to consider it.
“I’ll come back tomorrow. If no one’s taken her I’ll probably take her home,” she said.
More than one family were keen to take home another staffy cross named Diesel.
Father and son John and Kobi had been looking for a first dog for Kobi and wanted an active dog he could take to the beach when Diesel caught their eye at the shelter.
John said they’d been looking for a dog for a while but he couldn’t afford the $350 fee.
“I’m unable to work and when I saw the $29 I thought we’d make enquiries.”
Sadly for them another family with three children were already deciding on Diesel when they arrived.
“We’d seen him online. We like staffies. We’ve had them before. We had to right one with little kids,” they said.
Bridie was looking for a dog for her father who lived alone on a property at Gin Gin near Bundaberg. She was surprised to find a dog called Johnny that looked just like one she had grown up with.
“He ran away in a big storm,” she said of her previous dog. “We like to think he jumped into someone’s car and has a new family. That’s what we tell ourselves.” On seeing Johnny Bridie’s dad travelled down to Noosa with this other dog to have a meet and greet before he made a decision. After the three hour drive he was too late but Bridie said she was happy Johnny had found a home with someone.
Cats were also popular. Jemika dropped in to the shelter with her three children to find a male companion for her two female cats. “I just like cats,” she said. “I saw online this weekend was happening and I thought it would be good to get a cat that needs a home.” They took home a black cat named Mickey.
The shelter’s Courtney Ey said despite the low price for the animals they reminded people there’s still the overall yearly cost to consider and if they get sick they need to go to the vet.
All animals sold were de-sexed, microchipped, vaccinated, veterinary checked and staff aimed to ensure they were matched with their future homes.
Across Queensland there were more than 1000 animals adopted over the weekend.
