Pet Adoption

All pets enrich our lives in so many ways but when you adopt a pet, you’re doing more than finding your new best friend, you’re giving them a second chance of a new, healthy, and happy life. In this article we go through five reasons to adopt a pet but there are so many more than what we have listed.

Many of our PetSure people have adopted pets to join their family and have provided us with a little insight into some of their stories on why they decided to adopt a pet and how it has enriched their lives.

5 reasons to adopt a pet:

1. Giving that pet a home by providing love and rehabilitation.
2. Decrease the number of dogs and cats that go into shelters. By adopting you improve the lives of the pets in these overpopulated rescue centres.  Multiple Melbourne dog shelters have recently reported a significant adoption slump, with two homes stating they are experiencing more overcrowding than they’ve seen in a decade. The Lost Dogs Home in North Melbourne and Cranbourne state many owners are surrendering their pets due to a lack of time to spend with them (particularly after working from home and now returning to work), behaviour issues and rental property restrictions disallowing pets.
3. You can rescue a purebred if you have your heart set on a particular breed. There are breed specific rescue organisations where you can adopt a particular breed if you are prepared to wait for your perfect companion.  
4. Improve your physical and mental health. Not only can they provide unconditional love but a long walk with your puppy or dog may help keep you healthy.
5. Help rescue organisations continue their work in rescuing other animals. The money you pay for a pet goes back into help maintaining the facility.

Kell’s Story

Kell and her husband had been randomly checking cat adoption websites for kittens for a few months, but they just weren’t ready to open their hearts up after the sad passing of their previous cat.

It was only about a month after they had moved to Queensland, when Kell’s husband was driving home late on a Friday night from Sydney that he stopped into a hotel for the night.  Instead of sleeping, he went onto the RSPCA website and found picture of an absolutely beautiful kitten and sent it to Kell.  Kell was immediately in love and knew that they had to have her.

Too excited to sleep, he left the hotel and drove all the way home so that they could go and collect the little kitten first thing the next morning.

Instead of adopting one kitten, Kell and her husband ended up adopting two kittens.  They are completely obsessed with their two girls, which are absolute gems and couldn’t live without them.

Kell says “We chose to adopt because we know there are so many pet lives at stake, desperate for homes and we wanted to help that situation.  Adopting our girls has enriched the lives of my hubby and myself immeasurably. They bring us love, happiness and laughter with their own huge personalities every single day. As much as I rarely do anything on a whim, meeting these girls on a few hours’ notice was the best thing I’ve ever done, both for them and for us.”

Betty’s story

Betty was at Petbarn picking up cat litter for her existing four cats. That day, she had two of her kids with her, and as usual, the children were glued to the RSPCA adoption cages. Betty bought two massive bags of cat litter and she called for her boys as she was about to leave.

Betty’s youngest son yelled back ‘mama, you have to look at this kitten!’ Betty firmly said no, as they had four cats waiting for them at home. ‘But it looks just like Creame!’

Creame was Betty’s 17-year-old, champagne coloured domestic short hair cat, she was the love of Betty’s life. Curious to see if there could really be another cat looked like Creame, Betty reluctantly walked over to the cage and took a peek.

There and then, she met Solar. Betty rang her husband and told him to drop by as she thought she would need a cat cage to take a kitten home. They ended up taking Solar and his sister Luna home that day.

Creame sadly passed a few months later, and it seemed like Creame has taken on Solar and Luna to be her successors. Luna and Solar will be turning 4 this year.

Betty says “I have always been a believer in adopt, don’t shop. I have been very lucky to be surrounded by pets since I was an 11 years old. I cannot imagine life without them. Pets love you unconditionally, with my cats, their purring brings me comfort and help relieve my anxiety.”

In recognition of RSCPA’s amazing work, Betty has been hosting/participating in this RSPCA fundraiser for the last four years.

Anita’s story

Anita was a very enthusiastic dog lady. She was dreaming of buying a puppy and even almost bought a Corgi and fostering a Border Collie (as she is living in a one-bedroom apartment, probably would have not been a good idea).

When COVID hit, she naturally wanted to adopt a puppy during lockdown and clearly everyone else in Sydney had the same idea! she would look at shelters, for breeders, on Gumtree and Facebook  but unfortunately she was always too late for the ideal puppy (at least one that could fit her tiny apartment). They’re sometimes gone within minutes!

So eventually she gave up, and just started browsing RSPCA to pass time, which is where she found her first cat, Tofu. (Previously known as Nyah). Anita first  remembered thinking “Wow, this is such a cute cat, it wouldn’t hurt to just submit an expression of interest”. The next day Anita received a call from RSPCA. The volunteer said “I’m calling in regards to your expression of interest for Nyah, when do you think you can pick her up and you’ll need to provide X,Y and Z to go forward with the adoption process.”

Anita was a little scared at first but after talking and discussing her background, and just thinking about the pros and cons (i.e. they’re self-sufficient, already toilet trained, not needing 2 walks a day), Anita impulsively decided to adopted Tofu within 10 mins.

Anita was so happy & scared at the same time however, Tofu got Anita into a routine and made her life feel purposeful.  

After Sydney was starting to open back up again, Anita felt sad having to leave Tofu at home alone. Tofu was always waiting for Anita near the door, and it was heartbreaking to hear Tofu meow as she left.

So, in the second COVID lockdown – Anita adopted Taco! It was so much easier to adopt him as the shelter remembered her from when she adopted Tofu. They even tried to guess what his new name might be since she wanted to name him something that matched up with Tofu.

When Taco came, he was so much naughtier compared to Tofu as Anita adopted him at 4 weeks. Within a span of a month, he had knocked over pot plants and destroyed a months’ worth of toilet paper. Not to mention, Tofu was very upset that she had to share her home with some strange cat… but now she thinks she’s slowly beginning to enjoy his company. It’s pretty much the Brady bunch here, but Anita loves it!  Anita’s life is so entertaining every day and she doesn’t regret it at all. All PetSure staff get joy from seeing Taco and Tofu when they come into the office.

“I choose to adopt as I’ve always loved animals and taken an interest in animal welfare. I’ve previously participated in dog-walking to find ways to help the animal shelters. After seeing the number of pets that spend a long time in a shelter (being surrendered after neglect or being abandoned),  I want to ensure that pets get their second chance of living in a loving home. Tofu was surrendered from a neglected home which was why I chose to adopt her in the end (also because it was the most affordable option, and it means I can spoil them with more toys and treats. I realised that $8k on a corgi may have not been ideal for my bank account!)”

“My life revolves around my cats now  but they’re so easy going and have their own quirks. Having a pet has been so fulfilling and has helped me get into a routine. They’re my buddies for life.”

Oliver’s story

Oliver and his wife, Anh, have always been animal lovers and have always had pets in their lives. They visited Blacktown Pound in 2019 to start the journey of looking to adopt a dog however, hadn’t intended to adopt that day. When they arrived, they met Jack. Oliver and Anh were instantly smitten by Jack’s gentle and loving nature and  decided to take him home. He is a Chihuahua cross who was picked up as a stray on the street with no microchip, collar, or information about his history. When they adopted him, he was approximately 2 years old and they knew it was the right decision from the moment they brought him home. Jack is now a loved member of the family who enjoys lots of exercise and getting out into the great outdoors. Despite his short legs, he willingly joins Oliver on runs but Oliver will often get tired and start slowing down before Jack does. Jack is fantastic with people and has been great at welcoming their daughter (Belle) into their family.  Loving his food,  Belle has definitely started to enhance her value to Jack, by dropping food to him from her highchair.

Having always grown up with pets Oliver knew the joy and happiness they can bring into one’s life, but Jack has also taught Oliver so much, especially about our natural environment. Oliver is looking forward to being able to share and pass on that experience to his daughter Belle, as she learns how to help look after and care for her big brother Jack.

Oliver says, “I’ve always been a huge advocate for the motto “Adopt don’t shop”. There are a huge number of really amazing pets out there spending their lives in shelters, which can be a very stressful experience for them. It’s an extremely worthwhile, kind gesture to be able to provide a caring home for one or more of them. Being able to bring them into a loving home, provide them enrichment and exercise, which is often absent in a shelter environment, and allowing them to live out their lives happy and healthy is a really rewarding experience.”

Nicole’s story

In September 2019, Nicole lost her dog, the love of her life, Squirt, who was a pug cross. He was 15 but it was still so devastating for the whole family.

About a week later, she was in Myer in a Chatswood and ran into Mags, PetSure’s Chief Vet at the time, and explained to her that she was buying some waterproof mascara because she kept tearing up about Squirt. Mags said, “you don’t need mascara, you need another dog!”

Nicole thought to herself “no way”, but the way Mags had spoken to her about giving a rescue dog a loving home struck a chord. She started trawling Pet Rescue a couple of weeks later. Back then, pre COVID, Pet Rescue was awash with dogs although she had to search for ones that were fine with kids, and small enough to fit through the family dog door!  She had in her mind a pug cross just like Squirt. She made an application for a pug cross called Thunder but was too slow; he was adopted within an hour! 

But fate had other ideas. One day, Nicole saw Bob, advertised by the Animal Welfare League in Moree under the tagline “Playful and fun!” she texted her husband immediately. Her husband did not respond as he was teaching his class, so she made the executive decision about 5 minutes later to send an application in for Bob as she didn’t want to miss out on the chance. Carol, his foster carer, rang me within the hour and they spoke on the phone for over an hour as Nicole told her the story of her family, losing Squirt and the home they could give to Bob. Carol choked up and said she would miss him so much but he needed a home with playfulness, laughter and the love of a family. 

Nicole’s husband came home that night and shetold him it was a done deal, “so let’s go to Moree and get him”. Nicole’s husband indicated that’s a long way so, they arranged for Jetpets to pick up Bob and take him on his first flight! Carol the foster carer arranged everything from her end and took Bob to the airport and took pictures of his progress, then the next thing they knew, Bob had landed in Sydney and Jetpets delivered him to their door. Nicole’s daughter who was 4 at the time proclaimed his name would be “Bob Sunshine” which suits him as he is bright like the sun and had lit up our lives. Whilst Nicole miss Squirt every day and her heart still breaks that he’s not with her anymore, Nicole’s heart has been filled by Bob

🙂 Mags was right!

Nicole says “Adoption was really the only choice for us. We wanted a way to give a wonderful home to a dog who really needed it, and the fact we couldn’t meet him before adopting him did not phase me. I knew we would love him no matter what. Bob has his quirks and we needed to be patient with him and make him feel safe and loved. It was 100% worth the effort and he repays us with his love (and overprotectiveness) in spades every single day.”