Shoalhaven Animal Shelter needs dog foster carers

The Nowra Hill shelter is currently overburdened with dogs and in a rare move have called people from all over the Shoalhaven to become foster carers for dogs.

"Unfortunately having a dog is a luxury item now," shelter acting manager Sharon Johnson said.

She believed the rental crisis contributed to the situation.

"People can't find anywhere to live - if they have got a dog," she said about another of her theories for the influx.

Currently, the shelter has 30 dogs - all sorts of breeds along with 11 puppies.

"We have 22 kennels," Sharon said to indicate just how full the shelter was at the moment.

The only other time the shelter asked for foster carers was during the Black Summer crisis when bushfires surrounded the Nowra Hill area.

With so many dogs in the shelter and more to come, the shelter management had no other choice but to call out for foster carers.

So far they have had about 12 to 15 responses but need more.

The shelter has a list of requirements people need to meet before they are allowed to foster a dog.

The dog stays in the shelter's name, the foster is the secondary "owner", a tag will have both the shelter's and the foster carer's number, a property inspection is carried out prior to accepting an application, fosters must bring their own dog [if they have one] for a meet and greet and the whole family [adults and children] must also come in to meet their potential foster dog.

"We also do three-week checks - we just don't go 'here is your dog' and forget about it," Sharon said.

"We also supply everything - food, bedding toys and bowls - everything.

"There is no financial outlay to be a foster carer and dogs are obviously already vaccinated - we do their flea treatment and worming as well."

Go to https://www.facebook.com/shoalhavenanimalshelter and click on the "featured" section on the page to see all the dogs.

Best to make contact first on Facebook and a meeting with your potential foster can be arranged - you get to choose which dog you want to foster and it's a Shoalhaven-wide initiative meaning people in the Milton/Ulladulla area can take part.

The shelter also has a waiting list of people wanting to surrender their dogs - some people have been on the list since February.

A total of 35 dogs are on the waiting list, meaning things are not going to improve any time soon.

"We don't euthanise. We don't have a time limit - so if a dog is available for adoption - they are available for adoption until they get adopted," Sharon said

Some dogs are dumped at the shelter- but many others are surrendered.

"They [owners] don't want their dog anymore," she said to explain what surrendering a dog meant.

"A lot of cases are due to the dog being too big, too boisterous, too disruptive or barking too much."

She added dogs can be trained not to have any of the above issues.

"People need to think before they get a dog or a puppy," Sharon said as a way of avoiding unwanted pets being surrendered.

She added dogs need their owners to socialise and spend time with them.

Some days the shelter gets multiple calls from people wanting to surrender their dogs.

The acting manager said other shelters around the country were facing the same situation.

She said a good foster carer has time, patience and of course a love of dogs.

"They [foster carers] do not have to be home all the time - that is unrealistic," she said.

However, she added careers need to be "home a lot" and have experience handling different dog breeds.

Some dogs may also need basic training.

"Sometimes it could be a foster fail which means they adopt the dog which is good as well," Sharon said.

Many of the dogs they currently have at the shelter are also good with other dogs.