Dog shelter that rescues pups on the kill list is forced to close as rate hikes hit hard
- Dog shelter Pound Patrol has to close
- Says rate hikes have crippled it
A non-profit dog shelter in Sydney has been forced to close after being devastated by repeated rate hikes.
Pound Patrol in Bringelly, Sydney’s west, was opened by Lisa Younes after she spent 13 years rescuing dogs before euthanizing them.
However, Ms. Younes says it repeated recent rate hikes have made it impossible to keep up with demand.
Pound Patrol in Bringelly, western Sydney, was opened by Lisa Younes after rescuing dogs for 13 years
Ms Younes says people are not willing to pay the higher fees non-profit shelters have to charge to survive
“It’s never been worse than now, there’s always a struggle with rescues because we rely solely on donations,” she shared 9news.com.au.
“It’s a financial situation, people are not in a financial position to donate anything.
“We’re finding it very difficult to pay back our kennel rent, pay the vet bills, vaccinate and euthanize, so we’re in a really tough position.”
Pound Patrol charges between $250 and $300 per dog.
However, Ms. Younes says their cost per dog is much higher.
“Some dogs cost us up to $1000. We have dogs here that we can’t move or adopt because the council pounds $40 in adoptions, we just can’t afford that,” she said.
Ms Younes says people are not prepared to pay the higher fees that non-profit shelters have to charge to survive.
“We can’t climb out of the hole, pregnant mothers keep coming in, or they get pregnant in the shelter,” she said.
Pound Patrol charges between $250 and $300 per dog. However, Ms. Younes says their cost per dog is much higher
“Our biggest problem at the moment is that there are so many dogs in kilograms, that has also put enormous pressure on us.
“Until they introduce mandatory desexing, the dog population is only going to get bigger and bigger.”
Pound Patrol announced on Facebook that it would close its doors this week.
Our kennels are full and our bank account is completely empty.
“Our vet bills are skyrocketing and we don’t have the money to pay them, Pound Patrol will be closing its doors until further notice.”