Archive for the "Latest News" Category

PET WORLD TO THE RESCUE OF OUR PURRING PUSSCATS! 

Fraser Coast Pet Warriors is thrilled to announce a great partnership with Hervey Bay Pet World. Pet Warriors President Sue Brooks arrived at Pet World last Thursday morning with 3 little furry balls in tow. Sue says “I can’t begin to thank Diane and Michael enough for offering to help rehome these little rescue kittens through their pet shop”. 

Diane and Michael the owners of Hervey Bay Pet World, located in Main St Pialba, have decided that saving rescue kittens is another way to help reduce the number of unwanted cats and kittens in our region. Sue tells us that Michael and Diane were receptive to Pet Warriors offer to provide pound and rescue kittens to their business in the hope that we can find more quality homes for these kittens.

The kittens are mostly rescued from the Hervey Bay pound where their future is measured in days! Leesa Hodgson Pet Warriors Secretary adds “Pet shops can help solve the oversupply of cats and kittens by following in Pet Worlds footsteps. Diane and Michael should be held up as leading lights. This simple decision to promote rescue kittens paves the way for a better future. A future where rescue groups like ours are no longer needed”. 

Each morning Belinda a dedicated Warrior foster carer takes the kittens to the pet shop and each evening she takes them home to her family. The kittens are happily playing all day in the pet shop but come home to a family environment each night so that they can continue their socialisation and development in a loving family environment. 

Pet Warriors believes all pet shops should support this concept. Sue tells us that she will continue to campaign for tougher desexing and breeder legislation to help halt the accidental breeding of so many little unwanted fur balls. She asks that we support Pet World. “Please support this progressive responsible and forward thinking local business. They have chosen to be part of the solution not part of the problem. Please come and choose a kitten to save and spend your dollars at Hervey Bay Pet World. All these kittens will be desexed as soon as they are old enough via Pet Warriors and the kittens are microchipped, vaccinated, registered with Council and wormed. But most of all they are utterly adorable”.

Hervey Bay Pet World sells its first rescue kitten to Maree and her family

Media release out today..

Fraser Coast Pet Warriors president Sue Brooks advises all dog owners to take special care of their much loved pets during New Year’s Eve. She advises that “dogs in particular are often frightened by the loud noises that partying and fire crackers makes. Dogs can break free of their yards and run away causing distressed owners hours and possibly days of worry and grief. The Council pounds are already full to overflowing with stray unclaimed or surrendered dogs so please think ahead and ensure your dog is kept inside or housed safely and securely Saturday night”.

Sue says that “dogs roaming free are often frightened and frantic and can easily be hit by vehicles. During a recent New Year’s Eve a panicked dog jumped off the Urangan pier and swam to an island taking Council staff many weeks to retrieve it after the owners had given it up for lost”.

It is also extremely important to make sure your canine companion is microchipped and wearing its Council rego tag. If your dog does become lost Council staff can easily locate you to reunite you with your pet thereby avoiding a stay in the pound. It is also a good idea to include a tag on your dog’s collar which has your mobile number on it, so that anyone finding your dog can call you.

Just this week Pet Warriors has received several calls from residents who have found wandering dogs. These dogs have no ID, no registration and no microchip. Sue reminds everyone that microchipping and registration is now required by law. She adds, ” My frequent trips to the Hervey Bay Pound are extremely distressing because we can’t save most of the dogs that end up behind bars there. Please don’t let your dog end up in the Council pound. Tag it, secure it and keep it home safe and sound so that you and your family can enjoy New Year’s Day happily together by taking your loyal companion for a walk in the park or to the beach”.
ENDS

New Beginnings! Fraser Coast Pet Warriors is reborn.

Fraser Coast Pet Warriors prefers to say “new beginnings’’ rather than happy endings when it recalls all the pets that it has successfully rehomed but Pet Warriors itself is now experiencing a new beginning of its own! Cr Sue Brooks was recently installed as the President of the Fraser Coast Pet Warriors and together with Mr Bill Woods as Treasurer/Vice President and Ms Leesa Hodgson as Secretary says that Pet Warriors is “recharged, reinvigorated and still rehoming many unwanted pets while keeping very good records and paying attention to details”.

Sue says that running an organisation like Pet Warriors is ever so challenging. “I expected that as President, I would oversee the bookwork, put proper processes in place and leave the pet care and fostering to those that were already doing it”. But this isn’t what happened. As soon as the new committee introduced simple measures to ensure that the financial side of the charitable organisation was being run legally and properly, key people resigned. This came as a total surprise and disappointment and left Sue and Leesa carrying the entire pet co-ordination job themselves.

Sue says, “Now I am the one visiting the Hervey Bay pound to choose which dogs and cats to try and save. This responsibility was one I didn’t expect and is emotionally draining. There are so many dogs and cats and not enough homes. Leaving animals behind is totally and utterly heartbreaking”. Pet Warriors can always use some extra help so please call us if you have some spare time. Bill adds “The more helpers we have the more lives we can save.. Our furry friends need you we need you”.

Leesa reminds us that, “There is much to do like driving animals to the vet, collecting and delivering donated food, keeping records etc. Many hands make light work and we can always use that extra pair of hands”. Leesa takes all the brilliant photographs that adorn the web site. Sue says ‘the dud photographs are mine not Leesa’ s. Leesa is an artist, the camera is her paintbrush’.

Bill Woods also believes many charitable organisations are simply not being run efficiently and responsibly. Bill explains that the President and committee of every organisation must ensure that bookwork is up to date, that records are kept and finances audited. Returns to the Office of Fair Trading must be made on time also or penalties can be incurred. Bill also says that “Organisations have to decide if they are a charity or a business. Non-profit organisations or charities should not accept donations from the community so that members can personally profit! All fundraising has to be properly accounted for”.

But in spite of the challenges Pet Warriors is steaming ahead and has rehomed more than 15 cats and dogs in the last 9 weeks. Sue says ‘While this may sound like a small number in the scheme of things it is a great achievement. Pet Warriors has no facility to house animals like the Maryborough and Nikenbah refuges do. All our animals are cared for by foster carers in their own homes. Carers devote time, love, money and most of all their love and compassion, to ensure these pets do not make a one way journey to the local vet!”

Bill wants to remind everyone that Pet Warriors is under new management. He says “Please do check that if you are buying a new pet or donating to Pet Warriors that you are dealing with Sue or Leesa. Nobody else is coordinating our animals or collecting donations and Pet Warriors is run totally by the new committee with the help of our hard working volunteers. “Bill warns that while some individuals or ex members may be rehoming animals and doing it very well, Pet Warriors members are not personally profiting from their work. Always ask for a receipt and ensure that your funds are being received by Pet Warriors. Please help us save these discarded pets!” ENDS

Sue chats to Kein and Elaine with Billy and Scruffy

Hello again. Pet Warriors is currently tidying up all our records and developing brand new forms. However we are still discovering the odd surprise and learning about carers and pets that we weren’t aware of. This is understandable when completely changing a committee. But in the interests of communicating with everyone and doing our very best to find new homes for all the animals in our care and new pets to foster using our absolutely brilliant foster carers, we would appreciate you touching base with us to ensure that we have all your details, and the details of your foster pet, up to date. We also like to keep in touch with our new Pet Warrior pet owners so feel free to contact us if you have adopted a Pet Warrior pet so that we can include you on our mailing list. Sending us an email is the preferred communication tool but a phone call to either Leesa or myself would be excellent if you are not an email user.

We are planning a final meeting for the year and a small break up Xmas gathering for early December. We hope everyone can join us to celebrate another year gone, many pets saved and swap some pet stories while we eat drink and make merry. Detail soon. Cheers, Sue