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Canberra Today 16°/19° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Gone to the dogs, Lauren loves it!

LAUREN Black is not your typical foster parent.

She’s a volunteer for Canberra Pooch Rescue, a local organisation that has saved the lives of 1479 dogs and cats since starting in November 2006.
“Rehabilitating dogs is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done,” Lauren said. “Any dog can be rehabilitated.”
Every year, Canberra Pooch Rescue (CPR) rescues and rehabilitates about 300 dogs and cats from pounds from the  ACT, Queanbeyan, Wagga, Temora, Griffith, Sydney and West Wyalong.
On average they have about 40 dogs and cats in their care on a daily basis.
The dogs are de-sexed, health checked, vaccinated, wormed and micro-chipped, then sent to a foster home, sometimes for up to a month, where they are treated as part of a family and taught basic manners, toilet training and exposed to new things such as car rides and meeting children and other pets.
It also gives the foster parent a chance to discover the dog’s temperament before being bought by their new owner or “forever home”.
All proceeds from “adoption fees” go directly back into the organisation.
Lauren became a foster parent after adopting her pet Jack Russell cross Fox Terrier, Alfie from CPR.
She had been watching the CPR website to find a friend for her miniature Fox Terrier Lolli, who was saved from the Albury pound.
After meeting Alfie at his foster parent’s house, and a second “play date” with Lolli, Lauren knew Alfie was exactly what she was looking for.
“Lolli and Alfie have been best friends ever since they met,” Lauren said. “They are just like brother and sister.”
It was after the adoption that she was invited to become a foster parent.
But according to Lauren, finding a “forever home” is not just about finding a family who say they are willing.
“Every family has a different energy,” she said. “It’s about matching the personality of the dog with the personality of the family.”
She said previous experience with animals is also a big part of the process.
“Each foster parent is an expert on a breed,” said Lauren, who specialises in Terriers and small dogs.
At the moment Lauren is looking after Jack, a 10-year-old Terrier mix, who was saved from the Wagga pound.
“Dogs are able to live in a home environment and learn a proper structure,” she said. “They eat at the same time, get good sleep, good walks. They start to become your own dog.”
All foster parents are volunteers with full-time work.
Although only new to CPR, Lauren is already feeling the rewards of giving a dog a new chance of life.
“There are a lot of dogs out there being put down around Australia,” Lauren said. “And a lot of families that could benefit from having a dog.
“The social benefits for a family are just enormous.”
And although she finds it rewarding, Lauren says the most difficult part of the job is facing the reality that some people are not respectful towards their animals.
“It’s not just physical abuse, it’s every day mental abuse; things like being left alone, no exercise,” she says.
“A dog’s a dog. You have to be aware that you’ll need to walk a dog every day.”
Currently, CPR are looking for more foster parents.
“We are looking for people who know the responsibilities of having a dog,” she says. “You can tell when you first meet someone whether they are in it for the dog.”To become a foster parent or to adopt a CPR dog visit www.canberrapoochrescue.org.au

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