Our 12 Days of Christmas Auctions begins Thursday 1st December through our Facebook page. A huge thank you to the following businesses, who without their support, we would not have the fantastic items available for auction
Dec 1st donated by Pet One www.petone.com.au
Dec 2nd donated by Pods 4 Pets www.pods4pets.com.au
Dec 3rd donated by Ella & Friends Photography www.ellaandfriends.com.au
Dec 4th donated by Sling Guard www.slingguard.com.au
Dec 5th donated by Charlie's Pet www.charlies.pet
Dec 6th donated by Aussie Dog Products www.aussiedog.com.au
Dec 7th donated by Zamipet www.zamipet.com.au
Dec 8th donated by Bourke St the Label www.bourkestthelabel.com
Dec 9th donated by Rover Pet Products www.roverpetproducts.com.au
Dec 10th donated by Lickimat www.lickimat.com
Auctions commence at 7pm each day and run for 23hours.
Please see our Facebook page for full details
We understand the costs associated with desexing your dog can be one of the reasons many owners often put this procedure off. Thanks to recent funding through the wonderful teams at SavourLife and Petbarn, SSRAI will be able to help dozens of owners across the country towards the cost of desexing their beloved shepherds.
To find out more and view eligibility, please visit our Desexing Program page under Our Services
Hunter arrived into care under the requirement of needing surgery to fix his right cruciate, and that this happened recently.
? He has been assessed by our orthopaedic/surgical team.After all his testing, radiographs and a chat with his surgeon we are behind the scenes creating a care plan for him.
He has been in quite a lot of pain for quite some time. All 4 legs have a degree of orthopaedic damage. His left and right cruciate have both snapped, but his left has taken some of the bone with it.
? With all the medications on board he will hopefully feel some relief for the first time in a long time. Whilst we prepare him for his right TTA and stabilizing surgery, we need you now more than we've ever needed you!!
✅ We really NEED you all to vote and SHARE Hunters story so we have a chance to win SavourLife’s donation drive competition!
✅ All you have to do is click the link, vote, SHARE so your friends and family can help us too!!!
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR US!
? Special thanks to Colleen over at Siroka Park Photography who kindly donated her time to us and Hunter to get the stunning photos of Hunter!
?ALL FUNDS RAISED AT OUR BAKE SALE GO DIRECTLY BACK INTO HELPING OUR SHEPHERDS IN CARE, THANK YOU TO ALL THE AWESOME PEOPLE WHO SUPPORTED US LAST TIME, WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU AGAIN ?
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME DOWN TO BUNNINGS CARRUM DOWNS TODAY TO SUPPORT US AT OUR BAKE SALE!!
It was wonderful to see some familiar faces and great to meet new people that love our rescue! In total today we raised $1,044.40!
***Congratulations to Jessica who won our raffle today that includes a $50 Bunnings gift card! As always special thanks to everyone who helped bake goodies and volunteered their time today all to help raise much needed funds for our dogs ❤️?❤️?❤️ We will be back!
My partner and I decided to become foster carers as we’d love to be dog owners but can’t afford the costs that come with it due to having other animals. We also only rent our house and don’t want to commit to owning a dog until we own our own home
We didn’t have to do much preparation, our house is already dog friendly with high fences and a large backyard. We do have to remember to put our shoes away when we foster puppies!
My main challenge is saying goodbye to the dogs when they go off to their new home. All my fosters have gone to the BEST homes and that does make it easier for me to know they’re going to be happy and looked after for the rest of their lives.
Sometimes the dogs we get don’t have a lot of training, however it never takes longer than a week to learn how to sit and some basic manners!
The dogs always have so much love to give! Even though I get sad when a dog goes on to their forever home I get really excited to meet the next one.
I get loads of support from Sweet Shepherd Rescue, if I ever have any questions or a problem someone is always ready to help me. They’re also very acommodating and have other volunteers to help take the dogs to vet appointments if you can’t make them with your own transport.
Fostering is SO important! It gets dogs out of pounds where life isn’t that great for them and they’re often on a time limit there. It also helps to get the dogs back on the rehabilitation track, to get ready to start their new lives in their forever homes. Having dogs in foster care allow us to get to know more about a dogs personality than you would visiting them at the pound. The more foster carers Sweet Shepherd Rescue have the more dogs they can save!
Please click here to go to our Foster Page – Here you’ll find more FAQ’s and our Foster application form. Thanks for taking the time to read our blog and considering fostering for Sweet Shepherd Rescue!
WE NEED YOUR HELP !!!
PLEA TO ALL WHO CAN HELP
We are in the community grants program which is judged by votes of people to be in the draw for some much needed funding to help SSRAI, thanks to the Leader.
Please Login, select the BAYSIDE leader and vote for us!
Please click here to sign up and vote for us
By filling this out we will gain enough for votes for our grant to be accepted and funding to come in for the shepherds
Voting finishes in 11 days !! Please get this urgent msg to your friends or family
How did you come to adopt a dog from Sweet Shepherd Rescue Australia?
My partner Charlotte and I adopted Xena (formerly Gigi) in early April 2018 after months of researching different rescues and breeds. After ten days in the pound and three weeks in foster care with Sarah, Xena’s journey with us began.
What were the first few weeks like?
The first three to four weeks were the hardest. Xena was anxious and didn’t know who to trust or listen to. We spoke to Sweet Shepherd and asked to extend our two-week trial for a further two, just to make sure we were ready to commit to Xena.
Having fallen fast in love with Xena, we decided we couldn’t let her down!
Rescue dogs have often already developed certain behaviours, sometimes these can be a challenge. How did you deal with this?
One of the first things we did was enrol her at the German Shepherd Association of Victoria. I can’t recommend this organisation enough. For roughly $100 a year for membership, we could attend weekly classes for only three dollars.
How did Xena react to training?
When we took our initial class Xena was terrified, lunging fiercely and barking at other dogs. Specialising in German Shepherds, the trainers there reassured us that Xena was a perfectly normal young dog who had just never had boundaries or structure.
What recommendations did the trainers have to help you and Xena?
They recommended a Halti to stop Xena’s pulling and lunging. The transformation within minutes was amazing. Xena went from barking ferociously at every canine interaction, to being subdued and focused. Making training a positive experience was also crucial, and we always kept treats handy.
What’s something you feel proud that Xena has achieved in her time with you?
Xena has already advanced to level two at German Shepherd training, the head trainer says she’s in the top ten rescue dogs he has ever seen!
What have you discovered over your journey so far that Xena has loved?
After she overcame her initial fear of other dogs, we would take Xena to dog parks where she would run around wildly, having the time of her life!
What are the differences of rescuing a dog rather than buying a puppy?
Adopting a rescue dog is quite a different experience to buying a puppy, but they still need the same long-term commitment to training. Rescues often have an unknown history. It’s impossible to know what the dog has been through before they come home with you, and this requires tolerance and empathy. Neither of us had ever trained a dog before, yet gradually we began to see results; not only did Xena’s behaviour improve immensely, but we also started to bond very strongly with her. We began to trust Xena, and she us.
How do you feel about the journey so far?
We’ve had Xena for six months now, and though she is still a work in progress, seeing her go from scared and reactive to happily playing by the Merri creek with her other dog mates has been a real pleasure. Rescuing a dog requires commitment and a realistic understanding of the initial work required – the same as with any puppy. Putting the hard yards in and seeing Xena develop into an increasingly relaxed and confident dog has made it absolutely worth it.
Without Sweet Shepherd Rescue, Gigi, now Xena’s story may have been very different. This is why we do what we do, seeing our rescues go into forever homes and hearing just how well they’ve developed into beautiful family members makes it all worth it. Thank you James and Charlotte for adopting from us and sharing your story!
