Nicky Sloan with her mastiff, Derek, whom she adopted through Wollongong Pet Connection. Photo: Nickly Sloan.
More than 700 pets have found their fur-ever homes since Wollongong Pet Connection launched in 2024.
Now the service has been recognised for its innovative approach to rehoming lost and abandoned animals.
Wollongong City Council, which runs the service, recently received the Excellence in Innovation in Animal Management award from the Australian Institute of Animal Management (AIAM).
One animal who’s living his best life thanks to the service is the bullmastiff formerly known as Pablo.
When he came into care he was seriously underweight, and had to undergo several operations.
Now called Derek, he was adopted by Nicky Sloan and is enjoying the run of her rural property.
She said the service didn’t just help Derek, it brought joy into her life.
“We lost our previous dog two years ago and it’s taken a lot to get over that,” she said.
“As soon as I saw Derek’s face and his poor little emaciated body I knew we had to look after him.”
In April 2024, RSPCA NSW withdrew its impounding services from Wollongong City Council as part of a broader, statewide transition.
Instead of opting for a traditional approach to animal management, the council developed a virtual service model.
The current model uses private boarding facilities and a local veterinary clinic as an interim location for pets.
This operates alongside a foster care program with nearly 250 registered carers, and a rehoming initiative with a scaled adoption fee structure and a dedicated Facebook page with just shy of 3000 followers.
Project Director of Animal Care and Impounding Services Daniel Kennedy praised his team for their commitment.
“We’re so grateful to be acknowledged by our peers at a national level,” he said.
“This program didn’t exist 18 months ago and now we’re here celebrating its wins is quite humbling,” he said.
“My team are passionate about what they do, so this award is a lovely reminder that what we’re doing here is making an impact.
“We’ve heard some incredible adoption stories that begin with just seeing an adorable pet on Facebook or they were tagged in a post by family and friends.
“Because of the reach of social media, we’ve had pets find their fur-ever home in places outside of Wollongong.
“We’ve also been able to get lost pets to their home in real time, and celebrate together when a long-time stayer finds their family.”
Nicky said her adoption success story came about in part because the adoption process through Wollongong Pet Connection was so easy and thorough.
Nicky always adopts bigger dogs, because they are often overlooked in a shelter environment.
When she asked to meet Derek, aka Pablo, the team were keen to know all about her home before they moved forward with a meet-up.
“Their communication was exceptional and they really made sure we were the right people before we even got to meet him,” she said.
“We got to go and meet him in a park instead of a facility which was really lovely.
“His carers knew him and could tell us all about him.”
And as for the name change?
It came about in part because Derek didn’t really respond to Pablo.
“There’s something a bit symbolic about a new name,” she said.
“Big dogs should have nice friendly names – if he comes running down the street at somebody he looks quite intimidating, but as soon as I yell ‘Derek’ they smile.
“He’s an absolute treasure and to see him running about looking so healthy is really joyful. We love him and he loves us.
“I’d encourage anyone thinking about getting a pet to consider adopting because you can really make such a big difference in a dog’s life and they’ll certainly make a big difference in yours.”
