Nicole Harrison, Erin Smillie and Lyndal Plociennik, with kittens Eden and Olive, who are both looking for homes. Photo: Lost and Found Pets Illawarra.
What started as a Facebook page to reunite owners with their lost pets has evolved into a rescue – and they need your support.
Lost and Found Pets Illawarra began as a group to help connect lost animals and their owners as quickly as possible, without the need for calling council rangers or the RSPCA.
The group doesn’t just share posts about lost and found animals, it also has volunteers who can scan microchips, help put up flyers and even hold animals overnight.
President Nicole Harrison said it quickly became clear there was a need for more support.
“There were a lot of animals whose owners never showed up or couldn’t keep them for a variety of reasons,” she said.
“That’s when we decided to begin the rescue side of it.
“The rescue side is a small group of foster carers who take animals into their home and do all the things they would do with their own pets, so food, vets, socialising, monitoring their health, training.
“Instead of the animals spending their time in a small caged area with no socialisation, they’re in a home environment instead, so when they’re adopted, it’s a much smoother transition.”
All that comes at a cost, however.
Nicole said foster carers generally take on one or two dogs at a time but can have up to six cats if they’ve taken on a mother with a litter of babies. Sometimes, a carer might overlap with a new group of kittens coming into care as the previous group is adopted out.
Food, cat litter, specialist formula, microchipping, flea and tick treatment vaccination, desexing and any medical treatment for animals that come in unwell aren’t cheap.
The volunteer group’s vet bill is thousands of dollars each month, and Nicole estimates the price of adoption covers less than half of what is spent on each animal.
“People sometimes comment that adoption fees are high, but I don’t think they realise what they’re getting,” she said.
“At a pet shop, you might pay $500 for a dog and then still have to get it microchipped and desexed.
“Say four kittens come in and need to be desexed, that’s about a grand before you do anything else.
“We don’t have major funding, just local people helping out.”
Sydney LEGO Users Group (SydLUG) is partnering with Lost and Found Pets Illawarra for their Wollongong BrickCon event in November.
Funds raised at the event will help the group care for more animals in need.
Lost and Found Pets Illawarra’s fundraising coordinator Lyndal Plociennik said the combination might seem unlikely on the surface, but it works.
“A fundraising opportunity like this is huge for us,” she said.
“It broadens our ability to support the community with animal welfare programs, and the more community members we reach the more animals we can help.
“The event is focussed on families and children, and we will have kittens there on the day for people to meet, so maybe you have a child that loves LEGO and a child that loves animals, there’s something for both of them.
“We’re incredibly grateful to be part of this event.”
BrickCon Wollongong will be held on Saturday, 16 November, and Sunday, 17 November, at the Illawarra Hockey Centre on Waples Road in Unanderra.
Doors open at 10 am on both days, with an additional sensory session at 9 am on Sunday for those with extra sensory needs.
Tickets are $10 per person; entry is free for children under four.
For more information, head to the Facebook event page or purchase tickets from TryBooking.
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