I’ve found a stray animal, what do I do?

If you are able, consider knocking on a few doors around where you found the stray animal. Often it has not wandered far from its home.

Also consider posting a photo of the animal on Facebook. There are many Pages for local lost and found animals that may help get the animal home quickly and without additional costs.

If the animal is microchipped it is much easier to reunite them with their family. Your nearest vet clinic should be able to scan for a microchip quickly and at no cost to you. If they are unable to contact the owner, or if no microchip is found, the clinic will direct you to your closest impounding facility.

You may bring stray animals into the facility yourself during opening hours and we will take them into our care. We keep a book of missing animals which, if the animal does not have a microchip or the microchip’s details are out of date, may help us contact the family quickly. 

Due to some people attempting to pass of their own unwanted pets as stray animals, you will be required to provide ID and sign a statutory declaration if you bring a stray animal to the facility. Please note the facility is monitored at all hours by CCTV and anyone found abandoning or falsely representing an animal will be pursued for enforcement action and financial penalties.

As an alternative to bringing a stray animal into the facility, you may call the ranger for your local council:

  • Maitland Council: 4934 9700.
  • Cessnock Council: 4993 4100.
  • Dungog Council: 4995 7777.

Please note that if it is after-hours, it may not be possible for the Council ranger to collect the animal until the following day.

What are the special rules for stray cats?

Cats are legally allowed to roam freely. As such, we can only accept stray cats with proof that they have destroyed property, killed wildlife, or entered a food preparation area.

If a cat is frequenting your property, we recommend that you don’t feed it as it will continue to return for food. If you aren’t able to shoo it away, you can try to squirt it with a water bottle or hose.

My pet has gone missing, what should I do?

If your missing pet is microchipped, we will use the contact details linked to that microchip to alert you that your animal has been brought into the shelter.

If your pet isn’t microchipped, or you suspect the linked contact details may be out of date, then please send us the following information:

  • A good quality photo(s) of the animal.
  • Its description: breed, sex, age, appearance, name.
  • Location and time last seen.
  • Your name and contact details.

If we become aware of an animal that may be your lost pet then we will contact you. You are also welcome to visit our facility to look at the animals present.

There are many Pages on Facebook for lost & found animals, specific to particular suburbs or towns. Consider keeping an eye on these and posting a photo and description of your missing pet.

Please note that a fee will be payable before you may collect your animal, with the cost dependent on factors such as how long it was in our care. We are also unable to release any animals that have not been microchipped and registered: if these need to be done then there will be an additional fee.

How do I surrender my animal?

Surrendering is an important decision that has very significant impacts, especially on the animal.

Though we wish it were otherwise, our facility does not have unlimited time, money, and space to care for every animal in need. We need to maintain capacity for accommodating stray animals and those that require emergency accommodation due to unavoidable circumstances.

Please keep in mind that we are prevented by council requirements from keeping animals indefinitely. While we hope that every animal quickly finds a new, permanent home, it is largely out of our hands whether this happens before their permitted time with us elapses.

A litter of dumped puppies being brought to our facility by a council ranger.

Before deciding to surrender, consider whether there is another solution. Common reasons for surrender, such as repeated escapes, nuisance barking, or conflict with other pets or family, can sometimes be improved with just a little time and effort. We will provide some basic information elsewhere on our website but there is also a wealth of information, tips, and strategies elsewhere on the internet.

Beyond this, a conversation with our staff may help identify other alternatives to surrender. For example, we may be able to facilitate your animal moving directly into foster care or adoption, avoiding the expense and stress of a stay within the facility.

If surrendering your pet is the only option, you will need to contact us to determine whether there is capacity to take your animal. If there is then we’ll make an appointment for you to come in, complete the surrender paperwork, and pay a surrender fee from $165 to $300. Note that this fee only partially covers the cost of caring for and attempting to rehome your pet.

How do I adopt from you?

Please see here for information on our adoption process.

What can I do to help out?

Donations and volunteering are just two of the ways that the community helps us to take care of unlucky animals. To find out more please click here.

Are you a no-kill shelter?

We operate as a no-kill shelter, where no animal is put down because of space constraints or because it may be difficult to rehome.

Some animals do unfortunately require euthanasia where:

  • their behavioural problems are beyond the ability of our or other organisations to realistically rehabilitate, and their history of violence is so great that to rehome them would present an unacceptable safety risk to their new owner and the broader community;
  • a veterinarian has advised that their injuries or illness are of such an extent that euthanasia is the most humane option.

We operate the Maitland Animal Management Facility on behalf of local councils and as such they retain the authority to direct us to euthanise animals in their facility.

Euthanasia of animals is a difficult and emotive subject. It should be remembered that some rescue organisations have the luxury of choosing which animals they accept. This can mean that they take only those likely to be rehomed easily – in this circumstance it’s easy to boast high rehoming rates and zero euthanasia. Meanwhile, the more ‘challenging’ animals, such as those with profound health or behavioural issues, are left to other organisations to deal with. So when an organisation claims it never euthanises, it is worth thinking critically about their claim.

Many animals brought to our facility are unfortunately not immediately suitable for rehoming due to profound behavioural issues. These can come from their time living in an abusive or neglectful home, insufficient training, unresolved medical concerns, aspects of an animal’s personality, an extended period of living as a stray/feral, or a response to the stress of losing their home.

We take great pride in the success stories we created by going above and beyond in rehabilitate the animals in our care. Rehabilitation is resource-intensive, slow, and often emotionally taxing. But we believe that every animal should be given the chance for a happy, long, and healthy life with a loving family. And we are lucky that this belief is shared by our community of volunteers, who take the time to visit the shelter and show the animals that there is a better life ahead.