Recently, a 12 year old Border Collie x (nicknamed, Charlie) was abandoned by his owners and left to fend for himself on the streets of Canberra.  When he was found he had a muddy, matted coat, very sore paws and was dehydrated.  He was handed in to Domestic Animal Services (DAS) who scanned his microchip and contacted his owners.  Sadly, they wanted nothing to do with him.  The plight of this stoic, gentle dog highlighted the need for more clear-cut laws and stiffer penalties in the ACT for dumping and abandoning dogs.

We also believe that the dumping of dogs like Charlie could also be greatly reduced by the placement of 'surrender cages' at more locations around Canberra.  Currently there are only two such cages, located at the DAS facility in Mugga Lane.  Surrender cages give people who can no longer care for their dog (for whatever reason) an option to surrender their dog anonymously and without charge.  We believe that placing more surrender cages at accessible locations around Canberra will help to reduce the number of dogs that are dumped and abandoned, thereby increasing their chances of being re-homed, rather than euthanised, or injured while roaming the streets.