Plea to help hounds in need of a home

FAMILIES are being urged to share their lives with rescued pets, with new research showing only 11 per cent of Australians opt to adopt from rescue organisations.

In contrast, more than 450,000 dogs are bought from breeders, pet shops and puppy farms each year.

Adopted dogs were thought to be "sad'' by 35 per cent of Australians and over a quarter felt they would be difficult to train, said Tim McCallum, from the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive.

"More than 85 per cent of people who had adopted a dog said they would consider adopting another dog in the future, showing that adopted dogs are just as much a part of the family as any other pet,'' he said.

"The number of dogs in need of a loving home is increasing, which means it's never been more important to recruit Australians to consider dog adoption.''

Three quarters of pet adopters who sourced their new animal from a shelter said they were trying to help the animal, the PEDIGREE research found.

NSW residents were the least likely to adopt a rescue dog (67 per cent) and 47 per cent said they didn't understand the dog adoption process.

PetRescue, an online site that showcases the pets on offer at 621 rescue organisations nationally, matches 2000 families with a new dog each month.

Dogs, cats, guinea pigs, ferrets, rabbits and even horses and a turkey are among the 170,000 animals that have found loving families via the website.

"People have this idea that a pet is in rescue because there is something wrong with it or something has happened but that is not the case at all,'' said PetRescue founding director Vickie Davy.

"We can tell people if an animal is good with children, or cats because they have been in foster care with rescuers so the idea is they get that perfect pet.''

She hopes families will use the Adoption Drive's free dog sticker to advertise where their great pet came from.

Mum of two Michelle Boswarva adopted Dashi, a mixed breed dog, as a friend for Bronson, who sank into "doggie depression'' after his companion canine died.

Ms Boswarva, who also acts as a foster carer for rescue group Fetching Dogs, said her girls Lily, 5, and Isla, 20 months, get a lot of joy from the dogs.

"The baby thinks it is hilarious when the dog runs away with the ball. We ended up with a puppy even though we were looking for an older dog but it was love at first sight.''