Dog Rescue Newcastle is building a $1.8 million "no-kill" shelter for companion animals at Fullerton Cove.
The shelter's main focus will be surrendered dogs that need a place to stay before a new home can be found for them. The organisation rescues about 1000 dogs a year, saving many of them from death at pounds.
The dogs that get rescued include those that have been abandoned and neglected.
Others need new homes due to family breakdown, domestic violence, death of owners and homelessness.
Dog Rescue Newcastle president Sue Barker said people often give up dogs for "ridiculous reasons".
Many people decide against bringing a baby into a family with a dog.
"They often panic unnecessarily. That's one of the main reasons that people give dogs up," she said.
Ms Barker has had a vision to build an animal shelter for many years.
Dog Rescue Newcastle bought the Fullerton Cove land in October last year.
It contained a dilapidated boarding kennel.
"We demolished that and we've been renovating ever since," Ms Barker said.
The site already has development approval for 40 kennels. Fencing is now complete and a retaining wall has been built for the kennel block.
"We're just waiting for quotes from a company specialised in building boarding kennels," she said.
"They do internal fit-outs of kennels. We need special walls for soundproofing. There's a lot that goes into it."
The project is being funded mostly by donations.
"People are great. They do support us immensely, so we are lucky," she said.
As well as money donations, people often give the organisation dog food, bedding and toys.
The aim is to finish the shelter by the end of next year. It will be a good place for dogs with behavioural issues or injuries that need extra care. It will also be used for quarantine.
"We get some animals from pounds with a high incidence of parvo and other diseases. We'll have six purpose-built sealed holding rooms for quarantine and isolation," she said.
The organisation also rescues dogs from domestic violence situations.
"Someone may flee overnight and have two large dogs like rottweilers, for example," she said.
"I can't just put two rotties with a foster carer. So there's a great need for that sort of thing. These sorts of dogs can come straight to the shelter and we won't have to advertise for a carer at 11pm.
"There are no pounds or current shelters that will take dogs in the Hunter after hours, such as weekends, nights and public holidays. We can be contacted 24 hours a day."
The shelter will have yards for dogs to play and socialise.
"Even the six isolation pens will have dog-runs."
The shelter will be a safe place for dogs to stay, while their needs are assessed in a stress-free environment before being placed in foster care or adopted directly.
Training and rehabilitation will be available. A space for cats is also planned. The aim is to run programs for volunteers and education at the shelter, along with microchipping, desexing and pet food programs for those in need.
The Herald has previously reported that Hunter councils have not been proactive with desexing programs and registration of animals. The NSW government has also been accused of doing little to prevent the neglect of pets in public housing.
This has left rescue groups to deal with the problems this creates, including the rising number of neglected dogs and cats. "The failure to limit the number of companion animals that people can have in public housing greatly contributes to the number of unwanted animals in our communities," Mr Barker said.
Dog Rescue Newcastle volunteers help with rescuing, fostering, training and transporting dogs.
The organisation has up to 250 active foster carers. They look after dogs while they are advertised on various platforms for adoption by new owners. But there is now a shortage of people to do the fostering duties, due to the soaring number of dogs being surrendered.
This has coincided with a rise in people wanting dogs for companionship during the pandemic, then discarding them. The homelessness crisis has also led to a lot of dogs being given up.
Foster carers are vital to Dog Rescue Newcastle.
"We'll still be a foster-care based organisation. Our foster carers are an integral part of what we do. The shelter will support that," she said.
