,Where are your shelters located?
The Lost Dogs’ Home operates two animal shelters in Victoria: in North Melbourne and in Cranbourne.
Please visit our Contact us page for the location address of each shelter.
When can I adopt a pet?
The Lost Dogs’ Home adoption program operates six days a week from the North Melbourne and Cranbourne shelters. Please see our opening hours for more information.
What programs and services do you offer at The Lost Dogs’ Home?
We operate a number of proactive and pawsitive programs, not only for the animals in our care but also for members of the community. These include:
- National Pet Register. An Australia-wide pet microchip registry which offers free pet identification tags, discount microchipping and a 24 hour call center
- Volunteer and work experience programs
- Foster care program
- Training and education programs
- Post adoption support for you and your pets
- Petsquad: Behaviour training for dogs and cats
In what capacity can I volunteer at The Lost Dogs’ Home?
The Home relies on volunteers to assist us in various areas around the Home, performing the necessary tasks required to help us in the daily running of the shelter.
The Home provides volunteer opportunities in the following areas:
- National Pet Register
- Kennel and Cattery
- General administration
- Events
The Home accepts volunteers from the general public, as well as corporate volunteers as part of company community programs. For more information please email us at volunteering@dogshome.com.
Who can be a Foster Carer?
The Lost Dogs’ Home has had a Foster Care Program in place for many years and is currently in an exciting phase of expansion. It is an important and much-valued service that helps give many dogs and cats a second chance. We often have animals that are in need of extra attention and care before they are suitable for adoption. They may be underweight, recovering from surgery or illness or participating in our behaviour program and simply need a place where they can relax, recuperate and receive one-on-one care away from busy shelter life.
To become a foster carer, you must lodge an application with our foster care coordinator. The application process can take anywhere from 4–8 weeks, depending on the number of applicants we have at any one time. Our foster carers are provided with all the equipment, food and medication needed to care for their foster pet.
To apply, simply navigate to our foster care application page here. Our foster care coordinator will contact you once your documentation has been received. Successful applicants will be required to attend a training workshop prior to fostering. Workshops are held throughout the year and the foster care coordinator will notify successful applicants when the next one is scheduled to be held.
Where can I enquire about a particular animal?
For any information on dogs and cats in the shelter – whether they are being cared for as a stray or are currently up for adoption – it is always best to contact the shelter directly. See contact information and hours of operation to locate the correct shelter.
How are animals assessed on arrival at the Home?
On arrival all dogs are checked for injuries and any concerning health conditions. They are vaccinated, checked for any ID and scanned for a microchip. An attendant then accompanies them to their allocated pen, providing them with blankets and enrichment toys. If it’s cold they will get a coat too.
All animals have an observation chart on their pen where attendants, who provide their care, can record their observations and interactions. The observation charts allow for personable comments such as “friendly boy”, “sitting for treats”, “fearful at first will take treats”. Also recorded is other important information relating to heath, toileting and appetite.
If the animal is not claimed by their owner, they receive a behaviour assessment from the behaviour team and a medical examination from the shelter vet team. Each of these assessments takes around 20 minutes or so to complete. The behaviour assessment is led by our veterinary behaviourist and is designed to give us an idea of how the animal will react in different situations.
The information from these assessments, together with the observation charts with the attendant’s contributions are collected and reviewed. The outcome of their assessment and the animal’s ongoing needs, helps staff seek the most appropriate pathway for each animal – to ultimately find a new home.
Some animals can go straight into the adoption program. Whereas those with health issues might need medical or surgical treatment and or foster care before they go to adoption.
Dogs with challenging behaviour problems might go into the behaviour rehabilitation program. This includes training with the Behaviour team and sometimes behavioural foster care. Some of these dogs can be in our care for several weeks and months.
If a dog has more significant behaviour issues, is not coping in a shelter environment or has other special needs we will contact one of our Rescue partners to see if they can assist – usually they can.
As an open-door shelter, we take in stray and unwanted dogs and cats who are gravely or terminally ill, critically injured and those with deep rooted behavioural problems such as aggression. We take every decision around their future very seriously, and the staff at the Home are committed to working toward every healthy and treatable animal being reunited with their owner or adopted into a responsible, caring new home.
Sometimes, after in-depth assessment and consideration of all possible pathways, we may find we cannot responsibly rehome an animal due to concerns around the individual’s welfare or concerns for public safety. We have a legal and moral responsibility to prevent any harm to members of the community as well as their animals. Unfortunately in these circumstances we may need to humanely euthenase the animal.