Making With Ayala

Yesterday the Stonnington City Council released a statement saying they will consider deferring consideration of the animal management services tender until their May 26^th council meeting. The decision to delay comes after a week of passionate petitions, emails and Facebook posts across the Stonnington community. The rush of concern is because the tender would mean a move away from the current contract holder, Save a Dog Scheme (SADS). SADS has a “no-kill” philosophy that is unique among Victorian council pounds. Jen Stern is one of many Stonnington community members who are campaigning to keep SADS in Stonnington. “This no kill model has worked in this community for 40 years,” said Jen. SADS hasn’t offered a tender for the new contract, saying in a letter to the council that they feel they can’t meet requirements outlined in the new contract. The Lost Dogs’ Home were the only organization to offer a tender for the contract.

Save a Dog Scheme is a tiny community-based non profit, primarily run by volunteers, that operates on a remarkable 1% euthanasia rate, one of the lowest in the country. The Lost Dogs’ Home on the other hand, is one of Australia’s largest shelter operators. While its euthanasia rates have decreased significantly in recent years they’re still around 10% for dogs and 13% for cats. Jenny Cotterell, policy advisor at the Australian Pet Welfare Centre, told us that the Save a Dog Scheme represented a model that “really triggered a culture change in Victoria”. She said, “this isn’t just The Lost Dogs’ Home being a kill shelter issue, it’s about the Victorian councils approach to reducing the level of animals being put into pounds and shelters.” The Lost Dogs’ Home have committed to policies to reduce the number of animals coming into shelters, but Jenny Cotterell worries about their ability to work effectively in Stonnington, claiming “there isn’t a social licence to operate in the community.” The Lost Dogs’ Home did not respond to our inquiries.

I met with Christian, a volunteer at SADS, while he was giving Zuko his daily walk. Christian helps make sure every dog at SADS’s Stonnington shelter gets a walk in the neighbouring park every day, twice a day on Wednesdays and Sundays. Christian told me that Zuko has been with SADS for two years, but they haven’t given up on getting him placed in the right home. Jen, who has adopted two cats from SADS after they went through extensive behavioural training, said, “SADS invests time and effort into the animals that don’t fit into the box so that they can be rehomed.”

I spoke to Cr. Kate Helly about why she thinks SADS didn’t offer up a tender. She speculated that “SADS may have been under the impression that they needed to give a $30,000 deposit to keep the facility, or that their rent would have gone up significantly.” Jen Stern stated that she believes that the contract being put up over the Christmas period may have put the mostly volunteer run SADS at a disadvantage. No one I spoke with at SADS was able to provide specific details about why they did not provide a tender for the contract, but SADS has made it clear that they’d like to find some way to continue their relationship with the Stonnington City Council. Cr. Kate Helly said, “there is still an opportunity for SADS and others to work with the final contract receiver.” The council will need to make a decision soon. 

Citations

Chua, D., Rand, J., & Morton, J. (2017). Surrendered and stray dogs in Australia—estimation of numbers entering municipal pounds, shelters and rescue groups and their outcomes. Animals, 7(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani7070050

Save a Dog Scheme. (2015, July 1). About. Save A Dog. https://saveadog.org.au/about/

Stonnington City Council. (2025, May 7). Update on Animal Management Tender (press release). Retrieved from https://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/About/Media-centre/News-notices-and-media-releases/2025/Animal-Services-Deferred

Stonnington Council (2025). ‘Attachment 8.3.1 Letter from Save a Dog Scheme’ In Council Agenda Attachments 28 April 2025 City of Stonnington: Stonnington

Stonnington Council (2025). ‘Item 8.3 Provision of Animal Management and Related Services’ In Updated Council Agenda 28 April 2025. City of Stonnington: Stonnington

The Lost Dogs’ Home. (2023). Alleviating suffering. The Lost Dogs’ Home. https://roadmap.dogshome.com/commitment-5/alleviating-suffering