Sophie Conlon
The City of Mount Gambier has reaffirmed its dog holding facility is within regulation and encouraged responsible pet ownership after receiving backlash online.
The impounding facility, located at council’s work depot, came under fire on social media recently when a dog was recorded being vocal and shared to several pages.
The video, along with an email that was posted and a police call out, prompted the Mount Gambier and District Residents and Ratepayers Association to post online that the pound was an insufficient “hot box”.
However, council chief executive officer Sarah Philpott said the pound is approved for up to 72 hours holding by the Dog and Cat Management Board and general inspectors did everything they could to make sure dogs were safe.
“Our first priority when we find a dog wandering at large is to get it back to its people,” she said.
She said once all efforts in finding an owner had been exhausted a dog would be formally impounded.
“When you impound a dog, you have to hold it for 72 hours to maximize the opportunity for family to be found and then to be returned,” she said.
The site was approved by the Dog and Cat Management Board in July 2023 for four dogs at a time up to 72 hours, which Ms Philpott said was through self assessment, site plans, and photos.
She said the pound was a shed with four cages, with food, water, and comforts like bedding only set up when a dog was there.
“The requirements under the guidelines are that it has to basically be with surfaces that are able to be cleaned,” she said.
“Because you don’t know when you’ve got a dog in there whether the dog’s been vaccinated, you don’t know its condition.
“The idea of those types of facilities is that they can be sterilised and regularly cleaned so you reduced the risk of any cross infection between animals.”
She said an impounding facility was there only to keep dogs safe and separated until they could be returned home.
“I know a bit of what the community has been concerned about is the comparison to lovely green open spaces, but this is not a re-homing facility, it’s an impounding facility,” she said.
“People have been understandably concerned about the welfare of animals, so are we, they want to make sure that they’ve got water and that they’ve got food, and that they’ve got bedding, and that they’re cooled, and all of those things happen.”
“I’d stick them in the corner of the office, that’d be lovely, but it’s not how we’re required to impound.”
When a dog was formally impounded Ms Philpott said general inspectors would continue the search for its family an council would use its Facebook page, City of Mount Gambier Impounded Dogs, to help spread the message.
She said the pound door was left open for ventilation and general inspectors would sit and comfort dogs when they could.
“There’s ventilation, there’s a thermometer and an on hot days the water’s frequently replenished, the floor’s wet down if required to ensure that the temperature stays at a low,” she said.
“So there is a regular process of making sure the dog is going ok.”
If temperatures were extreme, or the cages needed cleaning, the council also have a portable and shaded cage for the dogs to spend time in.
Once the 72 hours was up, if the dogs owners could not be found, Ms Philpott said the animal would be transferred to one of councils rehoming partners, Wet Noses Animal Rescue and Dusty Paws Dog Rescue, or through a partnership with the District Council of Grant and Southern Grampians Shire Council.
“We are going to be having conversation next week potentially to see from getting other local rehoming partner,” she said.
“So the idea is to have a range of partnerships in place so we can work with whoever is best for the particular animal or that particular set of circumstances.”
Ms Philpott said ideally, dogs would never get impounded and highlighted the importance of registering and microchipping your pets so it was easier to return them to their owners.
“Sometimes I suppose dogs will get out but ideally, you have a secure yard, you have your dog registered, you have them microchipped and that way we can get them back home to you,” she said.
“So those dogs which are registered and microchipped, of course, we can find the people relatively easily.”
“I’m going to bang on about it because it is the case, ideally do register and do microchip animal because it helps us get them back to you.”
Of 188 stray dogs found in the city since July, 176 were returned to their owners, with only 12 have been impounded, and just six transferred to rehoming partners.
Ms Philpott said this was a high success rate.
“Such a high proportion are being returned to their parents before they even further entering into that formal impounded stage,” she said.
Regarding the dog that caused a stir on social media, Ms Philpott said council was confident heat was not the issue.
“Dogs will potentially be feeling anxious, they’re in a strange place, they’ve not got their people,” she said.
“The dog that was posted on social media barking while at the kennel has been returned home to its very grateful owner who claims it barks a lot due to separation anxiety.”
A community member called the police and the Dog and Cat Management Board to report council’s treatment of the dog, however Ms Philpott said there was no concerns from either party.
“The police attended and they had no concerns about the dog, the dog and cat management board were contacted, they were okay with what we’re doing,” she said.
Screenshots of an email, also circulating online, saw the sender offer to purchase artificial turf and a clam shell pool for the pound, which they described as “inhumane”.
While the turf would not meet standards, Ms Philpott said they would look into the clam shell pool and under council’s new Dog and Cat Management Plan would investigate how the facilities might be improved.
“We’re going to continue to look at how all of this works, how might our impounding facilities work for the future? We have to factor in how they might work for cats. So we’re just going to continue to work on these facilities,” she said.
“We’ve met the requirement, but if there’s things we can do on top of that, that help make things better then we’ll always consider them but they will still need to fit within those requirements.
“It’s not about the money involved in it, it’s about making sure that we meet the regulatory obligation.”
With community concern, Ms Philpott said some general inspectors had been on the receiving end of “unwarranted comments”.
“Our general inspectors are people and officers doing their job and they’re trying to do their very best job and it’s a difficult job at times,” she said.
“These guys are just solid people caring about these animals as much as every other community member does.”
Ms Philpott said council would always answer questions and asked that people speak to council directly before taking the issue to the wider community.
“I think that’s the key to this is we understand people have got concerns, so happy to explain, but it’s actually really helpful if we can do that directly,” she said.
For any questions council can be contacted via email at city@mountgambier.sa.gov.au
The Mount Gambier and District Residents and Ratepayers Association was contacted for comment.
SAPOL declined to comment.
