Rebuilding Project
The Dogs’ Refuge Home is WA’s oldest dog shelter, and we remain on the same site in Shenton Park since we opened in 1935. Thanks to many generous dog lovers remembering us in their wills we have been able to upgrade all our old kennels, many which were built in the 1960’s.
We have invested so much time into reviewing other shelter-based kennels in WA, the Eastern States and overseas to see what would work best in our climate and knowing that the budget was always going to be a consideration.
Our overall Masterplan was designed with a focus on sustainability (water and energy) and utilising our land in the most efficient way possible. We have placed our new Quarantine facilities at one end of our land and the adoption kennels at the other end to reduce any chance of cross contamination of disease.
Each of these new kennels are North facing to ensure our dogs are as cool as possible during summer and as warm as possible during winter. They are built in single, non-facing rows to reduce stressors for the dogs, feature integrated underground heating and cooling and also include specially piped music designed to calm the dogs and create a more peaceful environment.
Our facilities buildings have also been upgraded thanks to a Lotterywest grant which enables us to give our dogs the very best of care including a nutritious freshly cooked diet, fresh bedding laundered daily and a decompression area for stressed dogs. We even have a meet and greet area with potential adopters can bring their cat in to see how their chosen dog reacts. We are now so proud to give tours showing our fabulous facilities which you can see here. Our state-of-the-art facilities are some of the best you will ever see.
Of course, as is always the same when you paint a wall at home, the ones that aren’t painted needs to be upgraded too and, likewise, we still have a few projects to get everything up to the standard of our new buildings.
When we built our first large quarantine block in 2012, we hadn’t started including underground heating and whilst the kennel block itself is still operational and provides a safe comfortable place for dogs (when they first enter our care) we really want to bring it into line with all our other kennel blocks and incorporate underground heating. We haven’t yet costed this out or checked the feasibility of doing this without a complete demolition and rebuild but this is definitely on our list of things to do when we are able to find the funds.
Our new Playground is so popular with our staff, vollies and dogs alike. It really does set the standard for recreational areas for our dogs. Our other yards are still very usable but the shelters are far from ideal, and the grass and sandpits are due for an upgrade.
Our Cemetery is the oldest in Australia and we are very proud of how well it is kept and the rich history and love that resides here. We regularly have visitors with flowers reflecting on the loss of their much-loved pet and the memories they left behind. As we have been here since 1935, we are quickly running out of space and, as many pets are now cremated not buried, we have plans to erect a Memorial wall which will become a feature in the cemetery.
We were thrilled to renovate the old crematorium into a state of the art clinic for our dogs thanks to two amazing donors, Mary Tuder and MJ Wallace. When undertaking a project like this, the possibilities for expansion to help not only our dogs but other rescues are endless, and we look forward to further maximising this amazing space and team in the coming years.
We run at a considerable shortfall each year so putting money aside for our building projects and upgrades is heavily reliant on bequests. If you would like to know more about our Masterplan and are considering making a gift, please call our office on 08 9381 8166 (10am to 4pm) or email our GM – ceo@dogshome.org.au or our President – president@dogshome.org.au We will happily show you around our Home and show you the difference your gift can make to our dogs and our future.
