Connecting hearts and strengthening community ties one woof at a time

Welcoming a pet into your life is an exciting time. It also means new responsibilities and routines. When Debbie adopted McKenzie, a sweet sausage rescue, her life changed. McKenzie has helped Debbie become more socially involved in her local community.  

​​“I’ve lived and volunteered in my community for over a decade, so if you’d asked me before if I knew a lot of people locally, I would have said yes. But dog-owning is so much more social than I anticipated. Through our daily walks and dog park visits, I’ve met so many lovely, interesting people and their amazing dogs and gotten to know many more of my neighbours. Besides lots of enjoyable daily chats, this has led to deeper friendships, fun social events, and just a bigger sense of being part of the wider community.”

Living with a pet can be one of the most rewarding experiences in our human lives. Even though Debbie's life has changed for the better, it took a lot of thought and consideration before McKenzie entered her life:

“I’d never lived with a dog before, so I was quite afraid I could be romanticising having a dog - what if I didn’t actually like the reality? I read basically every book ever written about dog ownership first and gave it a lot of serious consideration.”

When Debbie saw McKenzie’s profile on PetRescue, she didn’t think she would have a chance because of the high demand for small dogs at the time. Within 48 hours of sending her enquiry via the PetRescue platform and bringing McKenzie home, there was no turning back. 

She said:

“I fell head over heels in love within 48 hours and remain ridiculously besotted. Now I can’t imagine ever not having a dog again.”

In fact, life with McKenzie has been so sweet that two years later, they welcomed Elodie into the family.

“I was planning to wait until I had a bigger place with a garden before getting a second dog. Then a friend sent me Elodie’s profile on PetRescue and it was Game Over. Her story tugged my heart strings too hard. She is a beautiful, wee girl.”

Debbie said the two dogs bonded quickly and were found snuggling on the sofa together on Elodie’s first night. When you meet the right dog, plans go out the window! 

She said that living with two dogs is now:

“Louder! More chaotic, stinky, silly, snuggly, and delightful.”

If you're searching for your new furry family member, PetRescue highly recommends setting up an adopter profile and providing as much information as possible. An adopter profile can make a big difference to help you get shortlisted for a pet. Rescue organisations spend a considerable amount of their time assessing applications to ensure they pick the right match for pets in their care, so it’s critical to make your enquiry stand out!

Find out more about how to make your adopter profile stand out here.

Debbie said:

“The fact I had a profile all set up when applying for dogs on PetRescue meant that when I saw McKenzie and Elodie’s profiles it was very easy to zip off an application quickly”

McKenzie was adopted from Animal Adoption Agency, NSW, and Elodie was in foster care via Claws N Paws Rescue, NSW.