As many grumpy-faced kids return to school and tired-faced parents return to work (all clutching the remnants of their Easter chocolate haul), The Lost Dogs’ Home has a reason to feel pretty darned pleased today.

As we speak, 141 dogs and 127 cats will be waiting for those kids and adults to return home this afternoon, after being adopted during our school holidays half-price adoptions promotion. That’s right: 268 animals now know what it feels like to be loved, adored, safe and warm. And we are over the moon about it.

“We love to offer half-price adoptions during the holidays, because it means new owners will have the time to settle their pet in at home and really get to know it,” said Sue Conroy, General Manager of the Home. “Of course, half price always means the shelter is doubly busy, but when you see figures like we’ve seen over the past two weeks, it’s so worth it.”

Those who wanted to receive the discount had to complete The Lost Dogs’ Home’s Pet Licence test first, which walks prospective owners through the responsibilities of owning a pet. Sue said she was ecstatic to see so many youngsters getting involved and helping to answer the questions.

“That is what we love to see – kids learning about responsible pet ownership from a young age,” she said. “Parents were sitting down with their kids and going through questions about vet care, exercise, training, socialisation, feeding and grooming… everything you need to know about looking after an animal. It’s fantastic to see.”

This promotion helped us to find homes for many of our long-term residents, our older residents and several bonded pairs, all of which are normally quite hard to rehome. We were particularly heartened to see so many adult cats go to new homes.

“The guys who are usually upstaged by cute puppies or kittens were given their chance in the spotlight and they found people who adored them for who they are,” Sue said. “There is no better feeling than seeing a perfect match walk out the door and knowing that cat or dog will be looked after for the rest of their lives.”

When John and Glenys adopted Enzo – the little cat with the half-tabby, half-polar bear markings – from The Lost Dogs’ Home’s Campaspe shelter, they found her to be much like any other 18-month-old: shy and curious.

In the months since the couple had their hearts won over by this quiet girl, sitting down by herself in the shelter looking like the original ‘scaredy cat,’ John and Glenys have proved to be the consummate cat whisperers, working through all of Enzo’s quirks and foibles to make her the happiest country cat around.

In a little over three months, the couple say that Enzo has come to feel very safe and comfortable with them – almost to the point of taking them for granted!

“We’ve got a rumpus room where Enz spent most of the first week when she came home with us,” John said. “We had some old car seat covers in there, and this is where she retreated, with her head popping out every now and then.”

After about a week, John said you could stand at the door and if you spoke quietly, and didn’t move, she would come to you.

It then progressed to the point where John could pick her up and take her for laps of the house, getting her used to everything while her neck “grew about two inches” as she strained to see everything around her.

“You just don’t know what kind of life they’ve had,” John said – which meant he and his wife were more than happy to take a slow and gentle approach to helping Enzo settle into the family.

It was only when Enzo became a little aloof and disinclined to cuddle that John and Glenys found out that their little cat had become a bit too comfortable.

“We talked to Barbara at the Campaspe shelter – they were so helpful – and she asked whether we were leaving food out for her all day, and we said yes, we did have bickies out for her.”

Barbara then explained that Enzo’s calculating cat mind had decided that she had everything she needed, and could ignore her adoptive parents if she wanted to.

“Barb said she was snobbing us!” chuckled John.

So, after scaling-back the day’s smorgasbord, Enzo decided to scale-up the affection, and John says she is now acting like the loving sweet-heart she is meant to be.

But if Enzo’s arrival has taught the family one thing, it is that every cat is different. While their last cat Jessie was also adopted – and lived with the couple for 15 years – that’s where the similarities between the two cats end.

“Jessie was a huge female,” said John. “She was very even tempered and unruffled by anything.”

While Enzo is undoubtedly a different personality, she is filling John and Glenys’s need for a cat in their lives with her own distinctive style.

“She still has a fair bit of kitten in her,” John said. “She couldn’t care less for her proper toys, but give her a ball of wool or string, or have her playing under the mats in the lounge room, and that’s all she needs.”

John has also built what’s affectionately known as ‘Enzo’s Holiday House’ – an outdoor, enclosed play area decked out with scratching posts and climbing ramps covered in fake grass.

While Enzo was at first uncertain about her new place, John and Glenys took her out there for short introductions and would sit with her as she got more and more willing to explore.

In typical contrary cat style, John said Enzo doesn’t give much notice to her scratching posts, preferring instead to get her claws into the novel texture of the fake grass.

She’s also become great mates with the couple’s elderly Jack Russell, Tiny, who still has enough beans in him to bump noses and frolic with the youthful Enzo.

And, when Tiny’s dog treats are out, Enzo proves to have terrific hearing.

“She comes out to see what’s going on and purrs around you,” said John.

It seems for all her shyness, Enzo is one smart cat, and all the love and patience from John and Glenys should enable her to be the cheekiest cat she can be.

The two kittens found in a box being couriered across Melbourne finally went to their new home this week.

Courier worker Geoff waited over a month to adopt Wilbur and Tinks, who he discovered underweight and tiny in a cracker box on November 15. At four-weeks-old, the kittens were far too young to be taken away from their mother and after being assessed by vets at The Lost Dogs’ Home, they were put into foster care to gain weight. On Wednesday their ‘guardian angel’ came back to the Home to officially adopt them and give them a new start to life.

“Geoff was the one who found Wilbur and Tinks and we are so thrilled that it’s he who will be taking them home,” Manager of The Lost Cats’ Home Karina Bailey said. “We often give the finder preference for adoption, since they have done the right thing by bringing them in to the shelter.”

In their foster home, Wilbur and Tinks developed a strong bond, with foster carer Amber saying, “They absolutely love each other; love to cuddle together, hang out together and play together.” Karina said it was the Home’s wish to see them adopted into the same home and staff were elated to hear Geoff would be adopting both.

“Wilbur and Tinks have given each other support and comfort throughout this entire experience and seem to have a very special bond,” she said. “We’re so glad we haven’t had to separate them and they can continue playing and cuddling together for the rest of their lives.”

As Geoff adopted the now desexed, microchipped and vaccinated Wilbur and Tinks during December, he received 50 per cent off the price of adoption, meaning he got two for the price of one! However, like everyone wanting to receive the discount, he first had to complete the Pet Licence test to ensure he was aware of his responsibilities as a pet owner.

“Guardian angel or not, everyone can learn something from taking the test, as being a responsible pet owner is what it’s all about,” Karina affirms.

To find out more about half-price adoptions during December.

The Home would also like to thank everyone who called to enquire about Wilbur and Tinks and our Foster Care Program.

From the very first encounter with lovely Lucy, staff at the North Melbourne Lost Cats’ Home had stars in their eyes, dazzled by the easy charm and prim elegance of this beautiful white cat.

A rendezvous with Lucy in her pen at the Home includes: dozens upon dozens of purrs, a minimum of 3x smooches for any who dare discontinue stroking, 2x gorgeous bright green eyes, expressing perfectly the pleasure of this dainty feline, and 1x fur covered set of clothing (Lucy loves to get close and personal!).

House trained, wormed, desexed and vaccinated, Lucy seems the perfect addition to any familial home, and she is certainly the type of versatile, easy-going and amenable cat who could fit seamlessly into the daily routine of just about anyone. She is even perfectly happy to buddy up with other four-legged friends, so for enchanting Lucy, a full house presents no obstacle.

The 18-month-old sweetheart was picked up as a stray in early November, waited eight days for her previous owners to search her out and take her home and then, when nobody came, was sent to the adoption pens.

Alas, at the Home Lucy has stayed, and staff are simply perplexed that she is yet to go to the loving and caring family she deserves, where she would thrive and quickly win hearts with her grace and manners.

“It’s just such as shame that people pass by the opportunity to adopt older cats like Lucy, to take on a kitten instead. They’re missing out on the established personalities and low-maintenance of older cats who know how to cuddle up, and how to do their own thing,” Karina Bailey, manager of The Lost Cats’ Home said, “and this is absolutely true of Lucy.”

All Lucy asks for is a loving home for the years to come, the providers of which will be rewarded tenfold with her stunning character and decorum, and the not-so-occasional smooch!

Lucy’s (anticipated) adoption ties in nicely with the half-price adoptions up for grabs at The Lost Dogs’ Home, as the staff members hope very much to ensure that as many dogs and cats as possible find comfortable homes and a return of their love before Christmas. This is especially now as 35 cats and 10 kittens already wait at the Home for adoption, before the holiday season is even in full swing. Any prospective adoptive pet owners would need only to complete the Pet Licence Test to be able to bring home the greatest Christmas present this month, for themselves and their new pet.

If you think Lucy is the cat for you, call the North Melbourne shelter on (03) 9329 2755 and quote Animal ID number: 894986

There is nothing better than capturing the perfect photo of a loved one. However often our pets are not as cooperative as other family members, resulting in a blurry smudge of paws and fur in every happy snap!

This Christmas, The Lost Dogs’ Home, along with experienced pet photographers Roka Photography, will help you get that special photo of your pet you’ve always wanted.

Our Pet Portraits event will be conveniently held across two days on Saturday, December 3rd and Sunday, December 4th from 10am to 4pm in the Home’s new Thelma Hoult Training and Education Centre.

Each sitting time is 15 minutes long and owners are welcome to bring along more than one pet for a group photo, as well as individual photos. Human family members are also welcome! We want to help create a special family memory you can treasure this Christmas and always.

Bookings are essential – to secure your sitting time, please go to either our Saturday, December 3rd booking form or Sunday, December 4th booking form. A non-refundable sitting fee of $20 applies for each 15 minute session. Afterwards you will be able to choose from a range of photo packages starting at $49 and individual prints starting at $15.

Roka will kindly donate all sitting fees to The Lost Dogs’ Home which will go towards helping lost and abandoned dogs and cats.

Optional Christmas decorations and dress ups will be available; however owners are welcome to bring along their pets own special outfits.

For cats, and those more nervous pets, we have allocated several special (and hopefully quieter) times when they will be amongst other like-minded, shy pets. Please check our booking form for these times.

We ask that owners, pets and family members to be photographed arrive around 10 minutes before their booked sitting time. Please ensure your pet is on a lead or in a secure pet carrier. We will have water and poo bags available.

We ask all owners to supervise their pets properly and be courteous to all others.

Please share our event with other pet owners. By taking part in our Pet Portrait event, not only will you get a wonderful photo to treasure forever but your support will go towards helping the thousands of lost and abandoned dogs and cats The Lost Dogs’ Home cares for every year.

For more information, please contact Gisele Greig in our Fundraising Department on (03) 9321 8744.