Pet Day is on Saturday, July 22 from 10am to 1pm at the Civic Centre lawn, Paws Hoofs & Claws’ adoption day is on Sunday, July 23 from 2 to 5pm at Sunset Dog Park.

Both bodies acknowledge that the majority of pet owners love their animals, and are responsible with registering, desexing, and housing.

Many prospective owners will go down the rescue route, adopting from the pound or an animal rescue.

Paws Hoofs and Claws has been operating in Mount Isa for the last eight years, saving hundreds of dogs and cats from death row. 

The seemingly unstoppable Sue Carsen visits the Mount Isa City Council Pound every second day and takes note of who’s in there for collection. 

​She and a small group of dedicated volunteers find foster homes and forever homes for furry creatures, great and small.

And they boast low drop out rates, placing pets with loving families who understand the responsibilities that come with owning an animal.

Sue dedicates 80 to 100 hours a week to her passion, caring for the sick and injured, paying costly vet bills, and finding homes for puppies (easy) and older dogs (not so easy).

But Council doesn’t discriminate when it comes to charging for animal collection – $450 per puppy/dog and $280 per kitten/cat.

If you think the charity receives a discount, you’d be wrong – in fact collection fees have just gone up.

To rescue a litter of nine puppies, the charity now needs to come up with more than $4000.

If you buy a rescue puppy from an animal charity such as Paws Hoofs & Claws, you are paying for just a portion of their recouped expenses.

Council says we have a dog problem, with up to 1500 unregistered dogs roaming Mount Isa. 

Despite rescue efforts, Mount Isa Mayor Joyce McCulloch said up to 90 dogs are euthanised each month.

“That’s a tragedy for the animal as well as a significant expense for ratepayers which can be anywhere up to $3500 per week in pound and veterinary services. There is a fee for releasing the animals but that fee doesn’t always cover costs,” Cr McCulloch said.

So, the hard work of animal rescue is compounded with the toil of fundraising, which somehow allows the good work of Paws to continue.

In February Glencore gave the charity a grant for a food truck, which they fundraise with at every opportunity.

Having been invited to participate in Council’s Pet Day this Saturday, the group will be cooking up a storm.

I just hope they manage to raise $450, so it’s worth it.