LabraDOG
Rescue and Rehoming

If you think you can give one of our labs a great home we would love to hear from you! We are a little old fashioned so we like to speak with people about the lab they are interested in. I will be particularly keen to chat a little about you and your home life, the kind of lab you are after and the things that are most important to you with regards to your new furry family member.

If we like what we hear and if you like what we have to say about the dog then we will make a time for you to meet.

Feel free to email us with your enquiries too. We will respond to your enquiry in the same way as you make it, if you ring and we aren’t able to take your call leave a message and I will phone you back. If you email us I will get back to you via email.

Generally speaking the labs in our care are from local pounds and shelters. Primarily they come from Hawkesbury Companion Animal Shelter and Blacktown Holding facility. On occasions we take labs from pounds further away and over the years have had dogs from Taree, Port Macquarie, Port Stephens, Wagga Wagga, Canberra etc At other times the Labradors available for adoption have been privately surrendered by their families who could no longer care for them.

We encourage you to contact your local vet and enquire as to how much it would cost if you were to get them to desex, microchip, vaccinate and heart worm test a dog.

I guarantee that it would be significantly more than the adoption cost for one of our rescue labs. We endeavour to recover the veterinary costs associated with preparing the labs for adoption and whilst there is a small margin on dogs who don’t require excessive vet care this is quickly absorbed by dogs who need extra vet care and in routine costs such as wormers, flea treatments, dog bedding, treats and toys etc. It would not be possible to put a price on my time or effort or the incidental costs associated with rescuing the labs like mileage and fuel for collecting dogs from pounds and attending vet appointments etc.

If you adopt a lab from us you can expect them to be microchipped, desexed, vaccinated, heart worm tested and on preventative, wormed for intestinal worms, clean and flea free and wearing a brand new collar and lead. If that doesn’t represent excellent value I am not sure what does. You can be sure that the adoption cost you pay goes entirely towards the costs directly associated with the rescuing of Labradors and without it we wouldn’t be able to continue to help Labradors in need.

No we don’t breed and never have. I very rarely get young pups but you never know what is around the corner. Generally we have enough enquiries to place a pup straight into a suitable home so if it’s a pup you are after you are welcome to contact me and we can discuss it further. Alternatively our best advice is for you to do some breed research and then look for a registered breeder. Sadly registered does not necessarily indicate reputable so do your homework and choose a breeder who genuinely loves their breed, is happy to discuss the health and temperament of their breeding stock and who is concerned about the kind of home you can offer one of their pups.

Unless stated the rescue dogs in my care have NOT had their hips xrayd. Unlike a pup one of the great things about adopting an adult dog is that what you see is what you get. If a lab shows signs of limping or similar and we feel it is warranted they will be xrayd at the time they are desexed. During their health check their joints are rotated by the vet and movement is assessed. We tell all our new families that we are rehoming in good faith – we didn’t breed the dog and we didn’t raise it but they have been vet checked and deemed fit and healthy for adoption. Any known medical problems will be disclosed when the dog is advertised or before you meet them. We encourage all families to have their new dog independently vet assessed towards the end of the trial period for peace of mind.

There is no shelter facility as such. Unless stated the Labradors for adoption are all living with us at our home. If you are keen to meet the dogs please phone us and we will arrange a mutually suitable time for you to visit. Generally I am around most weekends and some weekdays so I am sure we can sort out a time that suits us both.

We prefer that privately owned dogs don’t visit LabraDOG lodge for a number of reasons. Firstly we have pound dogs in and out of our property so there is a risk of Kennel Cough and other viruses. Additionally it is too difficult to get an idea of how two dogs will get along when there are so many new sights and smells for the visiting dog. Generally we ask people to visit to see if they like the lab they are looking at and if so we are happy to help with introductions if need be at a mutually neutral site or at your home.

Yes. All labs leave here on a two week trial. If the dog is returned within the two week period we will refund their adoption cost. We like to remind people that the dogs aren’t handbags and they aren’t really try before you buy. We will do our best to tell you how the dog you are enquiring about behaves in our environment but take them out of that and into a new one they can behave differently.

It’s not in our interest to trick or mislead you about a dog in our care or to scrimp on the truth because if the dog you take home isn’t what I say then you will just send them straight back to us. It’s for that reason that you can be confident that we will give you a warts and all opinion on the dog you are enquiring about.

Please recognise that when adopting a rescue dog we are already dealing with the fact that they have been let down by the humans in their life at least once already. Some will be easier than others and we will work hard at matching dogs to the right homes but at the end of the day I wouldn’t say that taking home ANY dog is ever EASY so there is some commitment required from you and your family from the outset.

We appreciate people taking the time to browse the labs we have available for adoption, however we are not in a position to hold Labradors for people for any extended period. By the time we advertise a lab they have been with us a number of weeks, have recovered from surgery and are ready to go to their new homes. Ultimately we are looking to speak to people about specific dogs once they are ready to adopt. We welcome general enquiries and we would be happy to chat to you about the kind of dog you are after and the time frame in which you would like one but we won’t hold a dog here that’s ready for adoption.

If your Labrador is desexed I am happy to advertise them for you on this site. You will need to supply me with their microchip number and a copy of their desexing certificate, a good quality photo and a brief description of their personality. I will place the listing on here with your contact details and you can take enquiries in relation to your Labrador and hopefully place them into a fabulous new home.

My primary concern is with Labradors facing euthanasia. On occasions we will take privately surrendered labs but it will depend on whether we have the space available at LabraDOG Lodge. My feeling is that people rehoming their dogs should take responsibility for it themselves by ensuring their dog is desexed and placed into a suitable home.

If you are unable to fulfil the commitment you made to your Labrador when you purchased them by ensuring that they are rehomed responsibly you are welcome to contact us to discuss it some more and if we are in a position to assist we will do so.

Please recognise that I don’t offer a rehoming service for private pets and if I did I would charge you for it. Given the number of dogs in care it is highly unlikely that you could phone me today and I would agree to take your dog tomorrow – there is usually a waiting period. I am not REQUIRED to take your dog into care so if you are looking for my help the right attitude always works when phoning for assistance.

Actually there is an awful lot more to rehoming the labs than you would realise – in addition to the costs associated with preparing a dog for adoption there is the time involved in advertising and taking enquiries, meeting with potential families and the ongoing support provided to people who adopt labs from us. If it was a quick $350 everyone would be rehoming their own dogs and there would be no need for us to be involved in rescue at all.