We get calls daily asking for permission (and sometimes even forcibly) to bring in strays to the shelter so that they won't get abused, starve or knocked down by cars. What people do not know is that :-

1. The chances of an animal being adopted is VERY low. Cute puppies stand the highest chance of being adopted BUT they also stand a great chance of being abandoned when they've outgrown their cuteness which is usually when they're 5 to 6 months onwards.

2. Adoption chances are less than 10% on average for a shelter animal with cats suffering the greatest number of abandonment and together with adult dogs, the lowest chances of being adopted.

3. Out of the 10% which do get adopted, only about 10 - 20% will actually be treated with love and understanding. Many animals, especially adult dogs, are adopted to watch their owners' property or merely for the sake of having a pet.

4. The chances of a healthy puppy or kitten contracting a viral infection or dying of cold during the early morning from 3 am onwards (especially during the rainy season at the end of the year) is GREATER than 50% whilst the chances of being knocked down by a car is definitely VERY low. There are THOUSANDS of strays all over Kuching but even if you see a dead dog or cat on the road each week, that is still a very low percentage.

5. Even adult animals face great risk of diseases being contracted from seemingly healthy neighbours or cagemates and because of the less than perfect housing, their chances of recovery are low.

That is why it is NOT advisable to bring strays to the shelter. We have a contract with the 3 town councils to rehabilitate and home the 200+ animals they bring in MONTHLY. These animals will be killed without hesitation were it not for this agreement between the SSPCA and them but 200+ animals EVERY month is way more than what the limited manpower and shelter can cope with and many of them die of illnesses so THINK AND OBSERVE carefully before deciding whether a stray needs to be in the protection of the shelter because there are many unseen dangers involved and these dangers often lead to death so when you think that you're saving an animal from being a car accident victim by handing it to the shelter, you may actually have condemned it to a slow and rather certain death by disease.

As have been mentioned many times, we focus on those who need our help and these will be the sick, wounded, abused plus the young and weak. A 2 month old stray puppy or kitten is quite capable of taking care of itself in that it knows how to find food, avoid traffic and potential abusers BUT it does NOT stand much of a chance against an unseen killer such as a contagious virus.