Pet Owner Responsibilities

Owning a pet comes with a range of responsibilities towards the animals, the community and the environment. We encourage all pet owners to care for their animals in a responsible manner with their best welfare in mind.

Abandoning and Dumping of Animals

It is NEVER acceptable to dump an animal and especially cruel to leave vulnerable puppies and kittens to fend for themselves.  In NSW under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, abandoning an animal is a cruelty offence and anyone who does this can be charged.

Responsibilities of Dog Owners

Under the Companion Animals Act 1998:

• If a dog is in a public place it must be under the effective control of a competent person by means of an adequate chain, cord or leash. The exceptions to this are: dogs exhibited at a show or engaging in obedience or agility trials or a dog secured in a cage or vehicle or in an approved off-leash area;
• If a dog is being exercised in an approved off-leash area it must always be under effective control of a competent person;
• It is not permitted to walk more than four dogs at any one time in an on-leash area or an off-leash area;
• Greyhounds must be muzzled at all times when in a public place;
• If a dog defecates in a public place it is an offence not to remove the faeces (we would suggest you carry bags so you can pick up your dog’s faeces from public places and put it in a bin);
• Dogs are prohibited in children’s play areas, food preparation/consumption areas, recreation areas, public bathing areas, school grounds, child care centres, shopping areas and wildlife protection areas.
• Penalty notices issued under the Act include:

Penalty	Fine
Not identify companion animal as prescribed - not dangerous/menacing/restricted dog	$180
Companion animal not registered as required - not dangerous/menacing/restricted dog	$330
Not notify change in registration or identification information - not dangerous/menacing/restricted dog	$180
Failure to prevent dog escaping - not dangerous/menacing/restricted dog	$220
Dog not wear a collar and name tag - not dangerous/menacing/restricted dog	$180
Not immediately remove dog faeces from public place	$275
Not deliver seized animal to owner/ Council/approved premises	$660
Owner of dog not under control in public place	$330
Owner of dog in prohibited place	$330
Deny an Assistant Animal entry into public buildings/place/transport	$330
Own of dog which rush as/attacks/bites/harrasses/chases any person/animal	$1320

NB - All penalties are subject to regular change by the NSW State Government without notice.

Responsibilities of Cat Owners

Under the Companion Animals Act 1998:

• All cats must be identified by a form of identification that enables a local authority to ascertain the name of the cat and the address or telephone number of the owner

• Cats are prohibited in wildlife protection areas and food preparation or consumption areas

• A cat must not interfere with the peace, comfort or convenience of any person in any other premises, or

• Repeatedly damage anything outside the property on which it is ordinarily kept.

• Penalty notices issued under the Act include:

Penalty	Fine
Cat not wear identification	$180

NB - All penalties are subject to regular change by the NSW State Government without notice.

Surrendering an Animal

Surrendering a pet is always a difficult decision.

There are many avenues you can investigate prior to calling Council to surrender your pet as a last resort.
 
We work with numerous Rescue Groups that we can help you be in contact with regarding the surrender of your pet. If your pet has had all its veterinary work complete you can also advertise them privately for rehoming yourself.  See below for more options and information on rehoming your pet yourself.

If you have tried all avenues to rehome your pet yourself and you are struggling with your pet, please seek help and advice from us and chat with one of our staff about the next steps.

We can direct you to get in contact with Friends of Griffith Pound Group who can provide discounted desexing vouchers for their subsidised desexing program. This program is supported by Griffith City Council and the 3 local veterinary clinics. Please note eligibility requirements apply.

How it works – Surrendering to our Pound & Rehoming Centre

Whilst we do not charge a Surrender fee, Surrenders are by appointment only and if your animal can be assessed and fits the criteria for our rehoming process we may help on your behalf. You must make an appointment before bringing your animal to our Centre.

What you will need to bring, once you have a confirmed appointment is all necessary paperwork and information with you, which includes:

• All medical history and veterinary paperwork, including vaccination history and any medication requirements
• Information about your pet’s personality, behaviour and history, which will help us to provide them with the best care possible
• Dogs must be on leashes and cats in secure carry cages

We do our very best to rehome all animals surrendered to us and our staff can provide more information about the Surrender and rehoming process when you call to discuss an appointment.

We do not accept dangerous animals that have attacked other animals, people or stock.

Please do not arrive to our Pound & Rehoming Centre with no appointment requesting to have your animal surrendered on the spot.
 

Steps I can take to rehome my pet before contacting Council to Surrender my companion animal

Privately rehome your pet yourself

• Ask your friends and relatives if they can help to foster or adopt the animal.
• If the change to your circumstances is not permanent, could the animal go to a boarding facility?
• Advertise your pet on online platforms:  If your animal is desexed, vaccinated and microchipped you can advertise them on many online platforms such as gumtree, trading post or social media avenues. You must also always be honest as to why you are rehoming your pet as this will help ensure the right homes enquire for your pet.
• Contacting online Rescue platforms for responsible advertising such as: Gumtree, Pet Rescue and the RSPCA. Click the links to go straight to these websites.

Please note: New rules are in place from 1 July 2019 when selling or giving away a cat or dog in NSW. Click here for more information. 

Directly contact rescue groups

Please see below links to many NSW based Rescue Groups listed and Government approved in NSW.
           
Anyone has access to these links and you can responsibly and respectfully reach out to any of the rescue groups via email or social media requesting help with the surrender or rehoming process of your pet.

There may be certain costs involved to rehome your pet for example for ensuring their vaccines are up to date, if the animal has been desexed or travel costs if a Rescue agrees to take your pet you may have to travel a distance to drop it the to the Rescue Group.

With a small amount of travel involved to you, you may also contact RSPCA to take on your pet.

Links to Rescue Groups

• List of all NSW Office of Local Government (OLG) approved Rescue Groups
• Pet Rescue - Help! I need to rehome my pet
• Pet Rescue – List of all Australia wide rescue groups
• RSPCA – Animal Surrender – What are my options?

Links to Local Rescue Group & Contacts in Griffith/Riverina

• Griffith Cat Haven - Rescue
• Needy Paws Dog Rescue - Facebook or Needy Paws Pet Rescue Page
• Riverina and District Animal Rescue Inc. (RADAR Inc.)
• Friends of Griffith Pound – Volunteer Group promoting welfare of animals within our community - Website or Facebook

Simple Tips on Responsible Dog and Cat Ownership

Keep your animals healthy, safe and avoid fines by being aware of, and following, these essential tips:
 

Dogs

• To stay healthy and avoid boredom associated problems, dogs need to be exercised regularly.
• Ensure your dog is well socialised, friendly and comfortable with people to avoid dog attacks.
• No matter how friendly, a roaming dog can be at risk of harm or risk of harming other dogs, animals and people in adverse situations or otherwise, so don’t allow your dog to roam.
• Ensure your dog is microchipped and registered. See here for more information on Pet Identification and Lifetime Registration.
• Train your dog not to bark. Dog trainers can also help to solve barking and other dog behavioural problems. Further information on how you can deal with Barking Dogs can be found on the NSW EPA website, by clicking here and a fact sheet can be can be downloaded by clicking here.
• In public places, keep your dog under ‘effective control’. This means on-leash and restrained by the person holding the leash (unless the dog is specially exempted), and not more than four dogs per handler.
• Have your dog desexed if you are not a registered breeder. See here for more information on De-Sexing of Companion Animals.
• NEVER leave your dog unattended in a car, even on mild days. If dogs are left in cars during hot weather they are subject to dangerous conditions, but there really is NO safe situation to leave your dog unattended in a vehicle. More information can be found on the RSPCA website.

Cats

• Cats should be contained inside or in a cat run, particularly at nights, to restrict roaming and potential nuisance to neighbours.

Further Information

Companion Animals Act 1998
Companion Animals Regulation 2018
NSW OLG - Responsible Pet Ownership
RSPCA - Owning a Pet

It is NEVER acceptable to dump an animal and especially cruel to leave vulnerable puppies and kittens to fend for themselves. It is also illegal to dump animals and carries heavy penalties in NSW under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.