20/05/2026
Petey is home from his big day at CareVets Hamilton South with Dr. Aunty Sally and team. He's recovering well (sporting his rather fetching CoolCollars Lyttelton collar), and is now officially Pirate Petey.
Everybody involved in his care today fell in love with him and itโs not hard to see why โ heโs insanely affectionate, and despite being in pain, all he wants to do is cuddle and play.
Which makes his background even sadder. Petey should never have been in this situation. He wasnโt a stray and he didnโt belong to somebody doing it tough who couldnโt afford veterinary care for their beloved pet.
Heโs from somebody who calls themselves a โrescuerโ. Someone who routinely comments on social media posts with anti-SPCA, anti-Animal Control, anti-established Rescue/Shelter rhetoric all while selling un-vetted, unhealthy kittens to anybody with the cash.
We had one of our mates buy him from them for us. He cost $100.
$100 for a kitten with a rupturing eye who had never seen a vet. No antibiotics, no pain relief, no medicated eye drops. Just teabags and arrogance.
Peteyโs situation sadly isnโt that uncommon. There are always people jumping in and out of the animal welfare space. Some are amazing, others not so much.
Normal rescue politics aside, itโs important that the public only support ethical individuals and organisations within the animal welfare space. Adopt from, and donate to the ones who are doing it properly. Put the unethical ones out of business.
What makes an individual or organisation ethical? Amongst other things:
โข Veterinary work. Animals see veterinarians for diagnostics and treatment, and to be desexed.
Veterinary work undertaken while in care should be provable โ clinical histories, desexing certificates, vaccination booklets.
If thereโs existing or previous illness, this should be disclosed as part of an adoption (as a side note โ adoption doesnโt exist. Itโs the sale and purchase of a good which is subject to the CGA (except where contracted out of). It doesnโt matter if they call the adoption fee a โdonationโ โ if you have had to hand over your hard-earned cash in exchange for an animal, itโs a sale and purchase of a good.)
If an individual or organisation is not routinely utilising the services of a veterinarian for animals that they are adopting out, they are not ethical.
โข Capacity for Care. Ethical individuals and organisations understand their capacity for care and donโt allow themselves to exceed this.
In a nutshell, this means that they know how many animals they can take in and care for to at least minimum welfare standards.
Capacity for Care doesnโt just look at physical space, it looks at resources (can bills be paid, are animals being fed a diet that is suitable for their species and nutritional requirements, are animals being kept in sanitary conditions where their physical and behavioural needs are met, etc.)
Capacity for Care isnโt a static thing. It fluctuates dependent on whatโs in the bank account, available space either on site or in foster families, overall health of the animal population, etc.
As an example, an individual or organisation who is begging for donations to cover basic everyday needs for the animals in their care on a daily basis, or who doesnโt have enough available funds to cover a middle of the night emergency euthanasia for a dying animal is working beyond their Capacity for Care.
An individual or organisation who keeps animals in squalid conditions because theyโve stretched themselves too thin is working beyond their Capacity for Care.
An individual or organisation working beyond their Capacity for Care is not ethical.
To wrap it up:
โข Pirate Petey is doing well and will be looking for a new home once heโs finished his course of pain relief and antibiotics, been vaccinated, and has vet clearance.
โข Support ethical individuals and organisations working within the animal welfare space, and donโt support the unethical ones who donโt have the animalsโ best interests at heart.
As always, yโall are amazing! ๐ฅฐ
