Record 19 months in care – roadblocks removed to find Mia a home
RSPCA South Australia staff and volunteers have united to remove all the roadblocks they can in an all-out blitz to find a loving home for a young dog who has been with them for almost 600 days. It is the longest amount of time any dog has ever been in the organisation’s care and available to adopt.
Three-year-old mixed breed Mia is currently living with Rhapsody Auckett, one of RSPCA SA’ most experienced foster carers, who has cared for Mia in her home – on and off – for over a year.
According to Sam Margrave, who oversees RSPCA SA foster care, Mia’s record length of stay is due to bad luck more than anything else.
“Mia came to us in June 2022 and has been available to adopt since mid-July 2022,” Sam said.
“During that time, she has been adopted three times and returned – due to no fault of her own.
“Her first adopter decided she was too big, her second adopter’s co-residents didn’t want her and her third adopter ended up having some serious personal issues that meant she was no longer able to care for Mia.
“Rhapsody is doing an amazing job and she is central to the team we have working to find this beautiful young dog a permanent, loving new home.”
Mia was surrendered to RSPCA SA after experiencing a poor start to life, with unsubstantiated allegations of abuse by an owner previous to the ones who surrendered her.
“She was incredibly fearful and timid when she first came to our Lonsdale shelter, and in fact this was the reason given by the people surrendering her, who advised us that they had bought Mia in a private sale,” Sam said.
“They told us that they tried to rehome her via online sites, and that several people who saw the advertisement had told them that they recognised the dog and that she had suffered abuse.
“Whatever her past life story is, the dog who arrived at our shelter 19 months ago is not the dog we have now, thanks to the work put in by Rhapsody and the rest of Mia’s ever-growing cheer squad.
“Mia has learnt to trust people again – it’s been incredibly heart-warming to witness her transformation.
“She’s very affectionate, very responsive to the positive-reinforcement training we promote, has lived with a cat and would make a wonderful dog for a family with older children.”
As a rescue organisation that prioritises full transparency around every animal made available to adopt, RSPCA SA recognises that there are some potential roadblocks in the way for Mia’s adoption. For example, she is best suited to a home without other dogs.
“Although we’ve been doing a lot of work to help her feel comfortable with other dogs, she just doesn’t enjoy their company and much prefers to be around people,” said Sam.
Another potential roadblock is the medication Mia requires to manage a common canine skin condition and her anxiety. The average monthly cost of this medication is approximately $225, but for the first year this cost will be fully covered, thanks to some generous donors who have joined Team Mia.
“Once she’s settled into her new home, we’re very hopeful that Mia’s anxiety will continue to improve so that her medication can be reduced – she is already on lower dosages than she was,” Sam said.
To help Mia overcome her fearfulness, she and Rhapsody completed RSPCA’s Hyper Hounds course with flying colours. RSPCA SA is keen to support Mia’s ongoing training, and to this end whoever adopts Mia will have the opportunity to have a one-on-one consultation with RSPCA SA’s Dog Training Team, and ongoing support from the organisation’s Animal Behaviour Team to ensure Mia’s successful transition to her new home.
“The ideal home for Mia is one where someone is home more often than not, with people who recognise that she is an amazing survivor with so much love to give, and who want to be part of her healing journey.
“I guarantee I won’t be the only one crying when this very special dog finds her forever home.”
