ABOUT
Who we are & what we do
SMART Animal Sanctuary & Rehoming Centre was established in 2003.
In 2003 I (Lorene. ex vet nurse from New Zealand) found myself and husband (Tony) living in the beautiful town of Batlow in the Snowy Mountains NSW Australia.
We had already adopted a little dog from a RSPCA called O’Dee and were looking for a friend for her. I headed to the local pound and of course brought one home. Only problem was there were alot more sad little faces in the pound that wouldnt leave me alone and I new something had to be done about it. So a few days later we started SMART with the intention to help as many dogs and cats as we could into lifelong loving homes. We started with a old caravan, chicken wire, council meetings and lots of talking to vets. We soon started working with Snowy Valleys Council and Walwa Vet. Now 17 years later we are working with multiple pounds, Walwa, Tumbarumba and Adelong Vet and rescuing animals from all over NSW. We have grown from taking in 35 dogs in our first year to upto 500 domestic and farm animals a year. Tony (hubby), Floyd (son) and Tessa (daughter) have been my backbone through good and bad with SMART. It has become a huge part of our family and now with volunteers and staff its even bigger and better. We have just built a new 16 indoor kennel block complementing the large cattery/isolation unit we have built as stage one. We are now also boarding dogs if we have room to help pay for the huge costs to keep us running. So now and in the future its all about saving as many animals as we can in a happy, loving and safe environment.
We are a registered progressive incorporated not for profit animal welfare charity organisation that dedicates our time to helping animals find their ways into lifelong loving homes with an excellent quality of life of comfort, security and love. We rescue many dogs and cats from death row in country pounds. When we have the room we may also take surrendered animals in need. We also take in farm animal and help them find homes. We work closely with council and try to help as many animals as possible.
Our staff and volunteers donate their time and skills to helping the animals. As a non-profit, charitable organisation receiving no government or RSPCA funding, SMART is dependent upon donations and the fundraising efforts of our helpers together with support from the community and local businesses. This support is deeply appreciated, applied directly to our work and is essential to ensuring we can continue caring for animals and saving lives.
SMART provides a safe place where vet care, food, housing and love is there for the animals whilst they wait for their forever home. There are no time limits placed upon animals when they come into our care. All our animals are temperament tested, vet checked, desexed, vaccinated, micro chipped, wormed and flea treated. In some cases, our animals spend time in foster care so we can assess their behavior with other animals and kids. They stay with us until a forever home is found and if a home isn’t found, they live a happy life with us at the sanctuary or go into permanent foster care. We rehome upto 500 animals annually.
