Rescue dog Mario is learning to ride a skateboard.
Fellow rescue pooch Georgie Girl is deaf, cheeky, sassy and particular about her creature comforts — especially wearing her pyjamas at night.
Both will soon meet potential new families at an animal adoption day at Chambers Flat with a difference – where the animals are introduced alongside a high tea.
Rescue groups hope the more relaxed setting of the High Tea Adoption Day will help more dogs find permanent homes, while visitors meet new furry friends over tea, scones and sandwiches.
The event is organised by national rescue organisation Hear No Evil and will bring together dogs from a number of rescue organisations.
Hear No Evil president Vicki Law said rescue groups were finding it increasingly difficult to secure foster carers and adoptive homes, particularly for dogs with additional needs.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions about these dogs being difficult to train and fitting into a home environment,” she said.
“But once people meet them, they realise they’re a dog first.
“Their deafness and their blindness is not really a disability for them.”
High tea host and Building Better Dogs animal behavioural trainer and rehabilitator Helen Andrews said she hoped the high tea would give people and dogs a better chance to connect.
“People can come, they can sit down, have their cup of tea and coffee and their scones and cucumber sandwiches and still meet the rescue dogs, but in a nice relaxed setting,” Ms Andrews said.
The rescue dogs will have bone broth tea and dog-friendly snacks.
Ms Andrews said Mario was proof of what special-needs dogs could do with the right support.
“He’s a whole lot of love … a big smoochy boy,” she said.
“If we can teach a blind and hearing-impaired dog to ride a skateboard, you can teach a dog to do anything really.”
Some dogs at the event will be deaf, blind or vision-impaired, while others will be hearing dogs simply looking for the right family.
Ms Law said Logan already had many foster carers and adopters, but more were needed.
She encouraged animal lovers to come to the event, meet the dogs and speak to rescue groups about adopting, fostering or volunteering.
“We like to make sure we do the right thing right at the start, make sure they go into the right homes initially so they aren’t getting moved around from home to home,” she said.
The high tea will be held from noon-3pm on Saturday, 4 July and will feature dogs from Hear No Evil Australian Deaf Dog Rescue, Lucky Paws Dog Rescue, Beagle Rescue Queensland, Pei and Pals Animal Rescue, Best Friend Fur Ever Rescue, QLD Staffy & Amstaff Rescue and Animals in Need Brisbane.
Tickets are free, but people must register online via Humanitix so organisers can cater for the event.
Organisers have asked people to leave their own dogs at home, except for service dogs, because of the number of rescue dogs already expected on site.
Subscribe to stay up-to-date with news from across Logan. You’ll receive a link to our digital newspaper direct to your inbox each week. It’s free.
