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As the owner of a shelter that specialises in large dog breeds, Sue Ebert is familiar with the temperament of Rottweilers. But even she still gets nervous around some of her dogs. "If I get too arrogant and think I can just handle a dog without any concern, I probably would find myself in a whole bunch of trouble," she said. Ms Ebert said a growing number of people were abandoning and surrendering Rottweilers, putting huge pressure on her shelter, Iron Dog Rescue, north-east of Wagga Wagga at Bethungra. She said Rottweilers were generally good-natured but there was a knack to caring for them and many owners were not up to the task. "Rottweilers by nature are a very protective and guarding dog," she said. "Unfortunately, some people don't understand that. "I think life in general has become quite disposable and unfortunately, I think animals have been caught up in that web." Pressure mounts Iron Dog Rescue is one of just a handful of rescue organisations in Australia that specialise in Rottweilers, and takes in dogs from across the country. From 2021 onwards, Ms Ebert consistently cared for up to 100 dogs. But this year, that number increased to 129 animals at any one time. She has been able to re-home 134 dogs so far this year. Ms Ebert said large dog breeds presented a "safety issue", making specialty organisations like hers crucial. "We often get in very young, large dogs that could be anything from 40 to 60 kilos," she said. RSPCA senior manager of animal care Georgie Caspar said rehoming large dog breeds like Rottweilers could be difficult. "They are always looking for homes and those homes can be quite hard to find," she said. Ms Caspar said recent research suggested rehoming large dog breeds could "take twice as long compared to smaller dogs". Rising costs Iron Dog Rescue relies on donations from pet food companies and community members. "Often our adoption fees don't cover the vet work even in a healthy animal," Ms Ebert said. "Then we have our additional animals with high needs, such as ACL surgery … heartworm treatment." Iron Dog Rescue desexes, vaccinates and worms every animal in care and provides training to dogs that need it. Ms Ebert said she did not make money. With the number of Rottweilers increasing at the rescue organisation, Ms Ebert is in need of more than $100,000 to upgrade new kennels. Funding needed Iron Dog Rescue is not alone when it comes to financial pressures. The Smart Animal Sanctuary and Rehoming Centre, located near Batlow in the Snowy Valleys, has recently been forced to let go of three staff members. "The adoptions have dropped off, so we haven't got a lot of money coming in," said owner Lorene Cross. Ms Cross said the situation was "bad out there", and her team was receiving up to 10 emails and phone calls a day from people trying to surrender their animals. She said support from the state government was nowhere near where it should be. "We have applied for quite a few [government grants] over the years. We've managed to get one," Ms Cross said. In a statement to the ABC, a spokesperson for Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig said the NSW government recently committed $6 million in funding for shelters and rehoming organisations and passed new laws banning puppy farming. "These laws introduce stricter regulations for breeders, which will help address animal welfare concerns and oversupply issues," the spokesperson said. The funding will be distributed over four years, with $1.5 million available for rescue organisations through a grant each year. Both organisations have applied for a grant of up to $100,000 and will soon find out whether they have been successful. "It would help us with our vet bills and to keep the last of the staff I've got here employed," Ms Cross said.
