“Our goal is to home them all,” says Joanne Lefson, founder of dog adoption organisation Oscars Arc.
Over 40 dogs were adopted at the Stellenbosch Root 44 market in May, as the mobile dog adoption project WOOF brought the dogs to the people.
WOOF project, under the Oscars Arc organisation, has successfully facilitated over 800 adoptions over the past 54 weeks, making up a great percentage of the total number of dogs adopted over the past year in the Western Cape.
WOOF project mobile trailer at the Root 44 market. Market-goers had their hands sterilised before entering the trailer to play with the puppies that are up for adoption. Photo: Lauren Dold
Every year, an average of 24 000 dogs enter Western Cape shelters. Under 3 000 of them get adopted.
The aim of WOOF project is to significantly increase that number with their innovative mobile adoption marketing concept.
“We want to make dog adoption efficient, inspiring, positive, and easy for anyone who is willing to give a dog a wonderful home,” explains Lefson.
WOOF project statistics, long and short-term goals. Infographic: Lauren Dold
Oscars Arc selects healthy, vaccinated and sterilised dogs from existing shelters in the Western Cape, and adopts them into WOOF project. Being included in the project vastly increases their chances of being adopted, as the dogs get exposed to far more people.
WOOF project travels around the Western Cape over weekends with their mobile container and all of their dogs, making the adoption process accessible to more people.
Market-goers Jess van Rensburg, Theresa Van Eck and Lilian Potgieter all spent time in the WOOF trailer giving attention to the puppies who are up for adoption. Photo: Lauren Dold
WOOF project puppies up for adoption. These puppies were adopted into loving homes by the end of the weekend. Photo: Lauren Dold
Oscars Arc has a “name your price” adoption fee, meaning people make whatever donation they see fit when adopting a dog.
“We have a very low return rate, 3-4% as opposed to 17% at other shelters,” says Tassin Jackson (24), volunteer at Oscar’s Arc and vice chairperson of Maties Paw.
“We realise that every single minute, there is a dog sitting at a shelter and its life depends on when it can be pulled out of there, so we work efficiently to get these dogs in and out of the program as soon as possible,” says Lefson.
Oscars Arc sources dogs from shelters all over the Western Cape, including Animal Welfare Society Stellenbosch (AWSS).
“We’re a marketing platform, we’ll work with any shelter that wants to get their dogs off death row,” says Lefson.
Oscar’s Arc does meticulous home inspections and follow-up checks to ensure that the dogs are being taken care of and are living in healthy and happy environments.
Janine and Ella Johnson were already looking to adopt when they came across WOOF at Root 44. “We were happy to find WOOF here last weekend. We’ve had our home inspection and today we are taking Chateau Margeaux home,” said Johnson.
Newly-adopted Chateau Margeaux sits on the lap of Ella Johnson during the final phases of the adoption process. Photo: Lauren Dold
Oscar’s arc has even facilitated international adoptions.
“We’ve had people come on holiday to South Africa and fall in love with dogs,” says Lara Buys (23), volunteer at Oscar’s Arc.
Oscar’s Arc was inspired by Lefson’s adopted dog Oscar, with whom she travelled the world. Oscar was sitting at a high-kill shelter when Lefson adopted him in 2004. The pair visited 42 countries together, promoting and inspiring dog adoption over five continents in 2009.
“He changed my life, he was my best friend and just the most incredible dog.”
Oscars Arc Woof project will be at the Root 44 market this weekend 26 and 27 May.