Campaign to increase

Nicole Andrijevic said she adopted her chihuahua cross jack russell, Becky, about a year ago.

‘She is in her doggy grandmother years ” about eight or nine,’ she said.

Ms Andrijevic said she knew her next dog had to be black and white, but she had been looking for a border collie when she came across Becky online.

‘She has had a bit of a rough past, so she can get quite scared,’ she said.

‘She went from family to family ” she was just waiting for us to come along.

‘It is so rewarding because you know that some of them would have died if you hadn’t adopted them.’

The Quinns Rocks resident said although they had a dog when her son Oliver was born, a neighbour had adopted him soon after, so Becky was Oliver’s first dog.

‘He sleeps with her in his bed if he can,’ she said.

‘Becky is like a soul mate to me ” she is so loyal and so grateful and she has got so much love to give.’

The Pedigree Adoption Drive conducted a survey of dog owners around Australia in August, and found 70 per cent considered adoption but only 11 per cent had sourced their pets from rescue organisations.

Campaign spokesman Tim McCallum said research showed more than 35 per cent of Australians thought adopted dogs were sad, and about a quarter thought they would be hard to train.

‘This initiative aims to draw attention to the positives ” there are thousands of adopted dog owners around the country who consider their dog a beloved member of their family,’ Mr McCallum said.

‘More than 85 per cent of people who had adopted a dog said they would consider adopting another dog in the future.

For more information, visit www.pedigreeadoptiondrive.com.au.