A Paw Up winds up after years supporting pets of homeless Tasmanians and those in crisis

A Paw Up has made the decision to discontinue after it was unable to source a continuous supply of high quality pet food, reduced donations during COVID and the overwhelming workload for its team of volunteers.

Deb Conley started the charity in 2017 after noticing that the growing number of Tasmanians who were struggling with severe disadvantage - or crisis situations like domestic violence or sudden hospitalisation - had few ways of providing guaranteed care for their pets.

Through donations, A Paw Up was able to provide hampers of food and other items statewide, and established a group of foster carers and kennels who could care for pets while their owner was in crisis accommodation, hospital or entering assisting living.

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They worked via referrals from housing workers at organisations like Anglicare and CatholicCare.

The charity provided fostering or safe kennelling for just over 150 cats and dogs.

Ms Conley also introduced Pets in the Park in Hobart, where a vet clinic provided free care on the first Saturday of the month for the pets of homeless Tasmanians.

She said she was proud of the work A Paw Up was able to achieve and the lives that had been touched.

"We did some great things, we made a really positive contribution to our community," she said.

"We've delivered thousands of kilograms of food, toys, blankets, bowls, anything for a pet, to those service providers over the last four-and-a-half years.

"The people who required that support were those who might be couch surfing and have no family or friends, and where they're staying can't have additional pets. There are people in shelters where pets are not allowed, so there needs to be somewhere for pets to go until permanent accommodation can be found.

"Then there are those people who have been hospitalised - we've seen a mixture of mental health and surgical issues - those people who have no support systems and an inability to pay for boarder facilities."

As Tasmania's housing crisis deepened and more people faced sudden homelessness in recent years, the need for A Paw Up grew rapidly.

On one occasion, the charity was able to take care of the cat belonging to a woman in a domestic violence situation who had nowhere to go. When she found accommodation, she was able to be reunited with her beloved pet.

Another time, a family in the North with two small dogs were unable to keep them while they searched for housing. The dogs were able to be taken into temporary foster care.

"Their loving family was able to be rehomed reasonably quickly. The day they got their little dogs back, it became quite emotional watching them be reunited, just the excitement for the dogs and humans," Ms Conley said.

"It's been a privilege to be a part of those moments."

A Paw Up was also able to advocate for people who were struggling to enter the private rental market due to having a pet - a situation Ms Conley said was growing worse.

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But there were also heartbreaking moments, like when the pets of people suffering dementia needed to be surrendered when they moved into assisted living, or aged care facilities.

Among those is a pair of cats - Max and Mason - who lived with a foster carer after their elderly owner moved into assisted living. The cats at The Cat Clinic in Hobart are now in search of permanent owners.

The challenges associated of being homeless with a pet was highlighted in January when Safe Space in Launceston closed for three days due to a COVID case, leaving a woman with a pet with nowhere to go.

Ms Conley said they had tried to gain a permanent supply of pet food through supermarket chains, but had received little interest.

It meant the food and items that were donated had become "ad hoc". COVID also meant people were more reluctant to make larger donations due to financial issues of their own.

The loss of A Paw Up has created a hole that needs to be filled to ensure the pets of those in crisis situations can receive care.

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RSPCA Tasmania has worked with the charity for the past six months after it became apparent it might not be able to survive long-term.

The organisation hopes to absorb the work of A Paw Up, including its network of foster carers. The RSPCA has also stopped taking commercial boarders to free up space for the pets of those in crisis situations.

The RSPCA Petbarn Foundation Safe Beds Program will continue to be able to provide emergency boarding statewide, via 6709 8100.

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