PETstock Bathurst to host Orange branch of the Animal Welfare League in store over two days for National Pet Adoption Month

PETstock Bathurst will host the Orange branch of the Animal Welfare League over two days to promote the benefits of pet adoption.

"They'll have an area in the store where they'll have lots of dogs and cats and people can come in, they can learn about adoption, they can register an interest for some of the animals there," PETstock Bathurst third-in-charge Jye McEvoy said.

"Even, in some cases, we've had people actually go through the process [of adoption] on the spot."

The visit from the Orange branch of the Animal Welfare League will come as part of National Pet Adoption Month, which is an initiative of PETstock's Petspiration Foundation.

"Throughout the month, we're just trying to promote people adopting, learning about adoption and, ultimately, when it comes to the decision of adding a family member, to going down that path," Mr McEvoy said.

This month's focus, he said, is on adopting differently: instead of the traditional puppies and kittens, people are asked to consider large dogs, older animals or bonded pairs.

"Another big focus is to try to remove the misconception that a lot of animals are adopted out because they have behavioural issues," Mr McEvoy said.

"There are, ultimately, a variety of reasons as to why people will surrender animals or they'll end up in the care of rescue groups."

Mr McEvoy said PETstock Bathurst adopts rescue cats from the store throughout the year.

"People have to register interest and then they go through an approval process so, generally, the animal's going to the most preferential home," he said.

"Because it depends on the cat: one might be very quiet and need a quiet space and we've got cats that need other cats or children to keep them busy."

A bonded pair - Daisy and Albert - are in the PETstock Bathurst store at the moment looking for a home.

Mr McEvoy said he was anticipating the first day of the weekend, in particular, to feature a crowd when the Animal Welfare League is in the store.

"Saturday's quite a busy day," he said. "And we generally host it [the pet adoption event] up the front, so we have a lot of people gravitating towards that.

"It could be anywhere from 100 to 200 customers that we get in during the day."

PETStock Bathurst's National Pet Adoption Month event will be held from 10am to 2pm this Saturday, March 18 and Sunday, March 19.

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