Pet enthusiasts abound in St George and Sutherland Shire and website Neighbourly.com.au is fast becoming a place for like-minded individuals to meet, share and, in some cases, find new homes for furry friends.
The site now has close to 2,000 members, with hundreds joining each week. It is a social media platform that connects neighbours on a suburb-by-suburb basis in a safe and private, online environment.
Woolooware members Richard and Jennifer Ettia were devastated when, due to strata laws, they were informed that they would have to re-home their beloved 13-year-old Golden Retriever, Mia.
“Mia is more like one of our children than a pet,” Mr Ettia said. “Not only that but as she has arthritis, she requires injections to ease her pain. We were at a loss as to what to do.”
“When my daughter Jessica invited me to join Neighbourly.com.au, the first thing I noticed was just how friendly everyone was on the site. I thought, ‘perhaps we can find a home for Mia on here.’’
Sure enough, Jon Heneghan, a fellow member from neighbouring Caringbah South, replied to Ettia’s post and offered to adopt Mia.
“As fellow animal lovers, we knew that giving away a pet would very hard so we wanted to help out,” remarked Mr Heneghan. “My wife and I already have an older dog, Jess, who loves playing with the larger dogs next door and seeing Mia in photos swimming in the water struck a real chord with us as we live with direct water access. We thought they would enjoy each other’s company,” he continued.
“Not to mention, it is just the neighbourly thing to do”. The Heneghan’s have now had Mia for more than a month and things have turned out very well.
Other members of Neighbourly have been using their pets as a way to break the ice with other members, mentioning pets in their welcome posts. Other members have offered to to walk and care for their neighbours’ pets should they go away.
With Australia reporting to have one of the highest incidences of pet ownership in the world it’s no surprise that this is one of the most popular topics.
Since the adoption, Mr Ettia and his wife have been to visit Mia and are ecstatic with the outcome.
“What started out as a heartbreaking decision has ended up not only finding Mia a great new home but some lovely new friends for us too”, confirmed Ettia.
For more information about Neighbourly and to join Neighbourly in your suburb, go to www.neighbourly.com.au.