Life of Pikelet is one of the few rescues in Australia equipped to provide critical care for puppies with conditions such as cleft lips, cleft palates, spina bifida and hydrocephalus.
Despite this vital rescue work, the organisation is facing a financial crisis and the unfortunate possibility of closure without immediate assistance.
Speaking with Women’s Agenda, the owner of Life of Pikelet, Calley Gibson says that despite their huge social media presence (their dedicated following is over 300,000) and extensive online supporters, they are a 2 person volunteer run rescue and receive no government funding. They rely solely on community funding.
“Dog rescue, or animal rescue of any kind, is mostly a free service to the community run by people in the community that volunteer their time, energy, compassion, resources and more often than not, their personal finances to fund rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming,” says Gibson, adding that without this support, “small rescue organisations simply would no long be able to to endure and survive.”
“While I believe owning a pet is a privilege, a lot of humans believe it is a right,” says Gibson. “Yet we in Australia have no government funding provided at all to private rescue organisations who have the compassion to try and help reduce and change the epidemic of such high turnover and disposal of companion animals.”
Gibson’s motivation to found Life of Pikelet Rescue in the first place, stemmed from a desire to help the “under dog”. Whether that’s black dogs, deaf dogs, mutts or any other pup that others may deem undesirable, Gibson says those are the ones she loves most.
“When I moved more into specialising on neonates with birth anomalies/defects, it was really because I had accidentally discovered that there were little to no rescuers, vets or even breeders out there in Australia that seemingly understood how to provide the care needed,” says Gibson.
“And as a direct result of even professional vets not having the experience, euthanasia was (and in most places still is) considered to be the only and ‘kindest’ answer to the problem.”
Now a renowned rescue organisation, Life of Pikelets is one of only four rescues in Australia that specialises in this neonate care, and earlier this year, they were forced to suspend accepting new animals for several months as there was a lack of financial resources to keep up operational expenses.
“I honestly think people have donation fatigue when it comes to Life of Pikelet and possibly rescue in general,” says Gibson. “People are just struggling everywhere right now.”
As they navigate Australia’s challenging economic environment and soaring cost of living, Life of Pikelet’s goal is to have DGR charity status by the end of 2023 as this means all donations will be tax deductible, and they’ll be better able to reach out to businesses who look for that tax deduction when making philanthropic decisions.
Gibson says they have a small team of rescue minded LoP adoptive families that are currently working with charity lawyers in Sydney to help get this DGR charity status.
“Right now, we rely solely on the generosity of people who are not fussed with a tax deduction donation,” she says. “But that is just not sustainable and we have our limits when it comes to donation caps in each state of the country.”
“Rescue across this country is on fire at the moment,” says Gibson. “There isn’t a single rescue out there that is not struggling. Most of us are considering shutting up shop, but if we do that, then who will save these precious animals in need?!”
“It’s just overwhelming and upsetting, and we all feel so helpless.”
Gibson’s pet rescue is currently in need of funding for new ICU equipment and a transport vehicle as they’re the only rescue covering locations in NSW, ACT Victoria and South Australia. If you’re interested in supporting Life of Pikelet, they have a Chuffed Fund page for donations.