DOG collector Glen Ryan yesterday defended his service after an advertisement in The Standard caused a flood of angry commentary on social media.
Mr Ryan, who lives at Seymour and has property at Port Campbell, advertised for unwanted dogs in Thursday’s paper.
The ad said he would pick up unwanted dogs in the district for the next six days and listed his mobile telephone number.
He said he had picked up dogs across the south-west and in the Shepparton region for the past three or four years.
“Before me there was an old bloke doing it for years but he passed away,” he said.
“The dogs go to the Werribee vet clinic for young vets to learn how to properly care for dogs.
“There’s no secret that’s where they go.”
Mr Ryan said he often collected cattle dogs off farmers and visited the south-west every three months.
“If I don’t come down people usually call me,” he said.
“It saves them going to the vet or shooting their own dogs.
“The dogs are looked after well at Werribee before they are put down.
“People have to sign a transfer form so they know where the dogs are going.
“I’ve had people put me in to the RSPCA but they called me and they know exactly what’s going on.
“It’s more of a service I provide than making money out of it.”
RSPCA national president Dr Hugh Wirth said he was not aware of the specifics of the situation, but he knew that advertisements often ran in newspapers for dogs that were then offered to the Werribee vet school.
“Some of those animals are given to the vet school but most of them are paid for,” Mr Wirth said.
“They are used for the teaching of veterinary students.
“There is a Department of Agriculture code of practise in place that regulates the situation in relation to who can advertise and under what circumstances.”
