Returning: The Pet Rescuers

Season 2 of ob doc series The Pet Rescuers screens on Nine today.

Produced by Silverfox Network, this has doubled in size since S1 from 10 to 20 episodes.

Season 2 finds Marisa and the SCAR team battling to contain a massive spike in surrenders and keep them off death row. Aside from rescuing, fostering and rehoming pets, the demand for free food and vet care has gone through the roof, as has emergency boarding for pets of the homeless and domestic violence victims. It’s a tough enough juggling act the rest of the year, but when kitten season hits, all bets are off. Day-old orphans, feral litters, mothers in labour. Bottle-feeding, desexing, fostering, adopting. Aunts, cousins, brothers-in-law, grandparents – everyone’s on call.

Promising to evoke all the feel-good hormones and happy tears of the first season, the 20-episode series also introduces dog behaviourist Laura V, who has seen a surge in dogs being abandoned due to behavioural problems. In her eyes “It’s NEVER the dog’s fault. Putting her money where her mouth is, she takes on the extreme cases that everyone else has given up on. This series also sees native animal expert Xavier Morello lending a hand to local injured wildlife.

The new season of The Pet Rescuers will also bring attention to lesser known issues exacerbated by the pandemic such as the high numbers of working dog surrenders by out-of-work farmers and the soaring rate of vet suicide due to stress and compassion fatigue. It will also address the effects of more people and pets living in rural areas and the need for wider social reform to help prevent vulnerable animals and people from falling between the cracks.

12:30pm Saturday on Nine.

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