Tamworth's Heaven Can Wait to reopen soon after council received dozens of applications for volunteers

However, the interim takeover of Tamworth's Heaven Can Wait (HCW) animal shelter could make a difference.

Tamworth Regional Council's Director of Liveable Communities Gina Vereker said 33 potential volunteers had lined up to staff the new facility.

"We will be talking to each of those people, giving them some training," she said.

"We supply them with PPE, which is the clothing that they need, and they need to have a few vaccinations.

"Then we can start taking dogs to that facility."

Ms Vereker said they have seen animals leaving the pound more often recently.

"I was speaking to one of our companion animals officers and she said at the beginning of the week she had 15 dogs in here," she said.

"That's the capacity ... we can't hold any more. But she's managed to rehome 10 of those this week.

"Partly I have to thank the media for actually listening to what we've got to say and putting it out there in the community."

However, she said Christmas is just around the corner and council still has a consistent flow of animals coming in so will need the extra space soon.

"As we all know lots of people think it's a great thing to give their kids a pet for Christmas," she said.

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"But unfortunately after Christmas when the kids go back to school and the parents go back to work, well then the pet can become a bit of a burden.

"And that's when we really start to see the increase."

Council's Manager for Compliance Ross Briggs said the Taminda HCW shelter is well designed for their needs.

"It was our former Tamworth council pound ... so it's got a similar sort of set up to this [the Companion Animals Centre] but not as modern," he said.

"Some bigger pens, some grassed areas for exercising ... it's in a good location."

In the interim, council is continuing to work with other rescue organisations to keep giving animals a second chance.

Some of the older dogs have found it more difficult to find homes and so council has found more avenues for rehoming including working with some breed-specific rescue organisations.

Council has also chosen to rebrand the pound as the Tamworth Companion Animal Centre.

"It better represents what we're trying to do with animals and pets," Ms Vereker said.

It comes on Healthy Pet Day, which has been run as a partnership between council, RSPCA, and TAFE.

Ms Vereker said the day is an important part of supporting those who make the decision to adopt and has helped keep rescue animals in new homes.

"It includes microchipping, vaccinations, and health checks," she said.

"And it's really targeted at pensioners and people on government assistance who can't always afford to get a vaccination for their dog or cat."

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