Sleepwear designer and animal welfare ambassador Peter Alexander believes the way a community treats its animals reflects how its members treat one another.
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That's why a string of high-profile cases of animal cruelty in Canberra this year raised his hackles.
"If people don't teach their kids how to treat animals, how are we expected to treat each other properly?"
Mr Alexander, a long-time supporter of the RSPCA, said a functioning and respectful community "starts in the way we treat animals".
"If a society can treat animals well, that's a sign of how those people treat each other socially and culturally."
The Melbourne-born business owner was in Canberra to share his story, business expertise and passion for animals at a high tea fund-raiser for the charity on Friday.
Mr Alexander has supported the animal rescue and welfare organisation since he started his well-known pyjamas and lifestyle brand, Peter Alexander, about 25 years ago.
The business now aims to give the charity between $75,000 and $100,000, which it raises through in-store donations and sales of Alexander's own RSPCA products, each year.
"I've always been a mad animal lover ever since I was a child," Mr Alexander said.
"It wasn't until I got a dog as an adult that I realised the love and commitment needed to care for a pet."
Mr Alexander toured the RSPCA ACT shelter at Weston as part of his visit to the capital and said it shone a light on the need to raise awareness and funds for the capital's facility.
"It's hard for the Canberra facility to get donations because a lot of the donations go to the other states," he said.
"It made me try to think how I can help the Canberra leg of the RSPCA."
It was his second trip to the centre and Mr Alexander said he was delighted to be left with "scratches all over his face" after he played with a group of boisterous puppies.
"All the animals looked healthy and happy. It could be a depressing place but staff choose to look at it as a positive and uplifting place."
Mr Alexander encouraged people who attended the high tea event to "dig deep" and donate to the territory's RSPCA.
"It's just about supporting a section of our community that doesn't get a lot of government support, so we as a community need to step up," he said.
RSPCA chief executive Tammy Ven Dange previously said about 25 per cent of animals taken to the Canberra shelter had been rescued from abuse, neglect or abandonment, including many cases of hoarding.
Cases were sometimes brought before the courts and she said the recovery process, including foster care, could be long or complicated for affected animals.
