Champion of mistreated animals

Midweek. Kim McKinley, Lansdowne, backyard animal rescuer, with cats Guinness and Stella.

Kim McKinley considers herself a level-headed person -- until you show her a mistreated animal, and she "loses the plot".

But righteous anger wasn't enough for the Lansdowne teacher aide, so she began rescuing animals herself.

Ms McKinley is a 'backyard rescuer': taking in stray, abandoned and abused cats and dogs, nursing them back to health, and finding them 'forever' homes.

She started rehoming pets herself in the past year, paying for all the associated expenses and helping repair those who are 'damaged goods'.

It's a tough and expensive job, but someone's got to do it.

"Show me an animal suffering, and I lose the plot," Ms McKinley said.

"So why not do something? We help old ladies struggling with their groceries, and feed kids who don't get breakfast -- so why not stand up for those who don't have the voice to do it themselves?"

Growing up on a farm, Ms McKinley said she has been an animal person from a young age.

She began housing abandoned animals as a young adult -- picking up three-week-old kittens from cages at Sydney marketplace, cats stranded in carparks, and dogs which had been hit by traffic on motorways.

"I'm a soft touch," she said.

"At the time, I don't necessarily want a pet, I just want to get them out of that situation."

Ms McKinley, now working at Lakeview School, initially started rehoming stray kittens and cats, organising them new owners via social media.

She was inspired to start rehoming dogs, after travelling to Hawke's Bay with a friend to rescue a laboratory beagle.

This year, she has taken in Logie, a staffy cross with a "Bigger than Ben Hur personality" and Gem, a "delightful" labrador-mastiff puppy. Gem, salvaged from an abusive home, was particularly psychologically damaged.

"She was terrified of men in particular. She would steal whole loaves of bread from the cupboard, and snatch food from our hands.

"We think she'd been starved, and didn't know where her next meal was coming from."

Gem was difficult to rehome -- but Ms McKinley found the secret to her recovery was time .

"You're not going to find out what's wrong until you give them that time attention and affection.

"I had Gem for five months, and all the feeding, worming and flea treatments added up.

"But I had to see it through to the end."

Ms McKinley anticipates her workload may increase now the Wairarapa SPCA centre has closed -- especially when it comes to rehoming kittens.

"Just the other day, some of the kids from school found a dumped kitten on Colombo Rd and brought it in.

"It's been a bad year for kittens -- people just aren't de-sexing. It's fine to get a pet because they're cute, but people aren't considering the costs involved."

Meanwhile, Ms McKinley, is enjoying life with her four rescued pets.

"My family jokes there's a new animal every time they come home. I'm pretty much always covered in fur, and couldn't be happier."