A still taken from security camera footage from the SPCA Hastings building shows a dog abandoned and tied to the front gates.
A still taken from security camera footage from the SPCA Hastings building shows a dog abandoned and tied to the front gates.
SPCA centres in Hawke’s Bay are speaking out about a trend of people abandoning their pets at their buildings overnight in the middle of winter.
Workers say it doesn’t need to be this way and if people need help, they should reach out to them for advice and support.
SPCAHawke’s Bay centre manager Tamra Hay said as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, there is a continual rise in requests from people wanting to surrender their animals to the SPCA and an alarming number of animals are being abandoned at their gates.
SPCA Hastings canine team lead Christina Makhmetova holds Hope and Lucky, where they were found zipped up in a duffle bag.
“Being a charity, we are limited with the assistance we are able to provide and are not always in a position to accept these animals into care,” Hay said.
“As a result, we have seen dogs tied to our gate and puppies/kittens left in baskets, buckets, upside down ottomans, duffle bags, plastic bags tied up, and more – which they often escape from and are at risk of being run over on our busy road.”
About two weeks ago, the Hastings SPCA team arrived at their work in the morning after a particularly cold winter’s evening to find a duffle bag left outside.
Inside the zipped-up bag were two puppies.
The puppies found in the duffle bag have been fittingly named Lucky and Hope, and Hay said they are living up to their names.
SPCA Hastings canine team lead Christina Makhmetova holding Hope and Lucky.
“Left at the gate, zipped up in a duffle bag on one of the coldest nights this winter, they likely only survived because they had each other to keep warm, but it was a close call,” she said.
“If the owner had made contact [with SPCA], we could have arranged for the mother dog to be desexed, provided food to help her gain condition and these pups could have avoided the trauma of being left in their own excrement, with insufficient ventilation, for hours overnight.”
Hay said the message is simple: if you need help with your animals, please reach out to the SPCA.
“Don’t dump animals and walk away,” she said.
“We might not be able to take your animal on the day, but our team can talk with you about how we can support you while working towards a positive outcome.”
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier.
