Orphaned Pets: Happiness is a new home, with a friend

Smokey the SPCA goat and Teddy the dog are great mates at Madelaine Young's home. Photo / Greg Bowker

Smokey the goat was never a likely best friend for Madelaine Young's retriever poodle, Teddy.

But now, they're so inseparable they even sleep together.

Ms Young brought Smokey home from the SPCA last Christmas after moving to a country property with her parents in Dairy Flat, Rodney, from her Takapuna home.

Smokey was shortly joined by Cookie, the piglet from the SPCA. And then this year, worried that Cookie was getting lonely, another SPCA pig, Bruce, joined the family.

The trio are the first animals featured in the Herald's Orphaned Pets series, in which we profile animals adopted from the Auckland SPCA.

"We were worried because two pigs together often fight," said Ms Young.

"But as soon as we brought Bruce home, they loved each other."

Ms Young said the adoption was a wonderful process because the animals, "all have their own little story and it really adds to their personality".

Before he came to the SPCA, Smokey had been left tied to a roadside fence and neglected.

But under the care of the SPCA and Ms Young, he soon returned to health. She believes his past shaped his affectionate and loving personality.

When he met, Teddy, the poodle, friendship blossomed and they started to sleep together at night.

"It was a slow thing at first, I think they were a bit nervous," said Ms Young, "and it's not normal because goats are normally feisty. But Smokey is so tolerant.

"Sometimes, when I can't find the dog, I will go out of the house and look for him, and he'll be in the paddock with Smokey. It's so cute."

Cookie was a wild pig that followed a hunter out of the forest. Unable to shake her off, the hunter took her to the SPCA, who then called Ms Young.

Bruce, who Ms Young regards as the newest "family member", is boisterous and playful.

He bounced off the back of a meat truck - Ms Young presumes on the way to the slaughterhouse - on a motorway.

After being picked up by another driver, he was delivered to the SPCA.

"I'll always tell people to adopt," Ms Young said.

She could be telling a lot of people.

The New Zealand Companion Animal Council says the country has the highest pet ownership rate in the world.

But SPCA Auckland executive director Bob Kerridge said many animals were abandoned over the Christmas period, reaching a peak of 100 a day.

Many families who went away over Christmas found organising pet care was too difficult and abandoned their pet, Mr Kerridge said.

More unwanted kittens were left with the SPCA from November to April, during the breeding season, as many cats were not de-sexed.

Asked why people should adopt from the SPCA, Mr Kerridge said: "No family is complete without an animal of some sort."

Eighty per cent of Kiwis thought of their pets as part of the family, he said.

When animals arrived at the SPCA, their distress was visible, Mr Kerridge said.

"You can see it in their eyes."

But once they found a welcoming home, that changed.

The SPCA animals arrive at their home vaccinated, microchipped and de-sexed.

Families interested in adopting an animal are encouraged to visit the SPCA village in Mangere.

A one-on-one meeting with prospective pets was a vital part of the adoption process, said Mr Kerridge, to have an opportunity to fall in love.

How to adopt

• Visit the SPCA Auckland village at 50 Westney Rd, Mangere

• Staff will assess your suitability

• Cats cost $160 for a kitten, $105 for a middle-aged cat and $55 for a senior. Dogs are $275 for a puppy, $255 for a middle-aged dog, $105 for a senior. Other animals vary.

Visit: spca.org.nz for more information