Waka ama crew to rescue for dogs stuck on a Waikato River sandbank

Two Huntly dogs who took themselves for a walk along the Waikato River and were stranded on a sandbank while fighting off wasps have been reunited with their owner.

The happy reunion is due to an “eagle-eyed local” named Simon, who spotted the dogs before calling out to a local waka ama crew already on the water for help.

The dogs escaped from their Huntly home while nobody was there but both were microchipped.

Simon, who did not give his last name, told the Waikato Herald he was out with his partner when he saw a “big white dog” stuck below the Tainui Bridge last week.

He went down to the bridge and cut through some bushes to try to reach the dog.

He kept getting swarmed by wasps so his rescue idea was “unsuccessful”, and, after 15 minutes, he needed to find an alternative quickly.

An eagle-eyed local, Simon, spotted two stranded dogs and called out to a local waka ama crew in Huntly who were on the water for help. Photo / Simon

It was when he ran back up to the bridge that he spotted the second dog.

“We had to do something ... my partner got on the phone to animal control and, just perchance, we see the waka ama team coming up the river.

“I waved out and said ‘Hey there’s dogs stuck over there’, and they dropped everything and shot over there to help.”

He said the dogs were “traumatised and anxious” so it was a challenge approaching them, but the waka ama crew “managed to settle them down” and rescue them in their waka.

The two dogs that were stranded on a Waikato River sandbank in Huntly. Photo / Waikato District Council

The dogs were agitated from wasp stings, which is “why we assumed they ended up on the sandbank”.

The dogs were taken back to shore where they were met by the Waikato District Council’s animal control team, which took the duo to the vet for their stings.

Simon said it was a “fantastic outcome”.

Because the dogs were microchipped, it allowed animal control to swiftly reunite the dogs with their owner.

The dogs’ owner didn’t want to be named, but said he was unaware the duo were missing as he was at work.

He only discovered what happened later that afternoon when the pound called him, but he was “thankful” they were okay.

“Stories like this show the power of the community coming together to help animals,” said the council’s animal education and engagement officer, Zoey Jackson.

“We are so grateful to Waahi Waka for rescuing the dogs, who could have ended up in quite a predicament had they not been there.

“It’s also a great reminder of how important microchipping is. Unexpected situations can cause pets to get lost, and microchips are the best tool we have to make sure you can be reunited with your pet.”

If you find a lost pet or roaming stock, you can contact the council’s animal control team 24/7 at 0800 492 452.

Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.