Whanganui Pound staff with puppies rescued from South Beach.
Animal welfare organisations are urging dog owners to get their pets desexed as numbers in their care continue to grow and puppies are being found dumped at beaches.
Breeding dogs in the hope of making a quick buck, and the cost of living crisis was compounding the problem, Whanganui District Council compliance officer - education/pound keeper Marieke Waghorn said.
Waghorn said a box containing six puppies had been found on a beach two weeks ago.
Another five were found at South Beach last week.
“We have a lot of nice dogs available for adoption but our adoptions have really slowed down,” she said.
“That’s been the case for probably the last year to 15 months.
“Yet the rates of people surrendering their dogs, dumping their puppies or having unwanted litters have increased 10-fold.”
Waghorn said she had four foster dogs at home currently.
“All the fosterers are full and the dogs just aren’t moving.
“Some people can’t afford to feed their dogs or want to give up puppies so we’re giving them dog food.”
The pound, operated by the Whanganui District Council, works closely with ARAN Animal Rescue New Zealand, a charitable trust that re-homes and fosters unwanted dogs.
Volunteer Fiona Rae said fosterers and adopters were thin on the ground.
There are currently 10 dogs in foster homes in Whanganui, plus the four with Waghorn.
“Our eternal hope is we will have fosterers on standby. They don’t have to buy the food. We supply everything,” Rae said.
“We do as much as we can to make sure the dogs are going to really good homes. We meet the people, we property check them and we usually ask for a vet reference.”
Dogs from ARAN must be desexed before adoption.
Waghorn said the puppies found on Maxwell Beach were eight weeks old and the ones at South Beach were a bit older.
“The worrying thing is we don’t know how many were dumped out there [South Beach]. We found five but there could be more.
“People need to start taking responsibility for themselves.
“We can’t just keep taking litters of puppies. We’d much prefer to spay the bitch and we can help with that.”
In the current economic climate, trying to breeding dogs for profit wouldn’t work, Waghorn said.
Pedigree dogs were also being surrendered.
“A few months ago, HUHA Ōtaki had to take two litters of golden retriever puppies because the breeder was stuck with them.
“We’ve got breeders here that are having to register pedigree dogs because they can’t sell them - Pugs, Tibetan Terriers, the works.
“Dogs have to registered at three months. Normally they would have been sold by then,” Waghorn said.
Whanganui SPCA centre manager Francie Flis said the facility was constantly at capacity for dogs.
“With only seven dog kennels available at the centre, we rely heavily on our network of amazing foster families to care for dogs and puppies in their homes until we can find them new families,” Flis said.
“We also are transferring puppies to other centres who have available foster homes. However, we are seeing the whole country is at or nearing capacity for canines.”
Non-desexed dogs could develop medical issues such as pyometra and mammory tumours or behavioural issues, Flis said.
All dogs and puppies adopted from the SPCA are desexed and vaccinated.
ARAN founder Wendy Ward said the organisation had been operating in Whanganui for seven years, with four in Taumaranui beforehand.
“We get on wonderfully well with the Whanganui [council] staff,” Ward said.
“You can’t get anywhere without those relationships - the pound will trust you, respect you and hand dogs over to you for rehoming.”
Ownership of a dog changes from the council to ARAN once it changes hands.
Ward said dumping puppies never had to be an option.
“Some of the people dumping will just be horrible people but for some, it will be very upsetting.
“They love their dog but they just don’t have the money. It will be food for the kids or food for the dog.
“I want them to know that their dog can be taken to the pound or the SPCA and it will be well looked after. It could well be rehomed.”
Flis said the SPCA was seeing a large request for support due to the cost of living, such as assisting with food and flea and worm treatments.
“More often than not, the cost of your dog having litters of puppies far exceeds what people expect.
“I don’t think people think about the increased food costs, vaccinations, flea and worm treatments and potential unexpected vet costs associated with pregnancy and newborn puppies.”
Nationally, animals were staying 11 per cent longer than in 2022.
“Our longest stay dog at the centre is Lativa,” Flis said.
“She has been with us a total of 412 days after a stint in Wellington to try her luck.
“Tama is at 187 days - recently transferred here from Taupō.”
Waghorn said dogs were often found wandering and brought to the pound.
The owners were known but didn’t come to collect them.
“Obviously there is a pound fee, or the registration is due and they can’t afford it. Does that count as dumping? I don’t know,” Waghorn said.
“I know the team at the SPCA is run off its feet as well. It can be quite soul-destroying.”
Registering a dog costs $120 but discounts are available for prompt payment, already having a dog neutered/spayed, and meeting responsible dog ownership criteria.
Responsible dog owner training courses are free to attend at the pound.
The next sessions will be held on September 20 and October 26 at 6pm.
Euthanisation was always the last resort, Waghorn said.
“That is a really hard thing and it does affect our mental health.
“The biggest thing we want to get out there is people need to get their dogs de-sexed. They need to come and see us if they can’t afford it.
“We would much prefer to help with desexing than have to deal with unwanted puppies.”
The council operates the Adopt-a-Dog Facebook page to rehome and reunite dogs caught by the pound.
Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
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