New Zealand Dog News

Reviewing the dog news in New Zealand with editors comments. Someone needs to keep reviewing how our dogs are doing in society.

January 24, 2009

Hungry dog keeps Qantas jet grounded

A hungry dog was behind strange electrical problems which forced the grounding of a Qantas A330 jet after a flight from Auckland to Melbourne last month.

Australia's Courier-Mail newspaper reports the hungry dog escaped from its cage and gnawed through the planes electrical wiring, causing the malfunction of the planes auxiliary power unit.

The Courier-Mail quoted an engineering source as saying: "The dog ripped out several wires which set off the cockpit warning and then it had a go at a number of electrical units in the rear of the plane.

"Under duress the animal obviously went nuts, biting through anything that it came across." MORE>>

I'd also say hungry AND scared!

January 15, 2009

Terrier survives ledge ordeal

An inquisitive pooch trapped on a narrow perch 150 metres above Lake Taupo for three hours was hoisted to safety by emergency services crew who abseiled to her rescue.
(...)

"She was standing on the side of the path and then the next second she was over the side," he said.

"We thought it was the end of her but she managed to land on a tiny ledge, with barely enough room to move. She was intelligent enough to know she couldn't get out of it herself." MORE>>

How do you get these kinds of stories in the paper? I mean, doesn't this happen many times to many people... the dog that just....

Cruelty case shocks

It is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty Waitakere Animal Welfare manager Neil Wells has seen in a long long time.

The service deals with its fair share of abandoned, abused and injured animals.

But this case was too much even for its most hardened staff to take.

"We got a complaint last month that a dog was wandering the streets in Massey with a rope tied around its legs," Mr Wells says.

"The dog, named Bobby, had its mouth tied up with electrical tape, more than once it would seem, and his face was very swollen with scars and dead tissue.

"It was a horrific sight and because its mouth had been taped up it was unable to pant properly and part of its tongue had died."

Mr Wells says the dog’s face was badly disfigured making it hard to tell exactly what breed it was.

Check the MORE>> to see a picture of this dog... how can anyone be so cruel?

January 14, 2009

Dogged police work finds prized pet

A Jack Russell puppy stolen a week ago has been reunited with its owners, Kevin and Roz Cooper.

Mrs Cooper, from Timaru, said she felt a mixture of relief and gratitude to the police for the recovery of the dog.

"They have cobbled together lots of little pieces of information. It's really very clever."

Yesterday afternoon police collected the dog from a car at Patiti Point and a 29-year-old Timaru woman has been charged with theft.

Police said tracking the dog had taken some time and they had acted on a suspicion about the thief's identity. MORE>>

Dogs to hit the beach earlier than expected


Dogs are to be allowed greater freedom on beaches three weeks earlier than expected because of a bylaw rethink by the Rodney District Council.

Urgent changes are being made to all signs saying dogs are banned from beaches between 9am and 7pm until daylight saving ends on April 5 – with the penalty for noncompliance being a $300 fine.

After lobbying by the 2000-plus strong Rodney Dog Friends group, the council is ending the ban three weeks earlier.

"But this doesn’t mean they are doing us a favour," says group spokeswoman Jill Parsons. "The extra three weeks was added when the daylight saving period was extended last year.

"So all they are doing is giving us back what was wrongfully taken away."

Members of the group are still livid, however, that the council has rejected its request for the prohibited times to be changed to between 10am and 6.30pm – more in line with neighbouring areas such as North Shore and Kaipara. MORE>>

I would be livid too. Dogs, legally, required an adequate amount of exercise each day. It's written in the law. If you have a high energy dog, then you should have the correct amount of beach freedom to exercise your dog. And not just beaches either.

January 12, 2009

Adopt Me is animal magic as caring families open their hearts


All of the animals featured for adoption in the Summer Herald have found homes.

The Herald's Adopt Me series started on Boxing Day and has profiled 11 animals from the SPCA headquarters at Mangere.

From Timmy the three-legged dog, to the adorable tabby kitten, to Chloe, the ridgeback-cross senior citizen, all have gone to caring homes.

The organisation has found homes for more than 250 previously unwanted animals since the series started. MORE>>

Hundreds of abandoned pets swamp SPCA

Dogs left in cars, kittens abandoned by the hundreds, and pets left to fend for themselves while their owners go on holiday, are some of the many cases the SPCA has had to deal with over Christmas and New Year.

At SPCA centres around the country, the story was the same.

MORE>>

This is a really sad story... I just don't understand how people can be so cruel. Why get a 'pet' if you can't take care of it.

January 09, 2009

Top dog and cat names of the year


The name Max has been deemed top dog for both fidos and felines.

A search to reveal the most popular pet names of 2008 has seen people names dominate the top ten categories for both cats and dogs.


The top pet names for 2008:

Dogs

1. Max
2. Bailey
3. Bella
4. Molly
5. Lucy
6. Buddy
7. Maggie
8. Daisy
9. Sophie
10. Chloe

Cats

1. Max
2. Chloe
3. Tigger
4. Tiger
5. Lucy
6. Smokey
7. Oliver
8. Bella
9. Shadow
10. Charlie

Dancing dane shows her moves


Droopy eyes gaze longingly at the woman clutching finely chopped luncheon.

Drool splatters on the carpet.

The woman waves her arm and the 70kg great dane gets ready to prance.

Another arm wave, and the dog takes a slow bow. One more wave and the giant paws are marching in time to the woman.

Left, right, left, right, twist and heel.

A pat on the head, a few words of praise, and the slobbering pooch inhales her meaty treat.

Suddenly, she hoists herself on to hind legs and gives owner Hsin-Yi Cohen a bear hug, almost toppling the five foot two woman to the ground.

This is doggy dancing at its best. MORE>>

Where's the video??

January 03, 2009

Boxer Poppy feeling grrr-reat after losing 15kg


An Invercargill dog's love of fruit has helped it overcome a weight problem and get back into chasing sticks at the beach.

Boxer Poppy, 4, lost 15kg over eight months almost 40 per cent of her body weight.

Poppy's owner Patricia Cahill said weight became a problem after the dog was spayed. "She just looked like a round blob. She was as fat as she was long."

With the vet concerned about Poppy's ballooning mass, she placed Poppy on a strict diet of weight-reduction food and plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Kiwifruit was a favourite, along with oranges, but anything was gobbled up during three daily meals.

Ms Cahill said she had noticed a big change in her dog, with an increase in energy since she lost the weight.

"She can go for longer, she loves the beach so we go out there and she just goes crazy." MORE>>

Drunk dogs a bad idea


Giving dogs alcoholic drinks isn't a good idea, even in the festive season.

Alcohol has similar effects on dogs than on humans, including disorientation and nausea, according to a veterinarian quoted in the US newspaper Daily Camera.

And like humans, dogs can get alcohol poisoning.

The veterinarian has already treated eight dogs who had too much to drink this holiday season, the paper said. Beer is the most commonly shared drink, but some owners give dogs pina coladas or daiquiris.

"We've had a couple cases that required extensive medical care," the vet told the paper.

He even treated one dog after the animal was given marijuana.

He said cats are less likely to overindulge, but dogs "want to join the party".

Cats tell fibs and dogs are too polite

Animals are talking all the time - it's just a matter of listening, says animal communicator Bill Northern.

They can be so insistent on telling him something that they keep him awake at night, he says, tears of laughter rolling down his cheeks.

The 70-year-old has been visiting New Zealand from the United States since 1989, mostly talking to horses, but also lost dogs and a cat or two, although he prefers not to deal with felines.

Horses are his favourite because they are straight talkers. Dogs can be too politically correct because they do not like to hurt people's feelings, while cats are fibbers and will say anything to get their way.

"I don't talk to plants because I don't have the patience," he says.

All animals speak to him in English no matter what country they are in, and have distinctive voices, he claims.

"They wake me up a lot in the middle of the night to tell me I missed something (during an examination). It's terrible. They keep me up until I get up and write it down," he says.

A plastic horse, kidneys and bladder included, sits on the living-room table of the Rolleston house where he is staying with an old friend.

He uses it to examine horses all over the world by phone and find out what ails them.

Sometimes it is something physical like a sore foot or a stomach ulcer, but other times they are unhappy with their jockey or with the horse sharing its field.

He says he has examined up to 400 horses over the past year, charging about $90 per animal or about $275 an hour.

Brought up in Virginia, he lives most of the year in the United States but has found a second home in New Zealand, where he has built up a stable of regular clients.

By using instruments such as a pendulum or divining rods, he claims to be able to find water, move underground streams and detect negative energy lines.

An American Indian taught him how to look through an animal's eyes- a skill that allows him to check a horse's vision and find lost pets, he says. MORE>>

January 01, 2009

Man arrested after dog killed during argument

A man has been arrested after a pet dog was fatally stabbed during a domestic incident in Taupo overnight.

The armed offenders squad was called to an address about 3am where a local couple were arguing.

Acting area commander Tony Jeurissen said the situation became "dire" when the pet dog belonging to the couple was stabbed and died. MORE>>
 
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