Dog recovering after 4WD accident

A family's pet dog is recovering after being accidentally dragged behind a 4WD for more than a kilometre in Wairarapa on Boxing Day.

A holidaying Napier family was driving their Toyota Hilux through Masterton when their large black poodle jumped off the back suspended by its lead, The Wairarapa Times-Age reported.

The family only realised what had happened when another car pulled them over by which point the dog had left a trail of blood along the road.Police said that the dog, which suffered grazing, burns and damage to its pads, was now in a stable condition after being treated by a veterinarian.

Sergeant Peter Rix said it was a sad incident and a reminder that owners need to keep their dogs properly secured when driving.

Dog back with a Christmas tale

Bruce McDermott isn't the sort of bloke you'd expect to cry, but right now he can't hold back the tears.
The stoic Upper Hutt father, who put his intellectually disabled adult son into respite care to give him a "less lonely and better Christmas" than he could provide, then a day later lost his beloved pet chihuahua, was almost lost for words yesterday after the dog's return.

David, owned by Mr McDermott's son, Shaun, went missing from a friend's house in Petone on Christmas Day. Four years ago, a Dominion Post story prompted David's return after he and the McDermotts' other chihuahua were stolen from a van. MORE>>

Dog attack leaves woman in hospital

Police are looking for the owner of a "rottweiler-type" dog which attacked a woman and her mother in Kaiapoi, 20km north of Christchurch.

A woman, in her late 20s, was taken to Christchurch Hospital by ambulance with "extensive injuries" after the attack, which took place about 10.40am on Old North Rd, Sergeant Colin Stewart said.

The attack happened as the woman, who was visiting her mother, intervened to protect her own dog, which was being attacked by a large black dog, Mr Stewart said.

The dog, being walked by a man described as being European and in his 40s, then attacked her, leaving her with extensive lacerations to her arms, he said.

The dog also attacked the woman's mother, who came out to help after hearing her daughter screaming.

She was treated by a local doctor for injuries to her hands.

Police wanted to speak to the dog's owner who "walked away" from the scene leaving the woman bleeding on the sidewalk.

He walked away because he didn't want his dog destroyed, and a 6 month sentence!

Dog 'cooked to death' in hot car

A dog left muzzled and restrained in a car on a Christchurch rooftop car park on a sunny day probably "cooked to death" in the heat, the Canterbury SPCA says.
The SPCA is investigating the incident and says the owners could be fined up to $75,000 or jailed for up to three years if found responsible for the death.
SPCA manager Geoff Sutton said the little pomeranian, which had been harnessed to a seatbelt and tightly muzzled, was already dead by the time staff arrived at the car park in Shirley on Saturday afternoon.
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Dog dies after contact with algae in Hutt River

Toxic algae in the Hutt River has caused the death of a six-month-old beagle, prompting councils to raise health warnings.
Echo died on Tuesday, less than two hours after coming into contact with blue-green algae in the river near Melling.
Vet Rhea Hurley said Echo had been brought into the Pet Vet clinic after being in the water up to her belly, and had to be put down. "She came in twitching and not able to stand up and she collapsed. It would have been three-quarters of an hour after being in the water and she was seizing."
(...)

Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, are microscopic organisms that are naturally present in many New Zealand waters.
They look like dark brown or black mats and grow on rocks on the river bed, but can wash up on banks or float in shallow areas.
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New SPCA chief returns boy's best friend

Yells of delight filled the air as a terminally ill Lower Hutt boy was reunited with his beloved dog.
Ruby, a one-year-old cavalier king charles spaniel, went missing more than a month ago. She was handed in "seriously underweight and with other health issues", according to the SPCA. It put the dog in "protective custody" and refused to return her to her owners.

The family hired a lawyer to fight for Ruby's return.
The standoff came to an end on Saturday, after new Wellington SPCA chairman Craig Shepherd intervened.
Brooklyn Griffen, 9, screamed with delight when he and Ruby were reunited, his mother Julie, Hutton, said.
"He screamed so loud. He's hardly let her out of his sight since."


Ruby had also perked up, she said. "It's like she's come to life, she's so happy, she's running around all over the place barking. It was like taking a kid away from their family."
Ruby had a genetic illness and had always struggled to put on weight, even when treated to special dog food, she said.
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It took another pair of eyes to look at the problem. I can't beleive that this case got to this point. It was on the news, and things started rolling. A shame when the media is needed to solve a problem like this. 

9 months' jail for killing neighbour's dog

A South Auckland man has been jailed for nine months after he beat a neighbour's dog to death.
Reuben Pene-Wiropo, 51, was sentenced today in Manukau District Court after he was found guilty in October of killing 10-year-old Snoop, TVNZ reported. MORE>>

Bravery Award For Fallen Four Legged Hero

Tomorrow, Dec 4, North Hagley Park will host the biggest South Island dog event ever held and organisers have a surprise in store for the hundreds of dog lovers and their pooches expected to turn out for the picturesque 3.5km dog walk.

The inaugural Champ Wag 'n Walk event has been chosen as the venue for a presentation to honour one of New Zealand's best loved fallen heroes (of the four legged variety). Gage, the Police dog was killed defending his partner and dog handler, Bruce Lamb in July this year. Paw Justice, the charity partner of the Champ Wag 'n Walk event, will be presenting Lamb with a special bravery award in honour of Gage at 12.30pm. MORE>>

Sniffer dog confirms stoat on island

The presence of a stoat on Kapiti Island nature reserve has been confirmed.

Special stoat-sniffing dog Crete and his handler Scott Theobold tracked down a dead parakeet about three weeks old and faecal matter containing stoat DNA last week.

The findings confirm last month's stoat sighting by a Conservation Department contractor at Rangatira in the centre of the island. MORE>>

'The SPCA has taken my only friend'

A terminally ill Lower Hutt boy with a rare genetic condition is without his only friend after the SPCA seized his pet dog, placing it in "protective custody".

Brooklyn Griffen's mum sold her car to buy the cavalier King Charles spaniel puppy for her nine-year-old son a year ago.

Julie Hutton said she bought Ruby for $900 from a breeder on Trade Me as a companion for Brooklyn, who suffers from a mitochondrial disorder.

This means he cannot walk, is prone to illness, and has serious physical and developmental problems. Doctors do not know how long he will live but he is not expected to make it to adulthood.

Ms Hutton bought the puppy because her son does not have friends of his own. "I felt that a small dog would act as a good companion and give him something to love." MORE>>

Neuroscience of Instinct: How Animals Overcome Fear to Obtain Food

ScienceDaily (Nov. 30, 2010) — When crossing a street, we look to the left and right for cars and stay put on the sidewalk if we see a car close enough and traveling fast enough to hit us before we're able to reach the other side. It's an almost automatic decision, as though we instinctively know how to keep ourselves safe.

Now neuroscientists have found that other animals are capable of making similar instinctive safety decisions.
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And my dog Holmes was one of them. He knew to 'hang in there' when waiting to cross the road when it was busy, and knew that he could cross when it wasn't. I knew he knew! 

Interesting article... do you have a gambling problem? Check your amygdala

"In humans, impaired amygdala activity has been linked to risky decision-making, such as gambling. And an overactive amygdala could explain anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias."

Pup on mend after scissor torture

An 8-week-old pup had his ears cut off with scissors in what the Tauranga SPCA says is one of the worst animal cruelty cases it has seen.

For those who think that New Zealand doesn't have a dog fighting problem... 

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