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.

August 27, 2011

Canadian musher city girl who went to dogs


Canadian long-distance sled dog musher Karen Ramstead never imagined she would throw away her job as manager of a bone china shop and go to the dogs.
(...)
Now a veteran of nine Iditarod races and a guest and race marshall for this week's New Zealand Sled Dog Championships at the Snow Farm, Mrs Ramstead laughs at the transformation dogs have brought to her previously pet-less world.
She was the first woman to complete the gruelling 1760km Iditarod race and now spends three months in Alaska every year as well as racing throughout the United States and Canada.
"This is really outside the path I expected to lead in my life," she said at the Snow Farm near Wanaka yesterday.
Unlike many mushers, Mrs Ramstead prefers pure-bred Siberian huskies, which she says have fallen out of favour in recent years with the rise of the faster, purpose-bred Alaskan husky.
She compares her dogs to ice hockey teams. There are the experienced racers in mainstream competitions, the yearlings in training and a group of older, retired dogs. MORE>>

Pet arthritis: No cure but medicine and therapy can help


Tahlula started life as a victim of bad breeding and will end it as a victim of arthritis.
The Rottweiler had hip dysplasia and ruptured knee ligaments when she was adopted in 2006 at age four. Ligament surgery followed, then a diagnosis of a dislocated spinal disc and arthritis so bad that the dog would cry in pain and sometimes stumble and fall.
Her owner, Lea Jaratz of Cleveland, wondered at times if she was putting her through unnecessary pain and should be putting her down instead.
But after trying assorted therapies, Jaratz hit on a combination of an over-the-counter supplement, glucosamine, and a prescription drug, Tramadol, that seemed to help. MORE>>

Poo Corner cleaned up


Invercargill's Poo Corner has been cleaned up.
A resident's grass verge on the corner of Kildare Dr and Orkney St, in the north Invercargill suburb of Waikiwi, was labelled Poo Corner by one man after neighbours complained it was invariably littered with dog poo.
When The Southland Times visited the site on Tuesday, more than 50 large dog poos covered an 18-metre grass strip at the front of the section.
Following a story in Wednesday's paper about the mess, all the poo was removed from the roadside lawn.
But yesterday a single fresh dog poo was sighted on the offending strip of grass, dropped by an unknown canine.
The Invercargill City Council's environmental and planning services director, Pamela Gare, said the council had received no complaints about dog poo on the offending property in the past. MORE>>

August 26, 2011

SPCA launches cupcakes fundraiser


SPCA Cupcake Day, Monday 29th August, is the third annual celebration of this 'cats and dogs' nationwide fundraiser.
Thousands of people throughout the country will be baking, selling and eating cupcakes to raise much-needed funds for SPCA Centres from Southland to Kaitaia.
"Cupcake Day for the SPCA is a sweet way to raise lots of dough for SPCA centres across New Zealand," says the SPCA's National Chief Executive, Robyn Kippenberger. MORE>>

August 22, 2011

Man admits charges over dog incident at polytech

Christchurch Polytechnic students were unable to leave a building on the campus because they were afraid of a pit bull cross dog that Khal Wiri Thompson had let loose there.

The incident happened soon after Thompson had been released from prison, when he got drunk and started banging on the windows of the polytechnic, upsetting students who were working there.

Thompson, 33, was asked to leave by a polytechnic security officer but told him the dog that he had with him would kill on his command.

The dog was an unleashed and unrestrained pit-bull cross, and it prevented students from leaving the building because they were afraid of it, a Christchurch District Court sitting inside the men’s prison was told today when Thompson pleaded guilty to five charges. MORE>>

The dog should sue the guy for trying to use him as his weapon!

Dog's tale still wagging on film

Wal, Dog, Rangi, Cheeky, Horse, Aunt Dolly and Prince Charles are back.

Twenty-five years on, movie-goers will get the chance to see Footrot Flats up on the big screen again.
Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale – based on the classic Kiwi comic strip written by New Zealand cartoonist Murray Ball – is showing for a limited two-week period at Event cinemas around the country, starting on September 1.

Originating producer Pat Cox hopes the film will capture the hearts of a whole new generation.
"It's an iconic piece of New Zealand culture and it's still within the top 10 most successful New Zealand films that have ever been released here.

"It's also up there in the top 10 in Australia as far as animated features go. MORE>>

August 20, 2011

Dog owners want more from fees


Dog owners get what they pay for.
As part of the debate over where in the Scenic Reserve dogs should be allowed on and off the lead, several dog owners have claimed they are not getting value for money when it comes to their dog registration fee.
"We pay a lot in dog registration and yet we are restricted in where we can take them. Why doesn't the council provide dedicated dog parks? There are plenty of places we could have one and then there is no confusion," one dog owner commented on the Herald's website.
Another reader, a regular visitor from Christchurch, sympathised with Timaru dog owners who did not have access to dog parks as they did in Christchurch.
Dog control is meant to be self-funding and break even, the Timaru District Council's planning and regulation manager Peter Thompson said.
Historically the council's dog control services have run at a loss, although they did make a slight profit last year, and are expected to have a surplus of $27,500 this financial year. In 2009-10 dog control ran at a loss of more than $115,000 while last year it was in the black by $25,800.
Dog control's budget for the year is just over $423,000, of which $280,000 is staff costs and $148,500 corporate overheads.
Dogs should have been registered by July 1, and so far 9560 dogs, or 99 per cent of the known dogs in the district, were registered, which was the highest compliance rate the council had ever achieved, environmental services manager Rick Catchpowle said. MORE>>

August 19, 2011

Wanted: Homes for guide pups


heir futures will be devoted to guiding the blind but right now they're just puppies in need of a home.
About 30 labrador puppies at the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind's guide dog centre in Manurewa will be looking for foster families over the next three months.
Exploring the world with foster families - also known as puppy walkers - is a vital step in the puppies' development as guide dogs, co-ordinator Paula Gemmell says.
"The more places you can take a puppy the better because you're getting the dog used to different smells, noises and situations."
As long as they've got their bibs on, guide puppies can go anywhere from cinemas to shopping malls. MORE>>
About 80 of them are in training around Auckland at the moment, watching Harry Potter and shopping for treats. MORE>>

Another killer dog breed banned


A killer breed of dog can no longer be imported, after being added to a list of prohibited canines.
The Perro de Presa Canario has been added to the list of dogs banned by the Dog Control Act 1996, Local Government Minister Rodney Hide said.
"The tendency of the Presa Canario to exhibit aggressive behaviour or attack, and the size and strength of the breed, makes it of particular concern because of the seriousness of the injuries it could inflict," Mr Hide said. MORE>>

August 16, 2011

Snow makes long walk more peaceful

Anyone finding it hard to get out and motivated in the cold should spare a thought for one-year-old Ella and six-year-old Rapid, who are walking around the South Island for charity.

The kelpie and border collie dogs are being accompanied on their journey by owner Mike Butler, who in turn is raising money for Daffodil Day.

Mr Butler works for ANZ, one of the major sponsors of Daffodil Day. Each year bank staff aim to raise $1 million and this year he decided to do something different. MORE>>

August 12, 2011

Victim kills locked-on pitbull

A Christchurch man used a knife to kill a pitbull which had locked on to his arm, police say.
Police went to a Bower Ave, New Brighton property about 9.30pm on Tuesday after the pitbull was stabbed in the neck.

Sergeant Stephen McDaniel said the dog had been startled by a few cats fighting in the street. "The male [then] possibly bumped into or knocked the dog which resulted in the dog biting the male's jersey. As he's tried to swing the dog off his jersey the dog has re-bitten his arm."

The animal's jaws locked on and he was forced to ask the dog's owner for permission to kill the dog.MORE>>

Man tries to save dog from fire

Ian Hayden left Christchurch to escape earthquakes, but yesterday had to face the loss of his belongings and dog after fire destroyed the Oamaru home he moved into just three weeks ago.

The 41-year-old, just before 7pm on Tuesday, had switched on the oven element to warm pumpkin soup when he heard "a loud explosion". When he opened the curtain between the living room and kitchen, the fire erupted and within minutes engulfed the Caledonian Rd house.

While the loss of his belongings was bad enough, the death of his 15-month-old Staffordshire-cross dog Ti-anna, which he had been given two weeks ago, was the most upsetting.

"I had her only a short time but I loved her. I was getting her trained and I'd take her for walks twice a day," he said outside the house yesterday, holding her chain in his hand.MORE>>

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A man's desperate effort to save his dog from an Oamaru house fire has been strongly criticised by a fire investigator.

The two-bedroom house on Caledonian Rd was destroyed after being engulfed in flames about 7pm on Tuesday in a fire believed to have started in the kitchen.

Two fire appliances and 15 fire crew attended the scene.

New Zealand Fire Service specialist fire investigator Barry Gibson said the sole occupant of the two-bedroom house, a Christchurch man renting the property, managed to escape.

However, when he realised his dog was still inside, he tried to get back into the house.Neighbours managed to hold him back from re-entering. The dog could not be saved.


Mr Gibson said it was bad practice to re-enter a house that is on fire."Get out and stay out, and get help – because again we could have been looking at something more serious." MORE>>
 
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