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The Silverdale Animal Shelter, along with other Auckland shelters, is overflowing with puppies and dogs that need to be re-homed.
Currently only one of the 80 pens at the shelter is unoccupied, with some pens containing several puppies.
A number of factors have combined to create the situation, including a large increase in the number of dogs being surrendered by their owners.
Senior shelter officer Tashana Williscroft says the most common reasons for this are housing (such as having to move to a rental property that does not allow pets), financial situations changing and dogs purchased during lockdown that people no longer have time to look after. She says with de-sexing not being done by vets during lockdown, there is now a big increase in puppies that need re-homing.
“Not de-sexing animals can then drift into a habit for some owners.”
This is an Auckland-wide problem, with Animal Management’s annual report, released last month, pointing to shelters bursting at the seams.
The report also notes a five-year high in dog attacks (both on people and other dogs) and a backed up court system leading to dogs staying longer at shelters until the court decides their fate. Auckland Council initiated 115 prosecutions during the year against dog owners for serious breaches of the Dog Control Act. Many of those court hearings were delayed – at Silverdale, there are dogs that have had to stay impounded for 18 months to two years, due to Covid-19 delaying the hearing of their cases.
Williscroft says the increase in dog attacks – they are up 20 percent on last year – could be partly because there are more dogs living in much denser housing arrangements. Another factor is that many young dogs and puppies weren’t able to be adequately socialised or trained during lockdowns, she says.
Auckland-wide, there have been 230 more attacks on other animals this year.
In one recent case, Silverdale’s Animal Management Officers responded to a dog attack on another dog.
“Reports were that two dogs entered their neighbour’s property and attacked her dog,” Williscroft says. “The officers impounded the two attacking dogs and a total of nine dogs from the rural property after several attempts to get the dogs registered. This seizure was a big job for our officers which involved working with local Police also.”
The Animal Management report also notes that violence towards officers has increased.
“It’s an emotional time because of that connection with a pet, and our staff are often on the receiving end of abuse,” she says. “Social media has made that significantly worse.”
However, anyone wanting to adopt a dog is welcome to make an appointment at the shelter.
“We have so many lovely dogs needing new homes,” Williscroft says.
