May « 2010 « Wellington SPCA

Archive for May, 2010

May 31, 2010

I need a hero!

Wellington SPCA’s Kid’s Club takes place every month and children aged 6 to 12 years can come and take part in a whole heap of animal-related games and activities.

There’s always loads to make and do and you’ll also learn all about the SPCA and what we do.

June’s Kid’s Club is all about animal heroes and humans who do heroic deeds for animals. As well as playing some awesome games, you’ll also get to know all about what it takes to be an animal welfare inspector.

And there’ll still be plenty of time to hang out with some specially selected animals from Wellington SPCA!

Places are limited so if you fancy coming along to this cool event, take a look at the flyer and print off the application form and send it to Jennifer Rizzi at Wellington SPCA, PO Box 7069, Newtown, Wellington 6242.

If you’d like more information about our Kid’s Club you can email Jen at JenniferR@wellingtonspca.org.nz or call her on 04 389 8044 ext 827.

When: Saturday 19 June from 4.30pm to 6.30pm

Where: Newtown Hall, cnr of Daniell and Constable Streets, Newtown

Cost: $10 per child

Topics: Latest

Seeing things in a whole new light

Wellington SPCA vet Allen using the ultrasound in the clinic

Wellington SPCA will now be able to save the lives of even more animals, thanks to the generosity of its Newtown neighbour, Wellington Zoo.

In April this year, we became the grateful recipient of a fantastic ultrasound machine donated to us by the Zoo. They were able to offer the machine to us, which is valued at approximately $10,000 new, as they too had recently been the recipients of a newer machine, donated to them by Pacific Radiology.

The ultrasound device will be hugely beneficial to our veterinary team. It will help them diagnose new diseases and monitor existing ones, examine internal organ damage and even assist in taking samples that would otherwise be difficult without a visual aid.

Taking ultrasound images is a painless procedure. An animal is typically given a general anaesthetic, but in some cases this can be done with little or no sedation. A transducer is then moved across the animal’s body, creating a two-dimensional image that is displayed on a monitor.

Using an ultrasound machine reduces the need to perform intrusive exploratory examinations which can sometimes result in unnecessary stress for an animal, and which result in much longer-term pre and post-operative care.

The staff and animals at Wellington SPCA would like to say a huge thank you to Wellington Zoo for their phenomenal donation and providing us with the tools to make positive changes to the lives and well-being of the animals in our care.

May 26, 2010

Topics: Latest /Media

‘Holidaying’ owner guilty of starving dog

Rosie

The owner of a young dog that was kept tethered outside without adequate shelter or food, and later confined to a shed for over two weeks surrounded by her own faeces , has pleaded guilty to a charge of ill-treatment of an animal.

Isdore Jason Mario Skelton of Waitangirua claimed that he had left his brother in charge of Rosie, a pit bull type female, while he holidayed in Samoa. However, extensive investigations by Wellington SPCA animal welfare inspector Brett Lahman confirmed that Mr Skelton had not been absent from the property at any time, and was therefore entirely responsible for the emaciated condition in which the dog was discovered.

The shed where Rosie had been kept

Mr. Skelton agreed to surrender Rosie to Wellington SPCA, and on examination by a vet she was found to weigh just 14kg – 24% below the minimum expected weight for a dog of her age and breed. The vet also commented that Rosie had pressure sores on the joints of both hind feet and would have suffered significant distress as a result of her condition.

After just two weeks’ rehabilitation in the care of Wellington SPCA, Rosie had returned to her ideal weight and condition, confirming that an inadequate diet was the sole cause of her poor condition.

The judge at Porirua District Court disqualified Mr Skelton from owning or exercising authority over any dog or cat for a period of 10 years and issued a fine of $750. He was also ordered to pay Wellington SPCA costs of $1,007.83 plus $250 solicitors fees.

“Although the sentence is typically weak, and Rosie’s final outcome was a sad one thanks in part to her miserable upbringing, it is always good to at least get a conviction and recognition of the pain and suffering inflicted upon an animal” commented Inspector Lahman.

Unfortunately, Rosie’s brief dealings with humans had left her fearful and aggressive toward both people and dogs and as it was deemed unsafe to rehome her, regrettably the decision was made to euthanise her.

May 25, 2010

Topics: Appeals /Latest

Keep a cat cosy this winter!

A huge thanks to everyone who has been busying away knitting hundreds of jumpers for our young puppies.

The pups are already feeling the benefits of their winter woolies and look set to keep toasty for the rest of the season!

But it’s not just our puppies who need to keep warm in winter – cats and kittens can feel the cold too. So, if you want to help them keep warm and cosy, or just fancy a change from knitting jumpers, why not knit a lovely snuggly blanket instead?

And what’s great about blankets is that you don’t even need to follow a pattern! The ideal blanket is just a simple square measuring 18 inches by 18 inches and much like puppy jumpers, can be made from any left over spare bits of wool you may have lying around.

Blankets not only keep our cats and kittens warm, but they become the ultimate ‘comfort blanket’. When a cat or kitten is adopted from us they take their blanket with them – something familiar to help with settling in to their new unfamiliar surroundings.

You can send your kitty blankets to either our Newtown or Waikanae animal centres.

I luuurve my cosy blanket!

Thank you!

May 21, 2010

Topics: Events /Latest

Norm cooks up a storm!

Ambassador Norm Hewitt with RNZSPCA Chief Executive Robyn Kippenberger

Wellington’s Westpac stadium was in full force last weekend for the annual Food Show and the SPCA was there to promote cruelty-free eggs and pork.

SPCA staff and volunteers had a fantastic time playing chef, admirably helped along by our very own ‘celebrity chef’ Norm Hewitt! Norm is Ambassador for the SPCA’s ‘One of the family’ programme, but clearly proved he’s also a dab-hand in the kitchen!

The Food Show was a great opportunity to showcase the SPCA’s Blue Tick accreditation scheme, which endorses eggs and pork that have been produced to higher welfare standards. The scheme raises awareness about the importance

Serving up cruelty-free!

of animal welfare in the production of food and helps people make informed decisions about the food they eat.

Donations collected at the stand during the event were generously given to Wellington SPCA and congratulations go to Wellington 14-year-old Sophie Scott who won a hamper full of SPCA goodies!

May 20, 2010

Topics: Campaigns /Latest

Cat colony progresses

We recently told you about a new initiative we’ve launched to help tackle the problems of stray cats in some of Wellington’s suburbs.

The ‘Trap-Neuter-Return’ (TNR) programme, which is backed by Wellington City Council, is focusing on some areas of the city where significant stray cat populations have been identified.

Through a process of trapping, desexing and returning the cats to the area, over time, stray cat population numbers can hopefully be greatly reduced.

Although still in its early stages, the project has already made fantastic progress, starting in the suburb of Strathmore. With the help of ‘colony caretakers’ – local residents who will be voluntarily managing the programme in to the future – the TNR team has neutered 19 stray cats in the Ngaitapa Street area. As part of the scheme, ten local cat owners also received free microchipping for their own cats.

Where next?

The TNR programme will now be targeting the Rahui Street area – initially identifying any owned cats and ensuring that they have either been neutered and/or microchipped before neutering as many of the strays as possible.

If you would like to find out more about the TNR programme please contact Jo at Wellington SPCA on 04 389 8044 ext 810 or email her at JoD@wellingtonspca.org.nz. We are particularly keen to hear from people interested in becoming ‘colony caretakers’ and also those who can donate food (especially biscuits) to the programme, to help ensure that the colonies continue to receive adequate food.

We’ll keep you up-to-date with how the programme progresses.

May 12, 2010

Topics: Animals available for adoption /Events /Happy Tails /Latest

Searching high and low

Willow and Jet

Finding homes for the thousands of animals that come into our care is a huge task.

One of our rehoming initiatives is to encourage potential adopters to come and meet our animals at locations other than our centres in Newtown and Waikanae. These ‘off-site’ adoption events have taken place at all sorts of places including scout halls, schools and surf clubs!

One of the most recent adoption events saw us joining forces with Capital City Motors, who generously showed their support by converting three of their car showrooms into temporary adoption hot-spots! Capital City staff also stepped up to the challenge by kindly volunteering their help on the day!

Setting up the showroom

The event was a fantastic success with about a dozen animals finding a new home.

Kittens ’Serena’ and ‘Toby’ were just two of the lucky ones to find loving new owners. Vanessa Henshaw and Mike Clephane fell in love with the two cuties after calling in to one of Capital City’s showrooms. The kittens, now renamed Willow and Jet, instantly become part of their new family.

“They settled in very well right from the first night we brought them home,” said Vanessa. “They both have fantastic personalities and are great to have around – we love them to bits“.

Vanessa and Mike didn’t just become the recipients of two very cute kittens. During the event we ran a special offer – anyone adopting from us on the day were automatically enteredinto a draw to win one night’s accommodation at luxury hotel ‘ohtel‘, as well as $150 worth of vouchers kindly donated by Capital City Ford. Vanessa and Mike won, and plan to stay at the hotel to help celebrate Vanessa’s imminent birthday! Congratulations!

During March, we ran another special adult cat adoption promotion in which we were able to offer another winner a night’s accommodation at ‘ohtel’. That prize was won by John and Anna Carter of Waikanae who had become the proud owners of ’Harry’.

You can check out just some of the animals in need of loving forever homes on our website and if you can adopt one of them, please give us a call on 04 389 8044!

May 10, 2010

Topics: Latest

Wanted: one special retirement home for one special dog

Meet Zena – a beautiful eight-year-old rottweiler who urgently needs a special person to care for her.

We are desperate to find Zena a home where she can live out her ‘golden years’ in peace and quiet, and where she’ll be given the very best of care.

Zena has a chronic disease that means she will need to be fed a special diet and have regular health checks for the rest of her life. The SPCA will cover all the costs involved in caring for Zena.

She is a very gentle and affectionate girl with a fantastic temperament – can you give her a loving home?

If you are interested in offering a home to Zena, please contact our Waikanae animal centre on 04 293 4292.

May 3, 2010

Topics: Animals available for adoption /Events

Treat your Mum this Sunday

This Mother’s Day our Waikanae animal centre is holding a very special adoption event to celebrate all Mums!

If you’ve been thinking about becoming a ‘Mum’ to a needy animal, then this weekend could be the perfect time to do it!

Come along to the centre, meet the animals and see if you can offer one of them a loving forever home.

And as a special treat, we’ll throw in a fabulous goodie bag for your Mum with any animal adopted on the day, as well as entering you into a draw to win a $50 restaurant voucher! We’ll also have tea and cake on offer for all Mums and kids will have the chance to make their Mums a special Mother’s Day card.

The event takes place this Sunday 9th May from 9am to 3pm. Hope to see you there!

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