The registered owner was under probation, after previous dog-related infringements. Photo: 123RF
An Auckland woman who tried to rescue three dogs abandoned in a filthy, rat-infested property says it's time to overhaul animal welfare laws.
Lesley told Checkpoint she learned about the dog's plight on social media and, once she saw the state of the house, she contacted authorities.
"The dogs were very skinny and looking incredibly scared, and the property itself was pretty much uninhabitable," she said. "The house had obviously not been lived in for some time.
"My understanding was the dogs were probably drinking toilet water. They were barking, they were crying and, at one stage, they were fighting.
"They didn't seem aggressive, they just seemed highly traumatised."
The dogs were eventually removed from the Buckland's Beach house by police and later euthanised.
Lesley said the SPCA and Auckland Council animal management couldn't legally remove the dogs, which underscored the need for new laws to allow animals to be taken from owners in similar situations.
"I was originally told that SPCA had been informed, and I couldn't believe an agency like them would leave the dogs there.
"I was told Animal Management weren't coming because they didn't have permission to enter the property, so I called the police at that stage.
"I just think it's appalling - I've since learned that SPCA and Animal Management don't have the power to uplift animals from vulnerable situations."
Auckland Council Animal Management acting manager Nicky Cripps said staff responded to the first complaint on 7 April by contacting the registered owner, who told them the dogs weren't abandoned and were being fed. They were unable to enter the house without a warrant.
A week later, after another complaint, Animal Management and police went to the property and took the dogs.
The owner was known to council - she was a probationary owner, which means she had past dog-related infringements - and Animal Management had visited the property in December. Two of the dogs had been impounded during 2024 and the owner had collected them from the pound on both occasions.
This time, the owner didn't respond, so the dogs were euthanised.
Kāinga Ora said it didn't learn about the dogs until the day the police removed them, but the tenant had permission for only one dog on the property and there were none, when the property was last inspected in May 2024.
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