Calls are growing for a Far North boarding kennel to be shut down after an elderly woman’s dog escaped and was run over and killed.

The SPCA is “making inquiries” after a complaint was laid
about Doggies and Moggies boarding kennels and cattery in Haruru, which has lost two dogs in the last month.

Far North District Council (FNDC) has received three complaints about animal welfare concerns at the kennel, including missing dogs and a call for the kennel to be inspected.

Judy Murray from Taipa is distraught after the facility lost her beloved dog Astro soon after she dropped him off there on May 15.

The 78-year-old had planned to visit family in Australia for two weeks but returned several days later after the kennel owner phoned her to say the Jack Russell cross had slipped his collar and run off while being taken for a walk.

“I told them not to take Astro for a walk, he was 14 and had medical issues with his legs … I just wanted him looked after and kept safe,” Murray claims.

“He’d run away within a few hours of being taken there.”

Murray got the first available flight back to New Zealand to look for her best friend, spending the coming days with help from her neighbours dropping flyers in nearby letterboxes.

Efforts to find him were futile, however, as the little dog was already dead.

This was confirmed by a man who received a flyer and phoned Murray as she was driving home after a day’s search.

“He said ‘I wanted to tell you my wife and I were out on Friday night, and when we were driving home saw a black-and-white dog run over on the side of the road,’” Murray said.

“I went back and we scraped what was left of Astro off the road.”

Murray said the kennel looked “nice” in website photos, but she believed it should be closed down.

“If you’re minding animals you’ve got to care and have a sense of duty to look after the animal,” she said.

“They didn’t have to do anything, just keep him in the kennel.

“If you look at the photos on the website it looked a really nice place. It’s nothing like that. It’s a terrible, filthy, muddy mess,” she claimed.

Senior SPCA Inspector Cody Taylor confirmed the animal welfare charity is “making inquiries” into the matter.

“SPCA is aware of a complaint made regarding Doggies and Moggies kennels and cattery, and is making inquiries. While this is occurring, we cannot comment further on the matter.”

Doggies and Moggies owner Bill Humphrey defended his business saying some 2500 dogs had stayed at the kennel in the past year.

“People are more likely to complain about a bad experience than to highlight a good one.

“I have many regular customers who are happy with my service. Many of these customers tell of their dogs getting excited as they approach the kennels or drive past.”

FNDC said it has received three complaints from dog owners about the care provided at the boarding kennel.

Compliance manager Rochelle Deane said the recent complainant lodged a request for service requesting an inspection.

“The dog owner expressed concerns for the standard of care at the kennels when one of their two dogs … went missing while in the kennel’s care.”

Deane said welfare concerns were also raised about the dog kennels during an investigation by FNDC compliance staff into noise complaints last September.

“This was referred to Ministry for Primary Industries which informed FNDC that this was a SPCA welfare issue and that it would be investigated by its inspectors.

“The council’s involvement to date has centred on noise complaints [relating to barking dogs] only.”

Rod Dowling and his wife, from Kerikeri, took their dogs Daisy and Frank to Doggies and Moggies while they visited Vanuatu in May.

The kennel owner called to say Daisy had escaped, so the couple asked family to look for her. Thankfully she was found.

Dowling said they didn’t receive any apology or acknowledgment about the incident from the owner.

In Dowling’s opinion: “They shouldn’t be running a business with other people’s dogs.

“Pets are like people’s kids these days, it’s like leaving your child in daycare. You expect a lot more from an outfit like that.

“They should be closed down or have their facilities checked to make sure they’re secure and run properly,” he claimed.

Humphrey said he had apologised to Murray and Dowling.

In Astro’s case: “I was walking the dog, and the dog pulled back on the lead and the collar slipped off.”

As for why he was walking it when Murray told him not to, he said: “Dogs have to have exercise otherwise I’d be mistreating it.

“It was fit enough to go for a walk. You can’t lock up a dog all day.”

As for Daisy, “It got itself tangled in the lead, I put the lead down to untangle it and it ran off,” Humphrey said.

“I spent hours looking for that dog, I let them know it had gone missing.

“I’m upset as well when something like that happens.

“I love dogs, I don’t like anything happening to them.”

Humphrey said he established the facility nine years ago and he believed he was running it well.

As for others who have told the Northern Advocate claims of neglect, he said: “I’ve had the SPCA out here a year or two ago, and a vet, and they said the kennels are fine.”

Northland Petfood owner Luanne Vacy-Lyle said she has spoken directly to many dog owners via her business over the last five years, who have had negative experiences with the kennel.

This includes alleged “instances of either neglect, starvation, and deaths”, she claimed.

“Basically it doesn’t make sense how nobody knows about it and why people aren’t screaming it from the rooftops,” Vacy-Lyle claimed.

Vacy-Lyle claimed one customer told her the kennel left the dog’s harness on the entire time, which rubbed into its flesh. .

She claimed another customer brought her dog in for a wash before she dropped the dog at the kennel, then returned to the pet shop after her stay.

“Two weeks later she arrives back with her dog but it’s got a winter coat on.

“She burst out crying and took the coat off; the dog had lost 25 per cent of its bodyweight. It was emaciated, as if it hadn’t been fed the entire two weeks.

“We’ve had numerous instances like that over the years, it’s heartbreaking,” she claimed.

“There are no real guidelines – anyone can open up a kennel and there’s no regulation in the industry.

“You can open up a kennel and have no one checking on you.”

Moerewa resident Jen Gabb claimed her dog Dash developed open sores on his paws when he stayed at the kennel a few years ago.

“My dog went there for three days and came back with open sores on his paw pads from being constantly wet.

“When I picked him up he was in this day exercise area with several other dogs. It was sodden, the whole ground was wet and muddy.

“There were no dry spots to stand on, my suspicion is they spent more time in there than what they let on.”

Humphrey said Gabb’s claims “must have been some time ago as I’ve got concrete there now”.

The claim of the “emaciated” dog is “incorrect”, Humphrey said.

“It was very skinny when it came in, if it’s the one I’m thinking of. It wasn’t like I wasn’t feeding it or anything.”

As for general claims of neglect, Humphrey said “they’re incorrect”.

“I’ve had dogs most of my life. I’ve got three of mine at the moment.

“They’re absolutely wrong to say those things. When the dogs went missing, I was in just as much shock as the owners were.”