The community has been pitching in to help walk the displaced dogs at the shelter. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
The Hawke's Bay community is getting tails wagging at an animal evacuation centre, with residents arriving in droves to walk displaced dogs.
Close to 90 animals have come through the temporary Helping You Help Animals (HUHA) shelter including a pigeon and five goldfish.
They currently have about 50 animals, including roughly 30 dogs, at the Hawke's Bay Racecourse in Hastings.
Carolyn Press-McKenzie runs the HUHA charitable trust, and said volunteers walked the dogs in its care three times a day.
"A lovely person popped something on social media talking about it and then Sunday when we walked out the doors with our first dog to pass it over to someone to walk, honestly the whole stadium was filled with people.
"They'd come from far and wide to be part of the dog walking. It was beautiful thing."
Carolyn Press-McKenzie holds a kitten in the shelter. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
Christchurch resident Laura arrived in Hastings late last week and wanted to help.
Seeing the silt meant memories of the city's earthquake resurfaced, she said.
"This is very bare minimum that I can offer while I'm here. I don't have a lot of money right now, a lot of time while I'm here.
"But just being able to contribute the smallest little bit is I think what makes up the big project."
Christchurch resident Laura and a dog she has been walking. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
Some dogs play tug-of-war or try to meet their neighbours, while others prefer their humans to do the walking for them.
It was a change of pace for Flaxmere resident Zinal who has been helping to clear his friend's flood damaged homes and dropping off supplies.
"I just heard about all the floods and all the dogs coming in, and they deserve walks and having fun so I thought I might as well help."
Hasting resident Kerry was delighted to have a way to pitch in.
"I'm not working at the moment because I'm on ACC due to spinal surgery. But I have always been a get-go person where I have gone out and helped. Right through Covid I was an essential worker.
"I felt helpless. I can do this, I can walk a little dog and be feeling a little bit more useful than I have been."
Carolyn Press-McKenzie said the community has also been bringing them food for the animals and their volunteers.
There are 50 dogs at the shelter following Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
The trust has been helping to get food to cut-off communities, but they had run out of 20 kilogram bags of dog food.
"They're the ones that we were getting on helicopters, into unimogs and onto these trailers to get out to the far reaching communities.
"So that's probably the thing we need the most. We've got so much cat food we don't know quite what to do with it. But obviously the community, we'll just keep getting it out to the people who need it."
Walking into the shelter, there was a lot of excitement as the leads were brought out.
Others, like a mum and her three pups, remained happily sprawled on their beds - their owners lost their home in the flood.
"They actually took them to the vets to be euthanised. That was the only way they could see forward. I mean when you're dealing with a trauma like that sometimes you just try and survive basically."
In the end, the owners found out about the trust through the vet and signed them over.
New homes would be found once they were ready, Press-McKenzie said.
The animal evacuation centre closes next week, but she said there would be a plan in place for every animal.
"For some of them, we'll be helping them with long term boarding.
"Some of them we're helping them work out friends and families who can work with them for a longer term, or some we're actually taking fencing to their homes so once the silt's all gone, we're helping them erect fenced areas. And others have been surrended to us sadly but they've come from environments they can't go back to."
Those animals that have been surrendered would be found a new home, she said.
