A pigdog scared of pigs – time for a new home
Dogs aren’t always what they seem, Chip is one to prove that.
Dogs like Chip are the reason the Retired Working Dogs charity exists.
Chip was bought to be a working dog to hunt pigs, but things didn’t go to plan.
For a start, pigs worried him, staff member Karen Cox said.
“He’s just too much of a smoocher and he was scared of pigs.”
Cox said it’s more common than some may think for working dogs to be scared of livestock, and they once had a dog scared of sheep.
“We take dogs off farms that have either reached the end of their working life, or don’t want to start one basically.”
Over 500 working dogs were given a new lease on life last year thanks to the charity.
Retired Working Dogs was set up in 2012 and has been fostering and rehoming ex-working dogs since.
“We work with the farmers to rehome them. Most of the dogs are advertised on our website and the farmer holds onto them and then he chooses where the dog goes and there’s no fee charged for the rehoming.”
Cox said the common breeds they see are Huntaway crosses, Collie crosses and heading dogs.
All of the dogs that go through the charity are de-sexed, vaccinated, given flea treatments and wormed to ensure they are in good health before going to their forever homes.
“Because we have had to pay for their upkeep, we charge an adoption fee, depending on the age of the dog and its condition,” said Cox.
There are around 2,000 working dogs in New Zealand and every year more of them are retiring, meaning an increased demand for the services Retired Working Dogs provide.
“Last year we rehomed around 500. It sounds good but when you look at the statistics, we think we are missing a lot.”
To learn more or if you are interested in fostering, adopting or have a working dog to rehome, head to https://retiredworkingdogs.org.nz .
