Gorgeous pups crowding the shelter

Published on 20 August 2025

Dog lovers across the country are pitching in to spread the word about a flurry of puppies up for adoption at Whangārei’s dog shelter, and social media has been a major help. 

“It’s puppy season and we have a full shelter at the moment,” said Animal Management Executive Officer Christine Crawford. 

“We advertise our dogs for adoption through Facebook, Trade Me, the notice boards at our reception, Pet Essentials, and in the newspaper every Wednesday. 

“In the last eight weeks, Bilbo's Dogpaws Rescue in Tauranga, Northland’s The Best Dog Trust, Whangārei’s Mog n Dog Desexing Clinic, and Whangārei’s branch of The Humane Society of New Zealand have shared our information, and our Trade Me says advertisements average 1,000 views. 

“Our Facebook posts have been viewed 177,779 in the past 60 days, an increase of 41% on the previous 60 days, and 34% of our viewers have opted to follow our page, meaning they get notified each time we post new content.” 

Christine said people who want to help but can’t take a dog were also being very generous. 

“There has been a huge increase in donated dog bedding, dog accessories and dog toys from members of the public. We pair these with our adoption dogs and pass them onto the new owner. 

“SPCA Whangārei has also been donating desexing vouchers for our adoption dogs. We really appreciate this because puppies are coming in faster than we can find homes for them. Desexing dogs reduces the number of unwanted litters and gives the dogs that are born a better chance of being rehomed.”