The devastation of the Auckland floods has forced Keysar Rescue on Hunua Road to relocate to other locations and businesses, like including Pet Lodge, in south Auckland.
Renee Sila is a co-owner of Keysar Rescue and has reached over 12,000 followers, hoping to foster and encourage others to help and nurture animals inne ed.
Sila says the floods in Auckland not only affected hundreds of households around the region but also ruined the home base she and her sister established for Keysar Rescue, forcing her to relocate four German Shepherds to her own home and 14 more pups to Brookby Pet Lodge.
“It just affected my rescue as a whole and that's why I reached out to Brookby and to be honest, before reaching Brookby Lodge, I had nowhere to go, no plan B, nothing, but all I knew was I needed to keep my dogs and puppies safe”.
Brookby had taken the majority of them and with regards to the puppies and older dogs that were caught in the flood, they've gone to foster homes as well.”
Cimon Penney, who has run Brookby Pet Lodge since 2004, says that while the lodge was not harmed by the floods, it was lucky enough to be able to aid and serve the community by reaching out to rescues like Keysar.
She says that while Brookby is more than capable of caring for so many puppies, it would be even better if people could open their hearts and homes to more puppies like these.
“They need a lot of help because she's inundated with dogs who need rescuing. All these puppies that we have were found under houses which is really sad.”
Kennel Assistant Anna Polgar is of Ngāti Pikiao and gained experience in animal health and welfare before working with Brookby for the last couple of months and has enjoyed being able to care for animals in Tāmaki Makaurau.
“We are fortunate that these pups are mature enough and do not require milk from their mother, which makes things much easier for us because all we need to focus on is teaching the pups how to consume appropriate meals such as mashed biscuits and dog roll.”
Renee Sila expresses her gratitude to Brookby Pet Lodge for its unwavering support and hopes that more families looking for their forever 'fur-baby' will reach out to rescues and shelters to find and help one pup at a time.
“I really hope that we get a lot more foster families. If not for my rescue, there are so many other rescue organisations out there across Auckland and across the country. Please reach out to your local shelter”.