Pound upgrade makes progress

Hastings pound manager John Payne, with one of the adoptable dogs at their new pound facility.

The Hastings pound has stepped out of darkness and into the light - literally.

The compound where dogs are kept is getting an upgrade from dingy, dark and damp to bright, light and clean, with a specialised segment for dangerous dogs yet to come.

Currently at the half way mark, Hawke's Bay Today was given a sneak peak of a state-of-the-art facility which aimed to combat issues dredged up during a recent independent report.

The pound has gone from 32 cages - right now they're down to 16 - but when an upgrade is complete in six weeks' time the total will be back up to 26.

"Cages for dangerous dogs will be bigger because we can't touch them, they can self exercise," animal control team leader Clynton Chadwick said.

Hastings District Council has stepped up its game with regard to dog control and re-homing policies.

One of the most positive steps was that any dog found wandering, which had not been impounded in the past two years, was returned without any cost to its owner - provided there was a current phone number listed.

Last month 86 dogs were handled by staff - 34 were returned to their owners without being taken in, 48 were impounded and four relinquished due to serious behavioural issues.

Of those 52 impounded, 21 were reclaimed and 10 adopted out.

Fourteen were euthanased, four of which were dangerous; one court ordered after it attacked a person, and the other nine were found unsuitable for homing.

Pound manager John Payne, a long-time animal control officer and former Tauranga City Council regulatory manager, was engaged to independently review Hastings' animal control service last year and was then appointed to a one-year "change management" position to implement the report's recommendations.

"We want to make it friendly enough for people to come through, so it is a suitable place to find a pet," he said.

"The adoption cost is $250, that weeds out the people who can't afford to own a dog.

It includes registration, microchip, vet checks, they are also given a flea treatment."

HDC approved plans to fast-track a $400,000 upgrade of the pound, which began at the end of May.