Hamilton SPCA senior canine attendant Steph Swney playing with Chase. Photo / Malisha Kumar
Hamilton SPCA senior canine attendant Steph Swney playing with Chase. Photo / Malisha Kumar
Every year, the SPCA looks after more than 30,000 animals, from sick and vulnerable to injured and abused. The society’s Hamilton centre has almost 300 animals in its care. One of them is4-month-old puppy Chase.
Chase was found abandoned under a bush in the Hamilton area by a member of the public. He was infested with worms, extremely underweight, and only 6 or 7 weeks old.
A closer look revealed the brown-and-white spotted puppy was not alone: he was with his two brothers, Miles and Snoopy, who were also in a similar horrid condition.
All three puppies weighed only about 2kg when brought into the centre.
However, Chase has now spent more than two months in the care of the SPCA in Hamilton, and is ready for his fur-ever home.
This is how Chase looked when he was brought into the Hamilton SPCA centre more than two months ago. Photo / Hamilton SPCA
Hamilton SPCA senior canine attendant Steph Swney said Chase had come a long way since arriving at the centre,
“He’s a real fun and good god, very tolerant and ... he loves to play with people and other dogs. I think he would be a good family dog, he’s just very sweet.
“He can be quite nervous and jumpy around loud noises, but he’s really receptive to getting over something and won’t just cower away.”
Chase has also been learning essential doggy skills from his three-legged female puppy roommate, Trilly.
Centre manager Kyla Robb said Chase’s transformation was powerful.
“He looks ... nothing like what he did when he first came in,” Robb said.
What Chase the 4-month-old puppy looks like now. He loves belly scratches. Photo / Malisha Kumar
“He’s completed his full vaccination course, received regular flea and worm treatments to keep him healthy, he’s putting on great weight and is growing up so fast. He is a sweet and inquisitive boy, very expressive with his ears, and has really come out of his shell since he was brought in.
“With lots of love and socialisation, this handsome boy will continue to grow into the best boy we know he can be.”
People interested in adopting Chase can visit the SPCA website or click the link here. His brother, Miles, is also up for adoption.
Unfortunately, Snoopy was put down.
“When [the three puppies] were brought in, we thought [Snoopy] was going to die .. he looked horrible and really sick, he was shivering and cold, dehydrated, and he looked like he was starving,” Swney said.
Snoopy made a recovery, but was put down due to an abnormality in his jaw.
Meanwhile, Robb said the centre was overrun with animals, and it was calling on the public to help with adoption, fostering, or donations for the animals.
There are 290 animals in the care of the SPCA in Hamilton, and more than 90 of them are ready to be adopted.
“The numbers are still too high, we should be at 250 or something less,” she said.
There are 31 dogs living at the centre, with 17 of them available for adoption. The group of adoption-ready canines includes some of the 11 puppies found dumped on the roadside in Huntly last month.
Chase is ready to find his fur-ever home. Photo / Malisha Kumar
Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023, after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.
