One-eyed Red now calls farm home

Lars Jansen says Red seems 'pretty glad just to have somewhere to live'. Photo / Alan Gibson

A new owner, a new home and a new name have brought a one-eyed dog's tale to a happy ending.

One Eye - a kelpie-cross listed on Trade Me after efforts to find her owner failed - now answers to the name of Red and is living it up on a Bay of Plenty dairy farm.

Just over a week after the Opotiki SPCA appealed through the Herald for someone to claim her, the pooch now spends her days chasing cows and snoozing in a $1000 "mansion-like" kennel, says chuffed new owner Lars Jansen.

The SPCA phoned vet clinics and placed notices in newspapers and on pet websites hoping to track down the dog's former owner, who was thought to have spent thousands of dollars on operations for her.

But her owner never came forward - and Mr Jansen did.

The sharemilker was keen to get a dog after thieves stole one of his motorbikes.

"She was there in the pen and only had one eye, but she just looked so lovely, like she wanted to be looked after - and that was it.

"I think she's pretty glad just to have somewhere to live and now she's settling in well in the carport, right next to the old chook pen."

Red can also take comfort in knowing she's not the only afflicted animal on the farm.

"We've got a white albino-looking cat with no tail and one blue eye and one green eye. [It's] also clinically deaf, so now we've got a deaf cat and blind dog," Mr Jansen said.

"Her disability has actually turned out to be a bit worse than I first thought, so I've got to be careful around her when I'm on the tractor.

"When we go to move the cows, that can turn into a bit of a disaster pretty quickly. She'll see all the cows on her good side and dive off not thinking there are any on the other."

When not hounding the livestock, Red is happy being pampered by Mr Jansen's three children.

"The kids just love her. She's really got the life of Riley now."