Dog walking service, emotional support dog, pets returning from Canada?! April's animal news will be centered on dog topics!
First up, some dog walking news from the capital.
Perfect control over your dogs! Walk 16 dogs at once
Stuff featured a man in Wellington, New Zealand's capital city at the southern tip of the North Island, who walks an astounding 16 dogs at once.
This man is Phil Clegg. In 2008, he and his wife Penny started a dog walking service called "Loose Leash Dog Walking". The name literally translates to "loose leash dog walking". This means that when walking a dog, the owner and the dog do not pull on the lead, but the dog walks close to the owner with the lead loosened, which is the ideal walking method. In Japan, this is called "leader walking", where the dog recognizes the owner as the leader and walks close to the owner.
Craig usually walks between 12 and 16 dogs on these leader walks.
When we keep the leash loose and don't pull on it, our dogs are happy to walk next to or behind us, with our most trusted dog walking on the right.
"There are quite a few dogs that I've looked after from when they were puppies right through to when they were elderly," says Craig.
The Craigs don't just walk dogs that are well-behaved. They are always calm and quiet, and show the dogs that they are the leaders.
First, we gain the trust and respect of the dogs. We show them that we are the leader, and then we protect them. By gently and slowly guiding them, the dogs will move to the corner of the road and stop immediately when they need to, so as not to get in the way of pedestrians. They also learn that they need to be careful when crossing bus stops, train tracks, and roads.
In an article introducing Clegg, there is a video of the dogs walking with him. He slowly lets the dogs out of the truck one by one, walks slowly without breaking the line during the walk, and even lets the dogs off the lead in the park, one at a time. Clegg never raises his voice, always talking to the dogs in the same tone and slowly, making eye contact with them.
The article also includes a cute group photo of the dogs staring intently into the reporter's camera, presumably at Craig's invitation, so be sure to take a look.
Separated pets on their journey home
A chartered plane, like Noah's Ark, departed from Canada for New Zealand with many dogs and cats on board.
These are pets whose owners decided to return or emigrate to New Zealand, but were unable to accompany them. Due to the impact of COVID-19, owners were forced to board flights at the last minute before flights were suspended, and there were problems such as not being able to complete the procedures for transporting pets in time, or there being a limited number of flights, so there was no room to carry pets. In some cases, the pets had been living away from their owners for over a year.
A charter flight was finally arranged to depart Canada, and 42 dogs and cats headed to New Zealand, where their families were waiting for them.
New Zealand is a country rich in nature and dairy farming, and has very strict rules on the import of animals, as well as food and plants. However, dogs and cats can be brought into the country if they meet the conditions of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). MPI is a government agency that handles biosecurity systems, quarantine, and trade management.
The first condition for bringing pets to New Zealand is that they must come from a country that does not have rabies. There are also some types of dogs and cats that cannot be brought into the country, such as the Japanese Tosa Inu. You will also need to prepare various documents, such as a health certificate from a veterinarian.
The charter flight from Canada was made possible with the cooperation of Air Canada, the Ministry of Primary Industries and Worldwide Animal Travel , a Canadian company that specializes in transporting pets.
Once in New Zealand, the dogs and cats will undergo a 10-day quarantine period before being returned to their families.
Dogs at school, helping to care for students' mental health
Two golden retrievers are taking their children to school every day in Otago, the southern tip of the South Island. Their positive impact on the children is becoming a hot topic.
Ray Richards, the school's janitor, brings his two dogs, Rose and Ruby, to work every day. When they arrive at school, Rose and Ruby play with the children and sit near them during class, becoming a part of the school.
It all started 13 years ago when Richards brought Rose, a puppy, to work. The principal at the time also agreed, saying, "It's a great idea to have a dog at school," and two years ago, Rose's granddaughter, Ruby, joined the school. Not only do the children enjoy playing with the dogs, some of them feel calmer and more secure when they have a dog around.
Rose and Ruby move around the school freely during class, sometimes sitting next to the children studying. Some children study while petting the dogs, which helps them concentrate on their studies.
says one of the teachers.
Dogs are comforting to children and teach compassion.
said Richards.
Richards plans to continue his work to bring dogs to schools across New Zealand.
