I first met Skye at a Bay of Islands SPCA open day a week before Christmas. My husband and young son were both enjoying meeting all the dogs and I was struck by how wonderfully friendly they were and how well they handled being around so many other people and dogs. Syke, a long bodied, stocky black and white Bitza, looked lovely in her blue Bay of Islands SPCA dog jacket emblazoned with the words "Adopt me!" I couldn’t resist.

We already owed one dog, a young Fox Terrier that we had had for almost exactly a year. My website design business was becoming increasingly busy and I was concerned about our dog being alone more and more often during the day while I was seeing clients. I knew that it is not always easy to bring an adult dog into a house that already has one and I’d been putting off getting another puppy because I didn’t have enough time to devote to a young dog that needed a lot of training. I also had to consider whether I could trust a strange dog with my little boy.

I spoke to the Bay of Islands SPCA about my concerns. They were very helpful and they offered to arrange a trial visit where Skye could stay with us for a week to see how everyone got along. We planned this to take place over Christmas so that we could all be there together, within the first 48 hours Syke had firmly wiggled her way into our hearts. By the end of the week she was definitely one of the family, she proved to be very gentle with children and good with other dogs. We had a few puddles in the first couple of days but apart from that I was pleasantly surprised by how well trained she was.

Throughout the trial I had Kaye’s (one of the SPCA’s inspectors) mobile number in case we had any problems. At the end of the week she contacted us to see how things had gone and we were delighted to go drop into the office in Kerikeri to complete the adoption paperwork. The SPCA provided us with a dog bed, and they had Syke spayed and mirco chipped at their expence saving us quite a lot of money. Of course because Syke was now desexed we also got the first years dog licence free from the council.

I was so impressed by the work the Bay of Islands SPCA do and the level of support and advice they offered us that I wanted to give something back. Doing what I could I put together the website you’re now browsing.

The Bay of Islands SPCA is a wonderful organisation run by a small yet amazingly dedicated team of people. Please support them anyway you can by donating money, your skills, your time, even the odd bag of pet food... every little thing helps. And if you can, I would recommend adopting a cat or dog. Giving an animal in need a loving home is a hugely rewarding experience. 

Lucie Green, owner GreenWeb Ltd

For other sucess stories please follow the links below:

Lass's Story
Marty's Story
Sid's Story
Millie's Story
Sandi's Story
Tony's Tabby
Midget's Story