Vet nurse sets up rest home for rescue dogs
Each day Kate Stanley sets out medication for her three ‘‘golden girls’’.
There are pills for Cushing’s disease, eye drops for inflamed cornea, painkillers and homeopathic remedies, and Indy has just finished chemotherapy.
This time of year, the little old ladies follow the sun around the house with their coats on because they feel the cold easily in their old age of 63 to 98.
In dog years, that is. Stanley, a vet nurse for New Plymouth Vet Group, cares for animals as a career, but in her spare time, she has ended up running a retirement village for rescue canines.
‘‘They just need someone to look after them and love them. They’re as happy as they can be.’’
The 32-year-old has always been one to help dogs in need, and the small in-home hospice started a year ago when she came across Tiny.
The 9-year-old had a ‘‘rough ride’’ while living in Auckland as she had been owned by an alcoholic and tied up outside pubs daily.
When Stanley decided to take the dog on she had a tumour on her stomach, major behavioural issues and cushing’s disease, an illness where her body overproduces a steroid hormone, which requires medication every day.
‘‘That shortens her life expectancy.’’
‘‘Golden girl’’ number two, Indy, 12, has just finished chemotherapy for a tumour on her bladder, but, sadly, has a life expectancy of less than a year.
‘‘Hopefully, we can get longer out of her.’’
Stanley came across her on Trade Me as she had been handed between two families who could no longer look after her because of a housing situation.
Then there’s Jovi, the oldest at 14, who was dumped at the New Plymouth pound. ‘‘I couldn’t leave her there, she was so old – she shouldn’t be there.’’
Jovi had rotten teeth and needs regular eye drops for her cornea, and would spend all day under Stanley’s duvet if she could.
The vet nurse said she’d love to care for more dogs, but she’s ‘‘maxed out’’. ‘‘Emotionally, it’s been hard.’’ As much as she loves her ‘‘golden girls’’, Stanley wants people to realise dogs are a commitment and have to be looked after with love.
‘‘People really need to think before they get a dog. Are you going to be able to look after them for another 10 years?’’
As a result, she’s had to ‘‘pick up the pieces’’ of her elderly dogs’ previous owners.
‘‘I decided I need to do more to help these dogs – they’re in these situations through no fault of their own whatsoever.’’
A Givealittle page was set up by Stanley’s friends to help cover medical costs. It’s called the Golden Girls Retirement Village.