How adopting animals changed the lives of New Zealand celebrities

Honor’s journey into fostering rabbits

Kiwi hockey star Honor decided to try her hand at fostering rabbits after her son Fox kept asking for a family bunny.

“From the age of five onwards, he really wanted a rabbit and eventually that broke me,” smiles the animal lover, who was photographed with SPCA cat Indie for our Woman’s Day shoot.

“I wanted to make sure he was at an age where he could take responsibility for it, so I thought fostering was a fantastic idea as we could use it as a trial run.”

From first foster to growing a bunny family

Their first foster was a male mini lop called Boogie. A few short months after he arrived, the SPCA ambassador, her former All Black husband Dan, 43, and their boys – Marco, 12, Fox, 10, Rocco, six, and Cruz, four – welcomed Maple, a female mini lop. They were soon followed by two Flemish giant rabbits, male Tiptoe and female Cookie.

“I’m not very good at saying goodbye and it really was my decision to keep them all,” laughs Honor.

“I grew up on a farm, so I loved being involved with and caring for animals. It’s such an important thing, especially for little boys, to learn to be kind and to help when needed. “A male who likes animals is the sweetest, so having the rabbits has been good for them. Sure, I do 100% of the work, but they’re amazing and growing into very sweet little boys who love nurturing.”

Expert tips for adopting rabbits

Rabbits are social, intelligent, “need lots of enrichment” and live best in bonded pairs, says Honor. If you’re thinking of adopting bunnies, she recommends working with your local SPCA, who will help make sure two rabbits, usually a male and female, can successfully be brought together. If they don’t bond, the rabbits can be returned to the SPCA.

The other advice Honor gives is to never separate them, even when going to the vet, and keeping them in a large area. The rabbits she, Dan and the boys care for are housed in two 3x2m living spaces.

Quirks and personality of Honor’s rabbits

“The females are shy, but the males are more outgoing,” tells Honor.

“Tiptoe loves to cuddle. He’ll sit on my chest while I stroke him as he licks me. The other little quirk I love about them is that rabbits make these little chewing sounds to show their joy, like cats purring!”

Suzanne’s instant connection with Matty

When Suzanne saw seven-year-old dog Matty on Facebook, she knew instantly he was the rescue for her.

“His little face was staring out and it just stopped me,” recalls Suzanne.

“My husband Patrick and I had been thinking about getting a rescue dog, so we knew in that moment we had to save Matty.”

From the streets of Kaitaia to forever home

Found roaming the streets of Kaitaia, his journey to Suzanne’s Auckland home was complicated by COVID.

“We couldn’t travel because the barricades were up – it was like Les Misérables!” the SPCA ambassador jokes.

“But eventually we got him and that first night, he slept on our bed between us. He’s never left. He feels safe.”

Learning to feel safe again

There have been a few times when Matty, now 12, has gone missing. Suzanne remembers, “We were in a fully enclosed property and we’d searched everywhere. Then I eventually found him in the walk-in wardrobe, hiding and shaking.”

It was only later that they realised he’d been freaked out by the sound of the oven being opened. Matty also used to pee on the floor when people arrived because he got so overwhelmed. But thanks to Suzanne’s gentle care, he’s much calmer now.

Why love and patience matter with rescue dogs

“With rescue animals, you’ve got to keep giving them love, no matter what,” she advises.

“Matty lived on the streets, so it took a while. But it’s such a lovely feeling when you give them love and patience, then they realise they can trust you and that love comes right back.”

Completing their fur-family

When Mark and Sunshine adopted their second rescue dog Sparky three years ago, they knew their fur-family was complete. His quiet nature helped ease the anxiety their older canine Nova felt and from day one, the pair has been good mates.

“Not only has Sparky been a great friend to Nova, but he was also a great companion for Sunny,” explains the radio star.

“He arrived at a stressful time in our lives, when Sunny had just lost her mum.”

From zoomies to trust

Like seven-year-old Staffy cross Nova, they fell in love with Sparky’s gentle nature and the way the two dogs do “zoomies” round the property together.

Sunny smiles, “Every morning, there’s a routine where they have their little play fight.”

When the couple adopted Sparky, they knew he was scared of loud noises. There had been a construction zone next to the home of his previous owners, so he was fearful and often ran away.

Mark says, “But we didn’t see what that looked like until Guy Fawkes and then when our neighbours started doing their renovations.”

Sunny adds, “He hyperventilates, shakes and runs around. You can hear his little heart pounding.”

Creating safe spaces for resuce dogs

Sunny says the key to a happy rescue dog is making sure each has their own space.

“Our dogs are crate-trained – they love them because the crates make them feel safe and secure.”

For Mark, having rescue dogs has been life-changing.

He shares, “I’ve learnt tolerance and selflessness. Nova and Sparky help me realise things aren’t always going to be perfect.”

Lessons in patience before motherhood

Caring for her two foster cats helped prepare Kim to become a first-time mum to Coco Joan Walsh, who was born in Auckland last month.

Photographed with rescue kittens Milo and Taro just days before giving birth, the SPCA ambassador says, “The big thing I’ve learnt having animals is patience. I’m usually running at a really high frequency and speed, so they helped me learn not to do that.”

While she was pregnant with Coco, her two elderly, Los Angeles-based cats – Powder, 16, and Little, who recently passed away at 17 – would lie next to Kim to help her relax.

The feminine energy of the cat life

“I spent a lot of my pregnancy in America and during that time, as well as during our journey to conception, I was prescribed a lot of rest, which doesn’t come naturally to me,” she shares.

“By leaning into the feminine energy of the cat lifestyle, they taught me not to hurry and to do things in my own time.”

A full-time job of love

Both older cats when she adopted them, the former Shortland Street star jokes it became “like a full-time job” trying to please them.

“It’s really important to me to nourish my pets,” says Kim, who also owns a tarantula called Prince Harry O’Connor.

“One way I do this is by putting on the Cat TV YouTube channel – it’s very engaging and relaxing. I often find myself watching it until I realise I’d better do something productive.”

Saying goodbye in a season of change

At our Woman’s Day photoshoot, the grief of having to put Little down is still raw.

“I don’t love playing God, especially being pregnant and emotional,” says Kim tearfully.

“It was really tough but necessary and weirdly poetic. What I’ve really struggled with is that in this time and season of change in my life, losing Little wasn’t the change I was expecting.”

A lifetime of caring

An SPCA ambassador for more than a decade, beloved personality Suzy has also been teaching kids how to care for animals since 1992.

“On the 3PM show, we had a weekly slot where we worked with the SPCA to show animals around the country and to match them with families,” recalls Suzy, who was photographed with rescue dog Mayday.

But it wasn’t until their family cat Moomoo, aka Mooch, passed away at the age of 20 during lockdown that Suzy, her husband Steve
and their kids, Riley and Morgan, decided to foster, bringing kittens home for a month at a time.

When goodbye became too hard

Suzy laughs, “It was so hard to give each cat back, except for the two that climbed the drapes – we still have light coming through those curtains!”

Then one day, after so many sad goodbyes, Loki arrived. When it was his turn to be adopted out, Suzy decided her husband should be the “brave one” and drop the cat off.

She remembers, “Steve made several attempts to return him to the SPCA, but eventually he phoned me to say, ‘I can’t do this. We have
to keep him.’”

Today, Loki lives a life of luxury.

Suzy smiles, “He spends every night at the end of my bed and wakes me up in the morning by giving me a smooch.”