Recently New Zealand Woman’s Weekly teamed up with our friends at Advocate from Bayer, a trusted provider of flea and worm protection for cats and dogs, and ran a competition to find New Zealand’s most lovable rescue pet.
We’re proud to announce Tinkerbelle as the winner – but the panel of judges thought all the entries were the cat’s whiskers.
Tinkerbelle was originally given away on Facebook because she was paralysed, due to a severe traumatic spinal injury.
She was rescued by HURRAH, the Desexy Revolution and Dr Jess Beer from Kiwi Pet Behaviour, and with plenty of love from foster mum Jess she gradually gained strength, allowing her to stand and wobble around for short periods.
Rachael Elliott and her adopted dog Tinkerbelle.
Tinkerbelle was then adopted by Rachael Elliott, who’d initally been concerned that her other dogs were too rough and tumble. But her big dog Alfie lay down and let Tinkerbelle chew on him, so she joined their family and they crowdfunded her wheelchair.
After almost two years of acupuncture and hydrotherapy, Tinkerbelle can now walk and run fairly steadily, and even jump up on the couch.
“She gets stronger by the day and we’re so proud of the way she hasn’t let her injury stop her,” says Rachael. “It is so hard to be sad with her smiley little face looking up at you.”
The prize includes a pet photoshoot and a $500 hamper, plus Advocate is gifting $500 to HURRAH, Rachael’s charity of choice.
And the runners-up are…
Marley, adopted by Gwen Green
When Gwen adopted Marley in 2016, it was his third home in just four years.
For the first month he hid in cupboards, then gradually trusted Gwen and her husband, but hid back in his cupboard for guests.
These days he’s the life and soul of the party.
“If you’re sitting around the dining table then move, he’ll take your seat! So many times we’ve heard people say, “Really I’m a dog person, but Marley has so much personality.”
Moose, adopted by Heather Rodgers
Heather rescued Moose from the pound in 2017. He’d been beaten and locked up for the first five months of his life and looked so terrified Heather couldn’t leave without him.
A year and a half on, Moose makes his owners laugh on a daily basis.
“Moose loves nothing more than to go to the beach and play fetch. He still has scars from his past, but we make sure he is kept safe. We’re so lucky to have found him.”
