Tauranga city was able to return 70 percent of impounded dogs to their owners. Photo: 123rf.com
More than 15,000 labradors, spaniels, pugs and other dogs call Tauranga city home.
And they are lucky to - the city's animal control statistics were a standout in the region.
Figures provided to RNZ show over a five-month period, Tauranga city was able to return 70 percent of impounded dogs to their owners and euthanised only 25 percent.
Every other area of Bay of Plenty had to put down around half of all impounded dogs - (50 percent in Rotorua, 42 percent in Western Bay, 52 percent in Kawerau and 74 percent in Ōpōtiki).
Brent Lincoln from Tauranga City Council was quick to acknowledge the types of dogs found in Tauranga compared to other areas made an impact on the figures, as did the amount of animal control staff the city could afford.
"We have a dedicated animal services group within Tauranga, where some of the small councils their dog control might also be their parking wardens and their bylaws officers or something like that," he said.
Kat Thompson, from local animal rescue group Vada's, praised Tauranga for having gone the extra mile in reuniting or rehoming the large majority of impounded dogs.
"I feel like they have worked really, really hard to get where they have," she said.
But she also said there were many factors affecting the figures and people should not draw unfair comparisons.
"You've got to remember Ōpōtiki, and I work closely with Rotorua, they are very different types of dogs you are working with. You are working with a lot more gang dogs, you are working with a lot more aggressive dogs, that aren't up for rehoming," she said.
Thompson said she felt every pound in the area was working really hard, but Tauranga had done more.
Brent Lincoln said once a dog entered the Tauranga pound a combination of things had been put in place to get the best outcome for the animal.
One of which was hand delivering a letter to owners.
"We try and work with the owners quite closely once we have identified them, offering the options and giving them a bit of flexibility on how they can work together to get their dog out of the pound," he said.
Lincoln said 90 percent of dogs entered the pound because they were found roaming the streets and that was when microchipping and registering a dog became vitally important.
Companion Animals New Zealand's register manager Sarah Clement said people often misunderstood what a microchip was.
The only information on the microchip was the microchip number.
"A lot of people think that once their animal has a microchip the microchip holds all of their information, but registration is really key, [that microchip number] needs to be put on a database, so it can be linked with the guardian's details."
There are two nationwide databases for pounds to search - Companion Animals and the councils'. Clement encouraged councils to access both and for pet guardians to keep their information up to date on both.
"It's always a really heartbreaking thing when you find an animal, you scan it, yes it has a microchip, you try and call the owner, and their details aren't up to date."
Lincoln said they recently discovered a dog in the Tauranga pound had actually been stolen months earlier from Auckland.
The national registry was able to reunite the dog and owners - an outcome everyone wanted.
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