Vada's Angels Animal Rescue Struggles Under Weight of Growing Demand

A Whakamārama-based animal rescue operation is calling on the community for support after finding itself nearly $17,000 in debt, with demand for its services at an all-time high. Vada's Angels Animal Rescue Tauranga, run by Katrina Thompson and Tash Pearce on a 10-acre property, currently cares for 25 dogs on-site and around 50 more in foster homes — about 95 percent of them sourced from local dog pounds.

The rescue is named after Thompson's late dog Nevada (Vada), who helped socialise rescued animals alongside her packmates. Thompson still relies on her five personal dogs — Dakota, Dallas, New Haven, Las Vegas and Nashville — to help assess and build confidence in newly arrived pound dogs, preparing them for rehoming.

Last month the pair made the difficult decision to stop accepting new intakes after more than 50 dogs and puppies arrived in March alone. A Facebook plea describing the rescue as "drowning" raised $10,000 in community donations, though Thompson stressed that no one at Vada's Angels receives any payment. The rescue runs entirely on donations and self-funding.

Thompson says the problem of unwanted animals is worse than it has ever been, driven largely by people not desexing their pets and the rising cost of doing so. The rescue carries out community desexing and is also seeing more older dogs surrendered by families who can no longer afford their care. All dogs sleep indoors and are exercised in groups across the farm. More information and adoption enquiries can be found at vadasangels.org.

Originally published in Katikati News (Sun Media).