Say “Kia Ora!” to the Council, and Kia Ora to Syed Qadri! Syed is one of our Customer Service Representatives.

Syed’s happy place is his family, including his extended family, and his community from his home country, Pakistan. He moved to the Bay in 2013, and loves being a part of the community and Council whānau. Syed thinks the best part about his job is the people: helping people solve their problems and working alongside supportive colleagues.

Syed is an active member of the community, a proud member of Toastmasters, and a boot camp exercise enthusiast. In his spare time, he spends lots of time checking in and hanging out with his loved ones. He does admit that he used to be shy, but his values of inclusiveness led him to become more engaged with people, learn about the world, and take up a job that serves the people of the Bay.

He says the three words he’d use to describe his job are “everyday is different,” and says his favourite thing about working for the Council is being someone who makes a difference.

Kia ora, Syed!

Say “Kia Ora!” to the Council, and Kia Ora to Sophie Scholes! Sophie is a Technical Support Officer – Monitoring.

Sophie and her whānau hail from the Gold Coast, and she describes her happy place as being back across the ditch with her family. She has lived in the Western Bay for about a year and believes the best part about her mahi is the diversity that every day brings and the supportive colleagues she is surrounded by.

Sophie describes her job (which entails monitoring resource consents, processing food and health-related registrations and supporting with inspections) as positively challenging, fun, and varied. However, she admits that 10 years ago, she didn’t ever see herself moving to Aotearoa New Zealand. She also says she did not anticipate working in the field she does now.

If she could speak to her younger self, she’d tell her to say yes to everything and to keep travelling; but also assure her that you don’t have to stick to the path you thought you once would.

When she’s not at mahi, Sophie enjoys hitting the pavement for a run or a walk, and she loves socialising with friends.

Kia ora, Sophie!

Say “Kia Ora!” to the Council, and Kia Ora to Betty Hall (and her pooch, our Council spokes-dog, Alfie)! Betty is one of our Animal Welfare Officers, and she’s been working at the Council for 33 years.

She loves dogs, and she loves people, and thinks the best part about her mahi is combining both. While some of her work involves enforcement, her favourite part is education. She finds it really rewarding informing whānau about dog behaviour and giving them the tools to form meaningful bonds with their furry friends. But she does admit there are hard days where she goes home upset and finds pride in making sure the animals that she works with get the best care when they are with her.

Her mahi also led her to Alfie. Alfie’s name was inspired by Christmas, which is when he arrived at Council with a fractured leg. He moved in with Betty as a foster dog, but Betty gratefully recalls the Council staff pooling money together to help pay for his treatment. He now permanently lives with Betty and her whānau on a farm, and he’s the leader of his home pack of four dogs. The well-trained pup comes to the Council regularly and is a hit with the staff, and even speaks on command.

A Western Bay local who was born in Te Puke, Betty’s happy place involves woodwork, and she enjoys making and repairing stuff. She believes the past two years, through COVID-19, has taught her that gentleness is strength under control, adding that it’s more satisfying to be gentle with dogs and with people too.

Kia Ora, Betty!

Every dog in our animal shelters has story, but so do the people who look after them. Becs, works part time at Te Puke Animal Shelter. She's given us a sneak peek of what it’s like to work at the shelter. Hi I’m Becs and I’ve been working at the Te Puke Animal Shelter for just over 2.5 years.

A typical morning for me at the shelter begins with lots of happy barks, tail wags and cuddles from the dogs who can’t wait to come outside for playtime, runs and ball fetches.

Becs takes the dogs outside every morning for some exercise and fun out in the yard. Then she cleans their pen while they get some fresh air. This is Becs and Trig, a Whippet X with a heart of gold.

The majority of dogs that come into the shelter have been picked up because they’ve been roaming. Their stay can vary from a day to a few days. We occasionally get dogs surrendered to us for different reasons, which we assess and can rehome. Other dogs we get in the shelter are dogs that have been seized, which can be for a number of reasons ranging from unregistered dogs to different types of offending.

Becs and Neville, a Pointer X. Neville got his name from one of the Animal Services Officer's who said she'd never met a mean Neville 😍

We have a really good adoption program at the shelter and it’s always nice to spend some extra time working with these dogs, getting them used to walking on a lead, teaching them simple commands and getting them ready for life back out in a new home.

My favourite part of the job is just working with the dogs, knowing that however long they are in the shelter with us for, I’ve made a positive impact in their lives. I’ve had dogs come into the shelter very timid, not knowing how to play, or just scared of the world and it’s so rewarding to see them grow confidence, learn to trust people and learn that life isn’t always cruel and scary.

"I spend a lot of my time cleaning" says Becs, who is tidying up some soft toys thrown around by one of the residents pups.

We get the odd fence jumper in the shelter that thinks it’s great fun to jump the 2 meter plus high fences. But my most memorable moment was when I had just put a dog outside in the exercise yard, walked back inside to clean their pen, when I heard loud noises above me on the roof. My first thought was that someone was trying to break in to get their dog back but when I went outside to see what it was, the proud, hairy face of a dog was staring back at me from on top of the roof!! It took dog roll and lots of patience to coax him back down the way he came. Thankfully uninjured.

The dogs are given puzzles and treats to ensure their minds stay active. Becs is using some pieces of dog roll to keep Neville entertained (he stole some off the bench while she wasn't looking).