A litter of 11 roaming puppies was just one of more than 1600 dog-related call outs Masterton District Council dealt with last year.
By Sue Teodoro of Local Democracy Reporting
The puppies' parent had previously been impounded by the council, who advised it be desexed – but the advice was not followed.
On another occasion, two unregistered dogs were accused of killing a domestic pet.
The cases were described in a report to Wednesday’s council meeting as examples of the pressure on the council’s animal control team, one of the reasons justifying a recommended increase in dog registration fees next year.
The council is being asked to decide on either an across-the-board registration increase of 12%, or a 16% increase for non-compliant dog owners, with a 10% increase for compliant ones. In both cases, the penalty for late payment of registration fees would be 50%.
The 11 puppies came from a property familiar to council staff, with previous non-compliance for non-registration, and having more than two dogs on the property.
Four dogs had been impounded by council staff at the property six months prior.
On that occasion, the owners chose to collect only two of the four from the council’s animal shelter leaving the two younger pups with staff to find rescue agencies who could take the dogs.
The owners were not charged for the two dogs left with the council, but were “advised strongly” to desex their two remaining dogs.
"They failed to do so, and the result was a litter of 11 puppies. The time and cost of caring for 11 puppies is significant and this was invoiced back to the owners."
Separately, the two unregistered dogs involved in the alleged attack on the pet were picked up by council staff.
"Officer time was considerable while investigating the attack and while trying to track down the dog owners and then engage with them. The attack could not be proven. The dogs were later found at large and not under control. The owners did not collect their dogs."
The report said the council’s fee schedule tried to make non-compliant owners financially accountable.
“Officers have amended the fees and charges to recover as much of the costs from non-compliant dog owners as possible but there are residual costs for time and resources that fall to compliant dog owners and ratepayers."
Of approximately 6056 dogs in the district, the report estimated around 97% were currently registered, with 198 known to be unregistered.
Neighbouring councils were not increasing registration fees to the same extent, but demand for services in Masterton was higher.
Carterton District Council had 200 dog-related complaints in the 2025 financial year, South Wairarapa District Council 83, and Masterton 1618.
In the same year, Carterton impounded 31 dogs, South Wairarapa 21, and Masterton 166.
Carterton council were increasing their fees in line with inflation, with a fixed fee of $75 for owners over the age of 65. South Wairarapa council had increased all dog-related fees by 5%.
"The demand for the service in Masterton is significantly higher than the neighbouring Wairarapa councils," the report said.
"In the Masterton District, an officer is on call every day of the year 24 hours a day. The officer is available to respond to urgent calls after-hours such as priority one calls and dogs that are contained for collection.
"The officer must also care for any impounded dogs housed at the shelter. Priority one calls include dogs involved in attacks against people, protected wildlife, domestic animals, poultry and stock and welfare concerns, police assistance and rushing (where a dog is in a public place and the dog rushes and is likely to cause harm).
"Masterton District Council and Carterton District Council offer a 24-hour service for animal control. South Wairarapa District Council does not provide an after-hours service."
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
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