The relationship between dog and owner often feels like a bond as deep and strong as blood. Emily Writes met five families whose dogs have a special role in their lives. On Gaia Bellini’s first birthday she had a photoshoot with her 90-year-old great-grandmother. It was a gift from her mum Olivia. Gaia’s hair was … Read more
Houses might be the most popular and inflated purchases in New Zealand, but there are plenty of other products that are seeing soaring demand and prices over the past few months. Here’s a list of what New Zealanders are spending their money on with international travel out of the picture. Used cars (including vans) In … Read more
Auckland councillor Cathy Casey sizes up what life is like for the city’s dogs and their owners – and finds there’s plenty of room for improvement. In the world’s great cities, dogs are well integrated into everyday public life. Amsterdam has some of the world’s most liberal dog policies and everywhere a Parisian goes, a … Read more
If you’ve been dreaming of that cute little cavoodle, prepare to end up locked in a bidding war with hundreds of equally desperate buyers. Nothing gets New Zealanders hot under the collar than a story about the rampant housing market. With travel – our traditional outlet of escapism – barred to most of us, we’ve … Read more
This election, the nation embraced dogs at polling booths. We ran out of time and capacity to put them all up on Saturday, so here are some of the pooches that got away. Last week, we asked you to send in your photos of dogs at polling booths, promising our election day live updates would … Read more
They’re competing to be named top dog, but they’ve already won our hearts. Nothing brings the nation together like a good dog. Ask Spot or the SPCA dogs that learned to drive, or even John Campbell and Matty McLean speaking directly to the good dogs of New Zealand, live on Breakfast television. Tonight, new reality TV … Read more
Sick of dating shows? The Dog House is a matchmaking show with none of the drama and all of the feels. I like to schedule my crying jags for Tuesdays at 8.30pm. A bawl isn’t guaranteed: sometimes just a trickle of salty sadness runs down my cheek, other times happy tears flow. Either way, it’s … Read more
Do you like cute dogs? Do you like cute people? Wellington-based Starcolt Studios’ first game, Best Friend Forever, might just be the one for you. When you think game studio, you picture dark rooms with menacingly beeping black machines with Tron blue lights, not a lovely office that shares a floor with a counselling service. … Read more
Piiata the lab was supposed to paper over the cracks of Nadine Anne Hura’s broken family with beads of glittering gold. Instead, she began to dismantle the house one panel and one cushion at a time. She was second to last of the litter and fully golden. We took her home and called her Piiata. She … Read more
Pooch Perfect is the dog-grooming reality show you never knew you wanted. Here are the famous dogs who we think deserve a spot to be groomed by the best of the best. Tired of seeing dogs only on your daily walk or scrolling through your Instagram? Do you want to see some dogs looking their … Read more
Emily Writes visits Flick Electric Co’s HQ to learn why they think having dogs in the office hasn’t just made their workplace happier, it’s made them more productive too. Nobody is quite sure how Flick HQ in Wellington became a dog office. Apparently, someone brought their pup in. Then another person did. Then another. Georgina … Read more
Inspired by Winston Peters’ dog and muse, Beau, a range of other dogs have urged their politician owners to get them in the Spinoff gallery. Drool away. For the second time in a week, The Spinoff is bringing together New Zealand’s politician and dog communities in celebration. On Tuesday we published the epochal, soft-hitting, smash … Read more
If you are a politician and you have a dog, please send us your pictures for consideration. It’s January, there’s an election year stretching ahead, and coverage of politicians’ social media activity will focus very heavily on attack-memes, misinformation and flame wars, and not nearly so much on dogs. So if it’s hard hitting political … Read more
Why do so many dogs in New Zealand end up with the same name? And is there anything that explains the remarkable continued popularity of big bounding labradors? Radio NZ’s Kate Newton investigates. Our dogs are diversifying as rapidly as we are, and greyhounds, schnauzers and shih tzus are all on the rise. But clinging … Read more
Ada is a dog with a very unusual, life-saving skill: warning her diabetic owner that her blood glucose levels are getting dangerously low or high. All dogs are good dogs, but Ada is a very special dog. The seven-year-old husky is New Zealand’s first Diabetic Response Dog. Ada’s owner Vicki Parry was diagnosed with type 1 … Read more
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (Hamish Hamilton, $40) Winner of the 2019 Booker Prize. 2 The Body: A … Read more
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Mophead: How Your Difference Makes a Difference by Selina Tusitala Marsh (Auckland University Press, $25) “I think an excellent and … Read more
Is it worth forking out for deluxe snacks for your pooch, or are budget brands the business? Critic reviews eight dog food varieties, rating each on appearance, aroma, mouthfeel, taste and the all-important ‘aura’. This article was first published in the Otago University student magazine Critic Te Arohi. Luxurious images and buzz words like “succulent” and “delicate” … Read more
Aaron Kreisler looks beyond the gags in this survey of an artist and his dogs at the Christchurch Art Gallery. “The dog really must love him, it’s so incredibly patient…”, a woman says to her daughter, punctuating a screening of Coin toss (1972). In a collection of short single-take videos, American artist William Wegman participates … Read more
Animal rescue organisations in New Zealand are overworked and overflowing with stray animals in need of a caring home, Ellen Sinclair reports. The SPCA takes in over 40,000 animals every year, and with rescue organisations all over the country full with abandoned, dumped or stray pets, New Zealand has a serious surplus of animals in … Read more
In what is being touted as “paw-some” news by AT, domestic pets will be allowed on trains in Auckland from Sunday 16 June. Here are all your burning questions answered. First of all, what the hell is a so-called domestic pet? Domestic pets are defined as “tame animals that live inside the customer’s home” by … Read more
A recent Spinoff column argued that Auckland’s dog laws are overly restrictive, and only set to get worse under proposed new bylaws. Nonsense, writes James Pasely. Dogs and their activities should not be the hill we die on. Aucklanders have more important things to worry about – issues like traffic, housing, mental health all loom … Read more
With Auckland’s local body elections coming up in October, now is the time for Aucklanders to turn their attention to the city’s overly-restrictive dog laws, writes Julian Light. Auckland has the goal to be the most liveable city on earth. Just not if you’ve got four paws. Pooches are treated as pariahs in our biggest … Read more
Mobility dog owner Hannah Gibson explains why it’s important assistance dogs like hers stay focused on the job. Over three months ago, I met Darcy (affectionately called Mr Darcy by Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust, the organisation which trained him and every one thereafter). He is my mobility dog and he loves his job. I have waited … Read more
The internet is a place where the darkest seeds of the world take root – but there’s light there too. Sam Brooks talks to the person behind one of those lights, the Can You Pet the Dog twitter account which documents dogs you can pet in video games. When I see a dog, there’s one question … Read more
Breeds such as pugs and bulldogs are bred to encourage a facial deformity that can significantly impair a dog’s health, welfare and happiness. Vets have a moral obligation not to support such cruelty, write the University of Sydney’s Paul McGreevy and Anne Fawcett. Veterinarians have a professional and moral obligation to reduce or prevent any … Read more
Alex Casey scours the internet for the top tips to keep your pets cool in this horrendous heatwave. I don’t know about your cats, but mine are pissed off. Zelda in particular. Where her brother Link, cold-blooded Prince of Darkness, spends his blistering summer days lying in the hot water cupboard like the anarchic goth … Read more
Boutique collars, handmade toys and speciality treats packed with the best ingredients you could ask for. What’s driving the new pet economy? Jihee Junn talks to the small business owners cashing in on the pet care craze. New Zealand is a nation of animal lovers, so much so that there are almost as many pets … Read more
There’s a new movement in the dog community – veganism. But are dogs being forced to forego meat against their will? Emily Writes met some dogs to get into the (meat-free) bones of the matter. Buddy* is a six-year-old golden labrador. He’s extremely interested in balls and has a PHD in Owner Behaviour at Canine … Read more