Welcome Bay dog rescuer Billie Te Tau is on a mission to educate Tauranga residents on being safe around roaming dogs.

Te Tau, who started Bilbo’s Dogpaws Rescue from her home in 2011, believed she had rescued and rehomed more than 500 dogs from the streets of Tauranga during the last few years.

“In this area, it’s [roaming dogs in the city] really bad. In Welcome Bay we see a lot of stray and roaming dogs, and recently there have been many reports of people being bitten or injured by dogs.

“A large percentage of those bitten by dogs yearly are children under 12, some are killed,” she said.

Looking into the subject, Te Tau found Auckland councillor Josephine Bartley had said research revealed about 27,000 dog-related injuries were reported every year in New Zealand. Of those, nearly 3000 were injuries to children under 14 years old.

To stop people getting hurt in Tauranga City this year, Te Tau had begun hosting free dog safety seminars in the community. Her next step to introduce the seminars into Tauranga schools.

“We want everyone to be safe.”

Te Tau had already hosted a seminar with a local group of homeschooled children at Te Puna Quarry Park.

Billie Te Tau and three-year-old rescue Pickle. Photo / Brydie Thompson

“We talked with the children about how to be safe around dogs, what to do if you find a roaming dog in your neighbourhood, how to tell when a dog is feeling happy or sad etc and general information on how to care for your own dogs and be safe around them.”

Te Tau brought rescue puppies to the quarry park for the homeschoolers to meet. The children loved interacting with the dogs and they all had lots of great questions and were very interested, said Te Tau.

“We made it as fun as possible and the parents said it was so awesome of us to offer these seminars to the general public.”

Te Tau also handed seminar participants with activities and safety tips for children, and stickers and colouring pages.

“Around 40 people, parents and primary school-aged kids booked in to attend. It was a huge success.”

The seminars are free to join, and attendees are welcome to bring a small donation of pet food for Bilbo’s Dogpaws Rescue, which is self-funded by Te Tau and donations.

Te Tau’s love of dogs started at a young age when she was put in charge of looking after her family’s farm dogs. She later volunteered at animal charities and fostered animals while studying animal care at Unitec.

Before starting Bilbo’s Dogpaws Rescue, Te Tau attended a vet nurse assistant training course at Animates Vets.

“I have more than 20 years of work experience with dogs now. It’s been beautiful to see all these dogs I’ve had the pleasure of meeting finally getting another chance at being treated responsibly with loads of love and dedication.”

While Te Tau would continue with Bilbo’s Dogpaws Rescue, she also wanted to invest time in spreading awareness on being safe around dogs. To organise a seminar, email: dogpawsbilbo@gmail.com.