ABOUT DOG FRIENDS

We were overwhelmed with the response we received before, and have received since, the Rodney Dog Policy Hearings and have been delighted to discover that there are so many dog lovers out there in the Rodney area.
The purpose of setting up 'Rodney Dog Friends' was to give dog owners a voice and to keep them informed about matters pertaining to their 'best friends'. The misinformation spread by the small anti dog lobby before and during the Dog Policy Hearings was truly awful and we found it very sad that it seemed to become a children versus dogs battle. In our minds the two belong together as 'best mates' as they have been for centuries. Our aim is to restore our family pet to its rightful place as 'man's best friend' and a much loved member of the family.

Your support is very much appreciated.

Check out our contact details to add yourself to our database so we can contact you with more news.

Or send your details to: RODNEY DOG FRIENDS, PO Box 631, Whangaparaoa

1. PLEASE send us one more contact!
As we mentioned in our last newsletter the strength of numbers in the Dog Friends group was pivotal in achieving success in changing Rodney's Dog Policy. There will be a review of the new policy in the middle of next year and it is important that we keep as many dog owners as possible informed of developments. We have no intention of losing our strength, instead we feel we should do our utmost to increase our numbers significantly over the coming 12 months and right up to the next local body elections. If everyone could send us the contact details for just one dog owner (or friend) not currently on the list we would double our numbers in no time. We now have in excess of 2,000 dog owners on our list but there are approx 14,000 dogs in Rodney.

If you haven't yet sent us contact details of another dog owner or friend please make it a priority to do so.
Please assure your friends that we will only send out emails occasionally.
Please send contact details to dogfriends@xtra.co.nz or dogfriends@pl.net
Thanks in anticipation of loads of emails!!!!

2. TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR DOG OWNERS AND PARENTS
The goodwill of both dog owners and non dog owners rests in ensuring that our dogs are well behaved and not causing a nuisance to those who may not share our love of animals. To this end, Rodney Dog Friends has produced the following Ten Commandments for Dog Owners & Parents which we hope will be useful to us all.

A. DOG OWNERS:
1. NEVER allow your dog to wander and ALWAYS pick up after your dog.
2. Some people are scared of dogs so be VERY CONSIDERATE of people walking without a dog - clip your dog back on the lead until you pass by.
3. Clip your dog back on lead when approaching someone with a dog on a lead or keep your dog well clear.
4. Check with other dog owners whether they want their dog to play BEFORE you let your dog off lead.
5. Clip your dog on lead when approaching children.
6. Ensure your dog ALWAYS wears its registration tag when you take it away from your property.

B. PARENTS:
7. ALWAYS impress on children to ASK the owner before touching any dog.
8. NEVER allow young children to play unsupervised with a dog. Young children tend to be rough - they need to be taught to be gentle for their own safety as well as the safety of the dog.
9. Ensure children know NEVER to touch a dog that is sleeping, eating or in a parked car.
10. Ensure children know NEVER to run, squeal or wave their arms in the air if they are scared of a dog. Instead tell them to stand very still with their arms by their sides and don't look the dog in the eye.

3. Spam Filters
If you know friends who are not receiving our emails please ask them to check that they have our email addresses dogfriends@xtra.co.nz and dogfriends@pl.net marked as "friends" or "legitimate" addresses. As we send out our newsletters to large numbers it is possible that they might be caught by spamfilters if the above addresses are not added to your "friends" list.

Rodney Dog Friends
www.dogfriends.co.nz

Your support is very much appreciated. (Check out the HELP page to see if you can do more)
Your support is very much appreciated.

Check out our contact details to add yourself to our database so we can contact you with more news.

Or send your details to: RODNEY DOG FRIENDS, PO Box 631, Whangaparaoa