Teenage girl is dogs’ best friend
Online Reporter

While most teenage girls are busy doing their nails and downloading the latest music, Faye Carey is helping re-home dozens of abandoned dogs. The 16-year-old Waikato teen volunteers with her local branch of Animal Control, giving abandoned animals a second chance at life. She has set up a Facebook page, Animal Re-home Waikato, where she advertises puppies and dogs who need adopting.

The idea for the Facebook page came when Faye was trying to re-home a litter of abandoned kittens and needed a free way to advertise. The page has nearly 300 likes and a loyal following of satisfied new parents. Faye has managed to re-home more than 60 dogs. “This takes a lot of the heat off the pound for us trying to get these dogs into homes,” says Animal Control officer Vaughan Oliver. “The good thing about it is Faye takes time to present our dogs in the best possible light.”

The pound receives as many as 20 new dogs each week, most of which need re-homing. “With Faye’s help and work we can quite often get these dogs into suitable caring homes quite quickly now, so it’s good. The turnaround is quite fast,” says Mr Oliver.

While Faye will still be at high school for two more years, she hopes to keep working with animals. “I’d love to have a career in Animal Control. I quite enjoy dealing with people and making a difference.” And Animal Control will be happy to keep her. “We’re just quite lucky and blessed to have Faye,” says Mr Oliver. “She really restores my faith in the community out there. She does a great job helping out.”