When the role at Council came up for Animal Liaison Officer five years ago, it was the first of its kind for a Council in Aotearoa – and the perfect role for Kate to work with all sorts of animals and work towards improving their welfare, she says.
“I work in a split role with the Public Health team and the Urban Ecology team. Part of my role is inspections of dog kennels, daycares and groomers, and also dealing with animal complaints across the city – from roosters in backyards, bees, to turtles being dumped in Willowbank reserve in Tawa.
“The other half of my role is managing the stray cat programme, where I work closely with cat rescues and help to humanely trap stray cats and kittens across the city. Almost any random job that comes through about animals – I deal with!”
Outside of work, Kate continues to care for animals and believes she will never stop doing what she can for them.
“I have three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels at home and have always had dogs. In my time, I have fostered 11 kittens and one of my dogs, Opie, absolutely loved looking after them. We only stopped fostering kittens because he would get so upset when they left – so we got him another puppy to have around all the time!
“It makes me so happy to see them be rehomed and find their families. I just want to see animals have the best outcomes possible.”