WHANGANUI ASSISTANCE DOG MAKES FINALS OF NEW ZEALAND TOP DOG COMPETITION

A Whanganui pooch has made the top 10 in this year’s New Zealand Top Dog competition, beating out nearly 400 other entries.

Anya, a three-year-old borzoi, was in the Top Dog With a Job category.

She is the assistance dog of Merenia Donne, who operates the Kotuku Foundation, which has been training disability assistance dogs for the past 17 years.

“Out of all the dogs I’ve worked with, I don’t think I’ve met one as absolutely intuitive and as loving as her,” Donne said.

“She just adores people. I have to work overtime to remind her that she’s my assistance dog.”

Donne was involved in a vehicle accident in 1997 that left her with frontal lobe brain damage.

Anya is her second disability assistance dog, after Ricca the German shepherd.

Ricca was with Donne for 13 years and died in 2019.

“Anja enables me to live a life that most people take for granted,” Donne said.

“They don’t have to think twice about going into a shop or into a crowded area. That can be difficult for me with the head injury and unseen problems I have.

“I’m incredibly biased of course, but she is the most wonderful dog. She is as beautiful inside as she is outside.”

Anya also has an informal role as the “ambassadog” for the foundation.

Donne said there was a misperception that only certain breeds could be assistance dogs.

“With the charity, we set out to prove that dogs who are often considered atypical or unusual breeds can absolutely do the jobs.

“Sadly, they [borzois] go under the radar in our particular sector.

“That’s down to the awful stigma and myth that only labradors and golden retrievers can work as assistance dogs. It’s simply not the case.”

Borzois, also known as Russian wolfhounds, originated in Russia in the 17th century and were bred for hunting wolves, foxes and rabbits.

Anya’s sister, Nadya, is now an assistance dog in Bombay, Auckland.

Both were donated to the Kotuku Foundation as puppies.

“Borzois are known to be incredibly intuitive, and they certainly are very sensitive and affectionate,” Donne said.

“They tune in to you and know when you’re upset or in a crisis. For some of the impairments we train for, that is invaluable.”

The foundation worked with an average of only one to two dogs a year, Donne said. “We tend to specialise in dogs that are needed for rare and life-threatening medical conditions. “That very definition means there aren’t too many people that fall into that category. “Even when they do, not all of them are going to want or need one of our dogs.”

Donne said one client was 8 when the foundation trained her dog to help with her type 1 diabetes. “She is now 17 and going on to train as an apprentice jockey,” Donne said. “Her little dog is still with her and will be coming along too.

“This [training] isn’t standardised, it’s very much one to one. Every single person you work with, even if they have the same impairment, won’t be impacted in the same way.”

Anya was beaten to the top spot in her category by golden retriever Millie, who works at ABI Rehabilitation in Auckland.

“I always remember the advice that a dog obedience judge gave to competitors years ago,” Donne said.

“It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, remind yourself that you’re blessed to be going home with the best dog in the world.”

Donations to the Kotuku Foundation can be made via www.kotukufoundation.org.nz