Lab Rescue | The Labrador Club

Under the umbrella of The Labrador Club, some of our members do their best to help abandoned and unwanted pure bred Labradors. The Rescue scheme is mainly intended for dogs impounded by the authorities and not claimed, and for those whose owners die or become physically unable to look after their dogs any more. We do however also have owners asking us to find new homes for their Labradors because they are just not coping. Perhaps they did not give enough thought to the commitment of owning a dog or perhaps the breeder did not research the potential owner thoroughly.

Whatever the reason the rescue team does its best to find a new home for these Labradors and this is a very worrying job because the second home must be the last home. Please note that this scheme is for pure bred Labradors only as that is the focus of the club. We are not able to extend this scheme to include labrador crosses.

There is a certain amount of expense involved in running Labrador Rescue such as vaccinations, castrations or speying, injuries that may have been incurred, kennelling, and advertising for new homes. We do ask new owners for a donation and, human nature being what it is, it is often said that “folk value what they pay for”. We also often need a temporary home until a suitable new owner can be found.

So if you are able to help Labrador Rescue in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Read here about dogs rescued in 2013
Read here about dogs rescued in 2014
Read here about dogs rescued in 2015
Read here about dogs rescued in 2016
Read here about dogs rescued in 2017

May 2024 2 year old Joe needs a new home
UPDATE:- Yeah – Joe has been adopted.

Joe is 2.8 years old and needs a new home. He’s a big strong boy that would benefit from further training.
Lovely Labrador personality. Needs a home where he would get a lot of attention, be an inside outside dog.
Needs a dog experienced family/owner.
He’s been desexed, registered, had his inoculation.

If you are interested in adopting Joe please get in contact with
Gail daisyfatlab@gmail.com or 021365450
Labrador Rescue.
Disclaimer: The Labrador Club inc. accepts no responsibility for dogs rehomed through Labrador Rescue

Apr 2024 2 year old Bella needs a new home
UPDATE:- Great news – Bella has a new home now.

This beautiful girl needs a new home. Bella is 2yrs old and living in Auckland with some great fosters from the Lab Club Committee.

She is a lovely natured girl who will need a family/person who can give her the attention she wants and needs. For this reason, it would be preferable for her to go to a home where at least one of her humans would be at home the bulk of the time. She’s not great with cats so a catless home is a requirement.

She knows the basic commands, is house trained, fully vaccinated and registered and microchipped. She is good on a lead, bit excited at first and then after the first couple of minutes walks well loose lead by your side, ignoring any barking dogs behind fences. She is still young so will need ongoing training.

So her ideal home is
– someone home with her
– she would be fine with another dog, preferably something a bit chilled or same make and model but NO CATS
– must be dog savvy and can continue with training
– property must obviously be fenced with a section being a decent size
– must be an inside dog, sleep inside etc.

Nov 2023 Kobe needs a new home

UPDATE:- Great news – Koby has a great new home.

There’s a bit of a background story to Kobe.
Kobe’s dad contacted me a few months back, his youngest child had exceptionally bad allergy reactions to Kobe and ended up in hospital a couple of times and they made the choice to rehome him.

We rehomed him to a family who had heaps of background and training with labradors . It turns out that they are in a farming area and do not have suitable boundaries for Kobe and he wanders.

There are interesting things down the road that he likes to visit and has almost caused an accident on the road and the training they have given him has not stopped him from wandering. So while they love him desperately, it is not a suitable placement for him.

Has had his shots, registered etc but not desexed yet which will need to happen. He is in the Taupo area.
More about Kobe
Very snuggly and loyal human loving labrador
gentle around kiddies
fun and loves a good smooch
crate and vehicle and house trained
Energetic and always happy to see you
in very good condition
Not a real scavenger like some labs
Beautiful looking boy
Very strong and still learning his own strength
curious and playful
he can sit and stay and wait to eat
On a lead will sit and stay
Loves water
Not fully trained and will still pulls on lead if something interests him, he’s a big boy, around 50kg of muscle
He needs someone with the time and energy, loves attention and would be better with someone who is home alot.

Jun 2023 Bardy needs a new home
UPDATE:- Great news – Bardy finally has a new home.

From his owner:-
Bardy is 9 years old. He is still very energetic, and he enjoys outdoor activities, running, walking, swimming etc. He likes attention from people. He doesn’t like being left alone at home with no one so please take that into consideration if you are interested in him. He is an extrovert overall. He is good with kids, cats and other dogs and always keen to play with them.

He sleeps in the garage area. He is desexed and house-trained, and his vaccinations are up to date. My family is moving at the end of the year, so it’d be good to find a place for him before the calendar year.

Bardy is in Auckland.

If you are interested in adopting Bardy please get in contact with
Gail daisyfatlab@gmail.com
Labrador Rescue.
Disclaimer: The Labrador Club inc. accepts no responsibility for dogs rehomed through Labrador Rescue

Aug 2023 Cruze needs a new home
UPDATE:- Good news – Cruze finally has a new home.

From Cruze’s owner & foster:-
Cruze is great, I don’t think he’s ever had a lot of love & freedom. So farm life and attention like our boys get and he is thriving. He’s a good boy, very kind, he just wants love, food and walks and loves being around us. He does love going for a walk but not looong walks. No problems with cattle or guns, gets along well with other dogs, loves a good tug of war. He has good recall, loves a belly scratch and handshakes with both paws. He’s still a big strong boy.

He is doing well very well with learning his manners and commands, he gets along well with our 2 labs considering he’s never lived with other dogs & not aggressive & quite puppy like. If we didn’t already have 2 labs & a pug, I’d put my hand up but long term we just can’t have him.

Cruze was adopted but needs to be in a CAT FREE home as he thinks they are his personal play toys which the cats don’t generally like.

He is 8 years old, desexed, microchipped etc. He is based an hour south of Auckland CBD SH2.

Jul 2023 Gus needs a new home
UPDATE:- Good news – Gus now has a new home.

Gus’s story from Gail (lab rescue):-

I received a call around 8pm on a Friday evening from the Animal Referral Centre in Auckland asking if we could do an emergency foster of Gus. Gus was about to go into surgery there after eating a surgical mask, that had been surgically removed but he now had sepsis (part of his intestine was resected). Saving Hope Foundation was footing the bill – 10K – but they did not have fosters available.
I replied “yes of course we can foster him” and then I went into panic mode as to how we were going to do this knowing that he was going to need quite a bit of TLC with recovering from his surgery and we both work. I then spoke to a couple of the Lab Club’s amazing committee members Lex and Katrina to see if they could possibly help. They thankfully threw themselves on the sword and are now also the amazing foster parents of Gus.
This is Gus’s third blockage surgery and if he does anything like this again, he likely won’t survive it. Hence he is being trained with a soft muzzle. Gus is a 5 year old neutered male, black labrador. He has a lovely temperament and takes treats gently. He will make someone a lovely pet but it would probably best be a family without children as they tend to leave things lying around. He is crate trained, a strong boy but knows the basic commands, just needs reinforcing. He is house trained and an overall “good boy”.

IMPORTANT – He needs to go to a home where he has his humans around to keep him on the straight and narrow. So we are looking at a retired person/couple who are home bodies or who will take Gus out and about with them otherwise he gets bored and eats things that are very hazardous to his health.
He is very good with other dogs, so a home with another dog would also be great.

The report from Lex and Katrina is that Gus is a delightful dog, and he coped so well with his post surgery restrictions and limited exercise. He is now able to exercise and play like a normal dog and has shown no signs of chewing ; of course he quite possibly could if he was bored and alone. UPDATE: Lex and Katrina have had Gus for going on a month now and still no issues with eating things he shouldn’t.

Gus is being fostered in Auckland.

If you are interested in adopting Gus please get in contact with
Gail daisyfatlab@gmail.com
Labrador Rescue.
Disclaimer: The Labrador Club inc. accepts no responsibility for dogs rehomed through Labrador Rescue

Nov 2022 Ben and Bella need a new home
UPDATE:- Ben & Bella have been rehomed together and are doing fantastically.

We have two beautiful yellow lab’s needing a new home. Ben and Bella, whom we would like to rehome together. They have been together since they were 8 weeks old.
Desexed, microchipped, innoculated etc.

From their owner:-
Ben loves to find something to have in his mouth when I come home from work each day even if it is a tiny stick, he is very talkative and his whole body wags, he likes fetch but it is his way of playing, loves laying close to you or on you, happy with small children and adults, happy with family live, happy laying around in the sun on the deck or shade somewhere. Ben has learnt sit, roll over and spin around but is lazy even when treats are involved.

They have been brought up on dry dog food, and not allowed human food even when people were around for a bbq or any family gathering. At night time they have been allowed inside to be with us, while we watch tv, on their own mats and now they have a bean bag each which they love, but they go outside when we go to bed.
They both love going to the beach and come out swimming with us, but that hasn’t happened for a while. Happy with the hose and being cooled down that way or the fishpond at home.

Bella loves to get in your face and is for ever pushing Ben away to get your attention, one on one Bella is a lovely girl happy to lie close and have cuddles, smiles when you scratch her belly, has energy and likes to be doing something.
Bella isn’t good with small dogs or with small children, barks at them, would be better with an older family or adults, loves to please you and being praised, happy to learn new tricks, gets bored if not exercised regularly.

Oct 2022 Almost 2 year olds Jacob and Maisy need a new home
UPDATE:- Good news – Jacob and Maisy now have a new home.

Meet Jacob & Maisy, two almost 2 year old black labs. Their family is moving to Australia and cannot take them. They are based in South Auckland.

Note – these dogs can be adopted separately.

From their owner:-
The dogs are very good, Jacob he is a family dog and is quite chill. He loves walks and enjoys fetch and is a good listener. Energy level mid as he is from a bulky style built father.

Maisy is a very good girl. She is very very loyal and is a very good listener. Maisy is more high energy and would run all day if she could. Maisy loves to chew on toys and so does Jacob. Maisy loves the walks. She can be a bit excitable at first and we keep her on a lead initially as she is so happy when the family comes home and she can’t contain her happiness. It takes her 5-10mins to digest and be herself again. She is very loyal to the family.

Both dogs are used to being outside while the family is at work during the day.

Both dogs have their health vaccination books from birth. Both are extremely healthy and have never been to vets apart from vaccinations.

If you are interested in adopting these two please get in contact with
Gail daisyfatlab@gmail.com
Labrador Rescue.
Disclaimer: The Labrador Club inc. accepts no responsibility for dogs rehomed through Labrador Rescue

Mar 2022 9 year old Bruce needs a new home
UPDATE:- Good news – Bruce has now gone to a new home.

From his owner:-
Bruce is a 9 year old male yellow lab. He is very healthy, 35kg, he is microchipped, registered and desexed, he was fully vaccinated since puppy up until 2018. He is housetrained and is an inside/outside dog.

He is very friendly and loving, super affectionate and loves attention and affection. He is a beautiful boy, very expressive and charming. He has always lived rurally/semi rurally with a lot of space and would like him to stay in this sort of environment if possible. He is not happy on a small city section. This is why he needs to be rehomed.

He has always lived with 1 or 2 other labs so would be good with other dogs but not suitable to live with cats/rabbits etc.

I am ideally looking for a loving family where he can get lots of attention and stimulation, with space to run around. Ideally he would not be left home all day everyday on his own as he is not used to this and I would prefer somewhere where he can get lots of attention. Preferably they would have another dog, but open to him being an only dog if he can get lots of human time and attention
If you are interested in Bruce please get in contact with me
Gail daisyfatlab@gmail.com
Labrador Rescue.
Disclaimer: The Labrador Club inc. accepts no responsibility for dogs rehomed through Labrador Rescue

Feb 2022 6 year old Rocky needs a new home
UPDATE:- Rocky now has a new home – yeah!.

From his owner:-
Rocky is a male 6 years old. He has been in our family since he was a pup. We were a family of 4 when Rocky first came to us with 4 old son and 13 old daughter and we also had another a little dog who was about 4.
We bought a house at the end of 2020 but unfortunately the property was not suitable for us to keep him so my parents offered to take him. Rocky adjusted very well with them and we still get to see him often.
It’s heartbreaking writing this email. Rocky is well looked after and loved. His is excellent with children. He is very big and strong. He walks on a leash but he does pull so strength is needed to control him. He just loves attention and gets a lot of it with my parents as they are retired and treat him like a baby. I think he thinks his a baby.
He is not house trained because he has always been outside. He loves people and gets very excited. He hasn’t really socialized with many dogs so we are not sure how he is with other dogs but I do know that he does nor like cats.
Has a beautiful nature and listens. He is a healthy energetic boy. My parents have spoilt him a bit so I think he might need to loose a little weight.
From about 3 years ago we have only fed him Royal Canon dry food and some treat as per the vets advice.
My dad got sick last year and Rocky has become to much for them to handle. They are moving into a retirement home in 3 weeks and cannot take him.

If you are interested in Rocky please get in contact with me
Gail daisyfatlab@gmail.com
Labrador Rescue.

Jul 2021 Fiadh and Islay need a new home
UPDATE:- Tim flew down to meet the girls and spent half a day with them. He is transporting their worldly goods, kennels, runs, blankys, toys etc up to Auckland and is flying the girls up in a couple of weeks to start their amazing new home together in Auckland with Tim & his brother.

From their owner:-
Our family has two labradors that we need to rehome as we are leaving New Zealand for Australia due to unforeseen circumstances. If it wasn’t due to this reason then there’s no way in this world that we would be seeking to rehome them.
Fiadh
Fiadh (pronounced Fee-a) is a chocolate girl who will be 6 years old in October. She has a lovely nature, she has always had great health and we have made sure that she doesn’t get overweight. She is spayed, microchipped, fully vaccinated, deflead and wormed. Fiadh doesn’t like cats or small dogs.

Islay
Our other girl is Islay (silent S), a black lab who turns 4 years old in December. She also has a lovely nature, great health, is not overweight and is spayed etc like Fiadh.

Both of our girls are registered with the kennel club.

The girls are best buddies and we would like to keep them together. We will only let them go to a loving, kind home. We live outside of Nelson, on a large, fully fenced section and their new home would need to also be fenced. They each have a kennel and run (which we are happy to give to their new owners plus other assorted dog beds), where they sleep at night time or if we are out. Both dogs are house trained but generally spend their days sleeping on the deck or playing in the garden and they love their daily walks.

We are hoping that Lab rescue can help us to find a great home for them.

These two beauties need a new home together. If you know of anyone, please get in contact with me
Gail daisyfatlab@gmail.com
Labrador Rescue.
Disclaimer: The Labrador Club inc. accepts no responsibility for dogs rehomed through Labrador Rescue

Jul 2021 2 year old Squid needs a new home
UPDATE:- Good news – Squid has a new home

Squid needs to be either the only dog on the block or needs to be introduced slowly to another dog. He also needs to be de-sexed as soon as possible. Below is a bit more about him from his owner:-

My boy is called Squid, he’s 2 years old, intact, fully vaccinated and microchipped.
The main reason for re homing him is that we can’t provide him with the family home he deserves as we rent and aren’t allowed dogs inside. The other reason is he has shown very low tolerance towards young puppies and we regularly have puppies around us and in our care.

We have a young daughter and he is fine with her just sometimes doesn’t realise his size and can sometimes knock her over but nature wise he is great with her. Has lived with a cat, we also live rural and he has been exposed to most livestock just not horses.

Squid is not from a registered breeder he was from a family friend that bred their 2 family dogs. I have his vet records microchip and vaccination records etc.
He has no known health issues he has been fully health tested and I have all those results. This includes elbow/hip scores and multiple other known Labrador health issues which all returned normal. He has only ever been to the vet for his vaccinations.

We attended grade 1 obedience at the North Taranaki dog training club, where he passed all the tests and we got runner up top dog of our group.

While he’s not fond of puppies, he never showed any aggression while we were at dog training he completely ignored all the other dogs. When he meets new dogs, he likes to make them know he is the boss, I’m not sure where this has come from as he had good socialisation when he was young. His best friend is a collie dog with whom he has no issues.

Jun 2021 Peanut and Bear need a new home
UPDATE:- Peanut and Bear are going to a new home together in Christchurch

These two beauties need a new home as the result of a marriage break up, no fault of the dogs. They are currently in temporary accommodation to avoid them being euthanised. They are both registered with Dogs NZ. Below is a bit more about them from their foster mum:-

Bear
Bear is a big goofy boy. He absolutely adore attention and is more outgoing than Peanut. He likes a few low key reps of fetch before he mostly enjoys holding the toy in his mouth while being petted 😂 he is always absolutely ecstatic to meet people in your typical lab way haha. He does have some resource guarding issues mostly around high value food? But Its been super easy to manage as long as he is few in a separate area or crate 🙂 when he is done with bones be often likes to hold them and give them to you to “look after” while he goes to the bathroom etc 😂 he has some pretty severe pressure sores on his elbows 😭 they both need to loose weight.

Peanut
Peanut is an absolute angel. I honestly adore her and if I had the space I would keep her here myself ❤️ she’s slightly more shy than bear and occasionally gets a little unsure / anxious if she doesn’t recognize someone ❤️ but she warms up super fast and all she wants is love 🥺 she’s so chill in the house and just am awesome companion. She follows me wherever I ask her to come and on walks she sticks by your side mostly after a little sniff and has great recall etc. She’s a gem.

As I mentioned, both do need to loose some weight. They are not desexed. But they are lovely dogs and they just need an awesome place to spend their last year’s ! Shedding some pounds will also help this be easier on them ❤️ they are both social with other dogs and ok with cats/ other animals so far as I can tell ❤️

If you know of anyone who could be interested in giving these two gorgeous dogs a loving comfortable home for their twilight years, or need some more info, please get in contact with me.

Mar 2019 11 year old Bailee needs a new home
UPDATE:- Bailee has gone to a new home

We need help with Bailie. She either needs a foster for about 9 months or a new home to live permanently. Her parents have to go overseas for family but are expecting to come back in December. They know its a lot to ask for someone to foster her for that period of time, so will re-home her if need be. She is based in Auckland but they will travel to get her to the right home. Story on Bailee below:-
A bit about Bailie below from her owner

Baillie our dog although 11 is not an “old” dog as such, she still has plenty of energy when out an about, she just tires more easily now.
She is the only dog at home, although well socialised with other dogs.
She hasn’t lived with cats, and will bark if they walk past our driveway, but recently on holiday at Christmas she was around my family’s cats for 10 days including a kitten and ignored them. So she’s not used to cats, but I think she would adjust easily.
She is well used to children, from my own newborn baby upwards. But as she is older now, she will walk away if children are surrounding her in groups or being annoying (e.g. chasing her or squeeling too much).
She is very playful with kids though and will want to join in if there is a ball (soccer or other) or game, even on the trampoline in the past! She loves the water, ponds, swimming, catching a ball etc (not always dropping it when back, she plays a game where she walks past you and turns her head just as you go to get the ball/sock/stick whatever she has picked up to entice you with. She has a sense of humour.
She is a happy explorer in the park or bush. She loves nature.

Dec 2018 9 year old Teddy needs a new home
UPDATE:- Teddy has gone to a new home where he is being spoilt – his family say they love him to bits

Hi everyone, this boy is coming to The Labrador Club Rescue this weekend, the pound has turned him over to us. We don’t have all the details but Teddy was dumped by his owners when they moved house. He is 9 years old and has that fine labrador temperament.

Nov 2018 4 year old Jack needs a new home
UPDATE:- Jack has been rehomed to a lovely family with kiddies for him to play with and a mum thats at home a lot so he will have the attention he deserves

Jack is a lovely 4 year old (5 in January) yellow boy needing a new home.

His owner Cody is only re-homing him as he works full time and Jack is left alone 9/10 hours a day and he feels that is too long for Jack to be by himself and he can’t give him the time he deserves.
Cody is a young guy who still lives at his dad’s and can’t move out while he has Jack. From Cody below..

Jack likes walks, running and playing with other dogs. He doesn’t like the vacuum cleaner and he will bark at strangers but after he is introduced he is fine.
He has had his puppy vaccines and some the year after, he is de-sexed and well toilet trained.
He is well behaved while I’m at work unless i leave something out for him to get into like rubbish since he gets bored being alone for 9 to 10 hours a day.
He’s great with dogs but can get a bit excited around cats, maybe he thinks they are strange dogs hah.
He sleeps where ever, on the floor, on his old chair or on the bed.
He hasn’t been around children so will need some work there as he gets a bit excitable around them as well and barks.

Nov 2018 6 year old Bunty needs a new home
UPDATE:- Good news – Bunty now has a new home

Bunty is a 6 year old, black female lab. She is microchipped and registered but not de-sexed.

She loves going to the beach and loves her food. She is a bit dodgy with cats so if you own a cat may not be a good idea unless you are willing to train her. She has lived with cats, but apparently tried to get a friends cat when staying with them. Could have been how they were introduced (i.e. cat was let out of a cage and bolted and so did Bunty). She is good with kids. She has a lovely nature and as you can see puts up with human idiosyncrasies (funny hat)

In Mandys words, “I can’t give her the life she deserve or the time she require as they were my partners dogs who passed on. Being a solo mum and I’m always working, the dogs don’t get my time.

Aug 2018 9 month old Millie needs a new home
UPDATE:- Millie has a wonderful new home to go to with a playmate Leo to get into all sorts of strife with YAY

This gorgeous girl Millie needs a new home. Millie was in a home where the parents were out at work all day, and she quickly became too much for them to cope with. When shut outside, she would dig under the fence and get on to the adjacent road. When inside she would jump up on the children and steal/break their toys. The family just didn’t have time to give Millie the attention that she need and deserves, so they decided to re-home her. The person they bought Millie from was not prepared to take her back. Since spending time with my dogs, she has learnt a lot about being a dog, and she is a lot calmer and not as needy. She is a very sweet wee thing, who just needs some basic training. Millie is 9 months old and will need to be speyed when she is older.

We are pretty adamant that she needs to be with a family with older children (7+) and an adult dog, who will help teach her what we regard as acceptable behaviour.

Millie is being fostered at the moment but cannot live their indefinitely.
Jul 2018 1 year old Bodhi and Bruno need a new home
UPDATE:- Bodhi and Bruno have gone to their new home and settled in nicely

Hi everyone, brothers Bodhi & Bruno need a new home, preferably together at this point. But if you are interested in only one, get in contact with me and I’ll keep you on file for if we need to re-home them separately. They need to be in a new home within 6 weeks.

Their owner says they are just about to turn one years old, have been desexed, microchipped and registered and have pet insurance. They are good with the kids and used to a cat but will need some training on the lead as they are used to having a bit of land to roam. Due to illness their owner needs to move and cannot take the dogs. They are currently in Greytown.

Jun 2018 6 year old Harley needs a new home
UPDATE:- Harley has gone to a new home where he is being loved and adored

Meet Harley:
He’s been mucked around a bit due to no real fault of his own. He was with his litter brother all this time until a few months ago when his parents went overseas and decided not to take the dogs (and other pets) with them. The two brothers then went to a couple in Taupo but they could not cope with both dogs. They are big strong boys with with not very good leash manners. He then went to Chrissy and her family but is not working out with their other animals (cat and chickens). At the moment, he is fine with Chrissy until we can get him another home.

About Harley:
Harley has SOOO much love to give and absolutely loves being around people. Loves cuddles and pats and seeks them out all the time.

He is a goofball of love and fun. Everytime he comes back inside, he grabs his towel and does a dance. He wants you to play tug-a-war and pretend to dry him (even when he’s not wet!).

He loves to play fetch with the tennis ball. He is not use to walking on a lead, however is improving. I have found he’s a lot more relaxed if you walk him around the yard for a bit to remove some of the excitement and then make his sit and wait for the command to start the walk (off the property).

He gets overly excited as soon as you take him to the car as well. Once in the car, he looks out the window for a bit and then lays down. He loves going places with you.

I have also never seen a lab eat so slowly! We have not seen any food aggression. He will sit and wait until you tell him its ok to eat. He can get overly excited with treats and want to jump up but we have just made sure he sits and waits and hes fine.

Harley is an inside dog and sleeps inside at night. He knows where he is allowed in the house and where his bed is. He will often put himself to bed at night. He has never used his dog house, infact he looked at me confused! He shelters himself under the covered deck on a mat during the day if we are not home.

We feel he needs a home with no small animals as his predator instincts which are mild but are deeply ingrained may cause an unfortunate incident if left unchecked. He is very smart and has learnt not to bark at the chickens as he will get told off. He therefore runs around the cage without barking instead.

He has so much love to give and hes such a character! He loves to tell you stories when you get home, even if you were only gone for 5 minutes 🙂