Stoke’s Carley Lissington with Bella, an almost two year old dog that Housing NZ has allowed her to keep. Photo: Andrew Board.

Housing NZ U-turn on family dog

0
1767

A “traumatised” Stoke family is delighted Housing New Zealand has performed a U-turn and allowed their pet dog Bella to stay with them.

Carley Lissington and her four children moved into a state house in Orchard St three years ago after leaving an abusive relationship. Her children suffered nightmares from the abuse and shortly after moving in an intruder broke in one night and abused her eight year old daughter.

It left the family struggling to cope and one of the children unable to sleep for fear his mother would be killed in the night.

Then along came Bella.
Carley says she got the rescued German Shepherd and Dobermann cross when she was only ten weeks old and immediately wrote to Housing New Zealand to apply for consent to have a dog. She says there was no response so she assumed the dog was allowed and for the next year and a half it became a part of the family.

“It was an absolutely traumatic time and the kids had already witnessed enough violence in their own home with their own father. So we got Bella and the kids, they relaxed. They felt safe, she’s just been so fantastic for us.”

Carley says the kids all sleep in their own beds now and feel safe with Bella in the house.

Then last month Carley received a letter from Nelson City Council saying there was a complaint of barking and whining that “may have” come from her property. That led to Housing New Zealand being informed and them telling Carley she didn’t have permission to have a dog and she would have to get rid of it.

“When I spoke to the lady from Housing New Zealand she asked if we had a dog and I said ‘yes, we’ve had her for a year and a half and we’ve never had a complaint’. Both our neighbours know her really well, there’s been no problem.”

She was then told that she’d have to get rid of the dog because she didn’t have permission to get it in the first place. She says she was “devastated”.

“I broke down, I couldn’t even speak to her. I just said ‘what can I do to keep this dog?’ I will do anything. The kids were distraught, they’re looking at Bella and asking ‘are we going to lose a family member?’”

Carley was told she could fill out some paperwork and apply to keep the dog but she had next to “zero per cent” chance of it being successful.

But after Nelson Weekly contacted Housing New Zealand to find out why the dog had to go, Carley says she received word that they would be able to keep Bella after all.

Carley says the decision means the world to her family. “She’s like therapy to us, if we didn’t have Bella, a couple of us just wouldn’t be able to function properly. She’s been so much for us and my family have seen that in me as well.”

Housing New Zealand’s regional manager Symon Leggett says they called Carley to let her know she could keep the dog.  “We empathise with Carley’s situation and we appreciate the difference having their dog makes to her and her family.”