New Zealanders love their pets, and care a lot about the way they are born, raised and transported.
Former dog breeder Karyn McLauchlan wasn't happy with the way her animals were being moved around so she came up with a solution.
The business is called The PetBus and has been in operation since 2004.
Photo: PetBus
She had a bad experience transporting Australian Cattle dog puppies to Wellington, she told Karyn Hay.
“They went on Air New Zealand and arrived down in Wellington, two of them arrived down there dead, one was in a pretty bad state when it got down there, but I believe they got left out on the tarmac in the heat in the summer time.
“So, I thought from that day onwards there was no way I was going to send my puppies by air anymore.”
She bought herself a little Ford transit and the business has grown from there, she says.
“I cover from Auckland down to Invercargill and then we turn around and go all the way back to Auckland again.”
Now she has a custom-made bus and it’s always full, she says.
Photo: Supplied
She and a colleague do one nine-day run a month, dropping off pets at various locations along the way.
And the animals come in sizes great and small.
The largest being a St Bernard the smallest an ant farm. Spiders, goats, rabbits and birds have also hopped on board.
“We keep them fed, cleaned and loved until they get to their new owners,” she says.
Karyn McLauchlan Photo: Supplied
