Canterbury Bull Breed Rescue is scrambling to secure a new base as pressure builds on the organisation’s future.

Founder Abbey Van Der Plas said the team was under increasing strain to find a suitable location.

“The property we have been leasing for the last 11 years has been sold. We have until the 9th of June to move out and find a new place to go,” she said.

She said the prolonged search had yet to produce a workable option. “We’ve been looking for over a year now and we’re just not having any luck and the deadline is looming,” she said.

“I’m hopeful the universe will provide, but the more we can put it out there for the right person to see, the higher our chances are.”

Canterbury Bull Breed Rescue had been working towards expanding into a larger facility before a sharp drop in donations forced a rethink.

“We wanted to get bigger and grow, and the only way we can grow financially is to grow physically,” she said.

“We wanted to move to a bigger place and look at offering boarding so we can support ourselves and not just rely on donations.”

“Our donations are down by $40,000, so now we’re just looking for somewhere to go, regardless of whether we’re growing or getting smaller.”

She said the organisation’s base was critical for dogs arriving with complex needs.

“A lot of the dogs we take need rehabilitation. They’ve been neglected, abused and have never been in a home, so the shelter is their first step to learning how to be a dog,” she said.

“From here, once they’ve built those skills, we move them into foster homes where they get ready for their forever home.”

“This base is a really important first step for us to be able to bring dogs in, assess them, and figure out what kind of support they need, both medical and behavioural.”

“Without a home base to do that, we’re just not going to be able to help the dogs that need this long term care.”

Canterbury Bull Breed Rescue has rehomed thousands of dogs since it was established, with around 100 placed into homes each year.

“It’s definitely in the thousands,” she said.

“We average around 100 dogs a year getting into new homes, and when you look at how long these dogs are in our care and how much rehabilitation we put into them, a dog every three or so days is really good.”

She said the rescue was created to support bull breed dogs that had long been overlooked.

“The stigma of the pit bull is still really strong. People still believe everything they see,” she said.

“When I started, councils didn’t rehome them and the SPCA didn’t rehome them, and we were their only option.”

“Attitudes are really changing and it is good to see. We work with so many councils that once had strict no rehome policies, and now they’re seeing the work we do and coming on board.”

She said ongoing community issues meant bull breeds remained overrepresented in pounds.

“Pounds are always a product of their community. If people are letting their dogs overbreed and roam, the pounds have to clean up after that,” she said.

“Bull breeds are still overly represented in those numbers, which is a real shame.” Canterbury Bull Breed Rescue is now open to a wide range of options for a new site.

“When we got this place, it was just a yard with a garage and an office, and we built everything from the ground up. We can do that again,” she said.

“We’ve always called ourselves the shelter that a community built, and we can make almost anything work, whether it’s a warehouse, land, or an existing building.”

“The biggest thing for us is being able to get resource consent. Industrial areas are ideal, and rural is an option, but we can’t go too far out or we lose our volunteer base.”

She said closing the rescue was not being considered.

“That’s not an option,” she said.

“I’m very stubborn. We’re going to find somewhere. Somebody will see this and we’ll make it work.”