DOGGED DETERMINATION

The dedicated kennel owner made sure no pup was left behind

- Amy Prebble, Kelly Bertrand, Sophie Neville

When Woman’s Day asks Hawke’s Bay kennel owner Diane O’Neill how she’s coping in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, she just offers a long sigh.

“It’s disgusting down here,” she says. “But all the dogs are OK. That’s the main thing.”

As floodwaters roared towards her kennel with 60 dogs inside – some hers, some from her doggy daycare and some English pointers that she breeds – Diane and members of her whānau sprang into action, determined to leave no pup behind at Chesterhope Kennels, even as her rural road turned into a river.