Doggone good cause gets Kiwi celebs involved

Dozens of famous Kiwi faces are lending their support to the SPCA in a Charity Auction to raise funds for a new puppy shelter in Otago.
The Otago SPCA needs $74,000 to build the new shelter and hopes that the celebrity auctions will raise a significant portion of these funds. The auctions will be held on the Trade Me website and will begin tomorrow evening and run for a week, closing on March 5th. Celebrities were invited to donate anything of their choice to the auction – from a signed photograph to a batch of muffins – whatever took their fancy.
Famous Kiwis already signed up for the task include: the Otago Highlanders, Byron Kelleher, Outrageous Fortune’s Antony Starr and Antonia Prebble, fashion designers Tanya Carlson and Michael Pattison, Matt Gibb from Studio Two, Wallace Chapman from Kiwi FM and Eating Media Lunch, Mayor of Dunedin Peter Chin, Graeme Downes from The Verlaines, celebrity psychologist and author of Beyond the Darklands Nigel Latta, comedian and presenter Dai Henwood, rally car driver Emma Gilmour and cyclist Sarah Ulmer.
Amongst many interesting items, a piece of New Zealand rock history is up for grabs in the form of a Diplomat guitar. Graeme Downes of The Verlaines has donated the Diplomat the band used to record the original version of “Death and the Maiden”, and about which the song “Dippy’s Last Trip” was written.
Along with this fantastic celebrity involvement, Shortland Street will also be donating a professionally mounted poster celebrating the 15th Anniversary of Shortland Street signed by the cast.

The planned new shelter will allow puppies to be housed in individual runs with a bed and small exercise area. It will have insulated walls and a heated concrete floor to provide warmth and a dry area on cold Dunedin days.
Celebrity auction organisers Marika Bevin-Jukes and Samantha Jukes say puppies at the Otago SPCA have a tough time, especially over the winter.
“Dunedin gets bitterly cold, and the puppies’ current shelter does not provide them with adequate protection from the elements. We don’t want puppies to go through another winter in these conditions,” says Marika.
The auctions will be able to be found by visiting www.trademe.co.nz , and by searching for the key words “Otago SPCA Puppy Shelter”.