Auckland Dog Daycare Hit with Over $100,000 in Fines for Repeated Consent Breaches
Auckland dog daycare operator Angela Maree Beer and her company, We Trust Limited (formerly Teddy and Friends Limited, trading as Pets & Pats), have been ordered to pay over $103,000 in fines for ongoing and repeated breaches of resource consent regulations. The Auckland Council described the breaches as a deliberate and calculated disregard for the law.
The latest conviction, handed down on Wednesday, stems from the continued operation of the Pets & Pats facility at 165 Bawden Rd in Auckland’s rural Dairy Flat between June 2023 and April 2024. This is not the first time Beer and her company have faced legal repercussions for non-compliance.
In 2024, the business was previously convicted for operating a “large-scale” dog daycare that significantly exceeded approved limits regarding the number of dogs, operating hours, fencing, and exercise areas. The council stated that the operation prompted complaints from 17 different neighbors over “several years,” leading to abatement notices and a May 2023 enforcement order intended to allow the business time to comply with regulations and relocate.
Despite the enforcement order, Pets & Pats continued to operate in violation, generating further complaints regarding noise, traffic congestion, and a diminished quality of life for nearby residents. A previous fine of $77,750 was levied in May 2024 for breaches occurring between September 2021 and August 2022. Remarkably, the company breached the initial enforcement orders “almost immediately” after that conviction, accumulating 36 additional offenses over a subsequent 10-month period.
On Wednesday, Beer and the company were fined a total of $51,562.50 after entering a guilty plea to two charges of breaching enforcement orders and one charge of using land in contravention of the Auckland Unitary Plan.
Judge Sheena Tepania, in a reserved decision, condemned Beer’s actions, stating she demonstrated a “blatant disregard for the laws and rules that apply to them.” The judge characterized the non-compliance as “deliberate and calculated,” noting a “hands-off” approach from Beer and the resulting “tangible adverse impacts on the amenity values and well-being of the local community.”
“Pets & Pats was a commercial operation, more dogs meant more money,” Judge Tepania stated, emphasizing the commercially motivated nature of the offenses. “That this was a case of continued and consistent commercially motivated offending… and an example of blatant disregard for the law.”
The business has since relocated its operations to Kumeu.
Paul Cowling, Auckland Council’s Team Leader Prosecutions, confirmed that officials pursued all other avenues for compliance before returning to court. “The rules around dog boarding and daycare activities in rural zones are clear, resource consent is required, whether a business is large or small,” he said. “Enforcement is always the last resort, but where there’s deliberate defiance, prosecution is inevitable to protect the public from nuisance and harm.”
Cowling further emphasized the council’s commitment to enforcing regulations. “Ignoring court orders and breaching the RMA is not okay. Auckland Council will pursue individuals and businesses that deliberately flout the rules and disregard their legal obligations. These laws exist to protect communities, and when they’re ignored, there are consequences.”
