The SCPA is reminding citizens they are a charity whilst giving advice on what to do should you find an animal in distress.

It comes after a recent incident involving complaints from the public on Facebook regarding the wellbeing of a dog in the Bay Of Plenty.

The SPCA could not confirm the current condition of the canine in question or its sex, breed or age as the matter is not yet closed. However, they have confirmed the dog and owner have been located.

'We had been aware of this dog and the concerns for some time,” says National Inspectorate Manager Alan Wilson.

'However, because the person is of no fixed abode, locating them both has been particularly challenging.

'Following extensive local enquiries by inspectors including working closely with Police, the person of interest and the dog were located.”

The Facebook post in question was critical of the SPCA not being able to field a sufficient emergency response over the weekend period.

Whilst the SPCA are receptive to the concerns of the general public they are keen to point out that they remain a charity and not a government organisation.

Alan made it clear more government funding is necessary to improve their emergency response facilitation.

'A lot of the general public are not aware that it costs $47million to run SPCA annually.

'It costs $10million to run the Inspectorate service. The NZ Government contributes $2.5million per year, which is earmarked for the Inspectorate. Which means 75 per cent of our Inspectorate service is funded by the generous donations of Kiwis.

'With more government funding, SPCA resources could be expanded to offer more comprehensive services.

'SPCA is a charity and does the best it can with limited resources. This is why we need to work with other animal rescue groups to get the best outcomes for the animals.

'SPCA is not funded enough by government to offer 24/7 ambulance emergency services from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South. We do the best we can with the resources we have.”

The SPCA advises that if you believe an animal is in distress then to contact them and they will either attend or attempt to make arrangements for another agency to attend.

If there are no services available in that region over the weekend, depending upon the nature of the emergency, SPCA advise contacting the appropriate alternative agency, for example the police or animal control.