Pegasus Post: July 22, 2021

PEGASUS POST Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Thursday July 22 2021 7
Puppets irreplaceable
• From page 1
Before this, they were in
England working at a theatre
company they launched in 1981.
These days the pair are best
known for performing shows
with a portable animal puppet
box at kids birthday parties,
kindergartens and KidsFest.
On the outside, Kerry appears
to be carrying the box. But on
the inside, his arms are operating
the puppets as if they were
moving by themselves.
Now all that is left is broken
glass on the driveway – evidence
of forced entry into a vehicle
that is no longer there.
Mary said since filing a police
report over the phone last Saturday
at about 8am, they have not
yet located the offender, the grey
Subaru or the puppets.
And so the search continues
for the missing family of eight
who called the box home,
including Midget the mouse,
the “grumpy prima donna frog,”
and the iconic crocodile puppet
– a crowd favourite.
“My husband got back home
at 11pm [on Friday]. He had
done a birthday party in the afternoon
so he was a bit tired and
didn’t unload the car,” she said.
“Then we woke up in the
morning and the car was gone.”
This is not the first time the
McCammons have lost valuable
THE SHOW MUST GO ON:
Natural Magic Pirates puppeteers
Mary and Kerry
McCammon perform at
the New Brighton Library
earlier this week. However,
they are need of the
puppet box right seen at a
recent event.
PHOTOS: GEOFF SLOAN
puppets and equipment.
In 2002 their house burned
down along with everything in it
after a fire started in the garage.
While it was possible to
make new puppets, the original
characters were unable to be replaced
as they were handmade,
including a wizard crafted in the
1970s.
The duo has continued the
tradition because it was a love
they shared, and it made sense
to combine their talents.
Said Mary: “My husband
and I both had a strong interest
in theatre before we met.
We’re both qualified teachers,
musicians and love working
with children.”
Bid to find more homes
for abandoned dogs
A CITY council partnership to
retrain dogs for adoption with
a Bromley-based animal shelter
has resulted in almost all dogs
being rehomed last year.
The collaboration is between
the city council’s animal services
team and Dogwatch Sanctuary
Trust, as well as the Christchurch
Bull Breed Rescue in Woolston.
“Working with Christchurch
Bull Breed Rescue and Dogwatch
Sanctuary Trust is a key part of
our focus on rehoming dogs,”
city council animal services
manager Lionel Bridger said.
“These two organisations, together
with shelter staff, play a vital
role in helping to re-train dogs so
that they can be adopted out.”
Abbey Vanderplas is one of
two full-time, trained volunteers
FOREVER HOME:
Christchurch Bull
Breed Rescue
founder Abbey
Vanderplas
has partnered
with the city
council to retrain
abandoned dogs,
allowing more
of them to be
adopted out.
at the Bull Breed Rescue.
She works with more than 20
other volunteers and foster carers
to provide support for pitbulls,
staffordshire terriers, bull terriers
and their crosses.
She founded the organisation
10 years ago after adopting a
staffordshire puppy from the city
council shelter and realising the
difficulties bull breed dogs faced
in finding new homes.
Vanderplas said there was an
“old school mentality” that just is
not there today.
“It took time to lift that
stigma but Christchurch now
is really lucky with our animal
management. For a large city
we are doing phenomenally well
at making sure good dogs get a
chance.”