Abbey van der Plas says there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.
At a rescue centre in Christchurch, Ms van der Plas takes in the neglected and abused. She says bad owners give breeds like pit bulls and Staffordshire bull terriers a bad name.
"Those are the people that are putting them on a chain in their back yard, not spending any time with them, not socialising with them, not training them."
Nala is one of the dogs rescued by Ms van der Plas. The bull-cross was left abandoned in the street.
She was so timid she was afraid of her own shadow and was anxious being left alone.
For two days, Ms van der Plas waited patiently for Nala. She sang to the puppy and fed her peanut butter from the tip of her finger.
Nala wasn't having any of it.
Then one day, Ms van der Plas watched as Nala's tail pricked up at the sound of children playing.
She called her young son, Zach, over.
Zach sat down in front of the dog's cage.
The dog had spent two days pinned to the back of the cage, but as soon as the boy sat down, she made her way to the front of the cage, tail wagging.
Ms van der Plas thinks at one point in her difficult life, a child was kind to Nala.
Now, after spending time with the van der Plases, Nala is flourishing. Zach even wants to keep her.
Watch the video for the full Story report.
