The SPCA responded promptly to a Facebook post indicating apparent animal neglect in West Bank yesterday and removed a bony, sore-encrusted Rhodesian ridgeback called Reckless for veterinary attention.
The complaint, posted by West Bank resident Jo Kotze, who is a neighbour of the elderly dog owner, was removed from the Crime Spotter Buffalo City page because it named the man and included his address, but not before scores of outraged and concerned comments were posted in response.
Kotze wrote that the two ridgebacks were “as thin as rakes” that “cry pitifully by our wall for some food”.
She said the owner also bred Siamese cats, and illustrated her post with photographs of the dogs and the ramshackle backyard they are kept in.
“On Monday night the female dog was crying and tried to climb up some rubble to get over our wall. My brother gave her some food and she was ravenous. I felt I had to say something. My mom also called the emergency SPCA number,” said Kotze.
Yesterday morning Daily Dispatch accompanied SPCA inspector Donovan Leibach to the battered old house where the frail 74-year-old dog owner led the team to a small backyard where two ridgebacks clamoured for attention in a clearing surrounded by scrap, rubbish and rubble.
The male, named Reckless, was emaciated and peppered with sores, while the female appeared to be in a better condition. He said he had been planning to breed the dogs.
Asked by Leibach why there was no kennel for the ridgebacks, the man said his kennel had mysteriously burned down on Sunday.
Indicating two large bags of dog food in his kitchen, he said he spent R500 on pet food a month. “I am an animal lover but I have no transport to take to be checked.”
He said he no longer bred Siamese cats and that the two in his home had been spayed.
Leibach obtained written consent from the man to remove Reckless for a medical check.
“I am not taking the dog from you. Our vet will look at him and we will bring him back. I will also bring you a nice big kennel. And the female dog will have to be sterilised,” he said.
As the man led Reckless down his passage, the dog devoured two small bowls of cat food, before being helped into the SPCA van by the owner and Leibach, who said the vet report would be available today.
SPCA general manager Allen Westerberg said the welfare organisation was bound by the Animal Protection Act and that they could not simply remove animals without first obtaining a court order from a magistrate.
“We do try to educate animal owners first and if that is unsuccessful, we go by way of the courts.
“The perception is that we can do whatever we want, but the courts would take us to pieces for theft,” he said. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Lifeline for neglected dog
The complaint, posted by West Bank resident Jo Kotze, who is a neighbour of the elderly dog owner, was removed from the Crime Spotter Buffalo City page because it named the man and included his address, but not before scores of outraged and concerned comments were posted in response.
Kotze wrote that the two ridgebacks were “as thin as rakes” that “cry pitifully by our wall for some food”.
She said the owner also bred Siamese cats, and illustrated her post with photographs of the dogs and the ramshackle backyard they are kept in.
“On Monday night the female dog was crying and tried to climb up some rubble to get over our wall. My brother gave her some food and she was ravenous. I felt I had to say something. My mom also called the emergency SPCA number,” said Kotze.
Yesterday morning Daily Dispatch accompanied SPCA inspector Donovan Leibach to the battered old house where the frail 74-year-old dog owner led the team to a small backyard where two ridgebacks clamoured for attention in a clearing surrounded by scrap, rubbish and rubble.
The male, named Reckless, was emaciated and peppered with sores, while the female appeared to be in a better condition. He said he had been planning to breed the dogs.
Asked by Leibach why there was no kennel for the ridgebacks, the man said his kennel had mysteriously burned down on Sunday.
Indicating two large bags of dog food in his kitchen, he said he spent R500 on pet food a month. “I am an animal lover but I have no transport to take to be checked.”
He said he no longer bred Siamese cats and that the two in his home had been spayed.
Leibach obtained written consent from the man to remove Reckless for a medical check.
“I am not taking the dog from you. Our vet will look at him and we will bring him back. I will also bring you a nice big kennel. And the female dog will have to be sterilised,” he said.
As the man led Reckless down his passage, the dog devoured two small bowls of cat food, before being helped into the SPCA van by the owner and Leibach, who said the vet report would be available today.
SPCA general manager Allen Westerberg said the welfare organisation was bound by the Animal Protection Act and that they could not simply remove animals without first obtaining a court order from a magistrate.
“We do try to educate animal owners first and if that is unsuccessful, we go by way of the courts.
“The perception is that we can do whatever we want, but the courts would take us to pieces for theft,” he said. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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