A couple of large stray dogs that have been dubbed the “gypsies” by Beacon Bay residents have become the subjects of heated social media exchanges with animal lovers locking horns over how they should be treated.
The dogs, a male and a female, had made the area around the Engen garage near Beaconhurst Drive and Coad Road their home turf, but the female, nicknamed Gracie, was darted and captured by the SPCA a couple of weeks ago. Her mate remains on the loose.
Several Beacon Bay residents have been putting out food and water for the dogs for months, and had dewormed them, but the animals resist any close encounter with humans and retreat into the bush if anyone tries to get close.
Impassioned posts on the Pets Lost and Found East London Facebook site have called on the dogs to be reunited. Conflict has arisen about whether the evasive male should be captured and re-homed with Gracie or whether the pair should be allowed to continue their feral lifestyle in peace.
A new Facebook page called Lady And The Tramp has been set up by members of the public who are afraid the duo will be put to sleep.
“We want them to be reunited and placed in a large enclosure in an animal sanctuary like Pet Pals until they become used to humans and are adoptable,” said Beacon Bay resident Desray Moss. “It is so sad because the male is pining for his mate. People hear him howling in the evenings.”
SPCA East London manager Allen Westerberg insisted however, that the gypsies had a home ready and waiting for them once the male was captured.
“The woman who is prepared to adopt them asked to be anonymous because of all the hype around the dogs. She and her family live in the Beacon Bay area and they are people who have been involved with this from the start. She has been coming to visit the female, commonly known as Gracie, at the hospital section of the SPCA.”
He said the female, who was pregnant at the time she was darted, had stillborn puppies. “She was not full term yet but the doctor had to perform an emergency Caesar. It was a combination of stress and possibly the sedative drug.”
Westerberg said the dogs had first been reported roaming in November and appealed to the public to centralise feeding the male dog near the Engen garage.
He said he was aware that Facebook sites had been “going crazy”.
“With public assistance we managed to dart the female and she is under medical supervision in the hospital section of the SPCA. We did dart the male but he ran away and slept it off in the bushes,” he said, adding the efforts to capture the male would continue.
Westerberg said with the exception of the adoption mother, members of the public were not permitted to see Gracie because the SPCA vet was busy in the hospital.
He said the dogs, which he labelled Afrikanis, would adapt to living in a home.
“They must have come from a home originally but turned feral. Gracie is not growling and biting like she was when she first came, which had been more from fear than anything else.”
Pets Lost and Found East London Facebook page administrator Jewel de Klerk, who would like to see them reunited, said she did not believe the SPCA would re-home the gypsies. “I think they will catch the male and put them both to sleep and I think a lot of people agree with me.
“If I am wrong I will apologise, but they are not adoptable dogs. They are feral and not domesticated.
“Some people want them back on the streets because Beacon Bay people have been feeding them and even dewormed them.
“They never caused anyone any harm.” — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Facebook ‘goes crazy’ over Gracie and partner: Debate rages on how 2 feral dogs must be treated
The dogs, a male and a female, had made the area around the Engen garage near Beaconhurst Drive and Coad Road their home turf, but the female, nicknamed Gracie, was darted and captured by the SPCA a couple of weeks ago. Her mate remains on the loose.
Several Beacon Bay residents have been putting out food and water for the dogs for months, and had dewormed them, but the animals resist any close encounter with humans and retreat into the bush if anyone tries to get close.
Impassioned posts on the Pets Lost and Found East London Facebook site have called on the dogs to be reunited. Conflict has arisen about whether the evasive male should be captured and re-homed with Gracie or whether the pair should be allowed to continue their feral lifestyle in peace.
A new Facebook page called Lady And The Tramp has been set up by members of the public who are afraid the duo will be put to sleep.
“We want them to be reunited and placed in a large enclosure in an animal sanctuary like Pet Pals until they become used to humans and are adoptable,” said Beacon Bay resident Desray Moss. “It is so sad because the male is pining for his mate. People hear him howling in the evenings.”
SPCA East London manager Allen Westerberg insisted however, that the gypsies had a home ready and waiting for them once the male was captured.
“The woman who is prepared to adopt them asked to be anonymous because of all the hype around the dogs. She and her family live in the Beacon Bay area and they are people who have been involved with this from the start. She has been coming to visit the female, commonly known as Gracie, at the hospital section of the SPCA.”
He said the female, who was pregnant at the time she was darted, had stillborn puppies. “She was not full term yet but the doctor had to perform an emergency Caesar. It was a combination of stress and possibly the sedative drug.”
Westerberg said the dogs had first been reported roaming in November and appealed to the public to centralise feeding the male dog near the Engen garage.
He said he was aware that Facebook sites had been “going crazy”.
“With public assistance we managed to dart the female and she is under medical supervision in the hospital section of the SPCA. We did dart the male but he ran away and slept it off in the bushes,” he said, adding the efforts to capture the male would continue.
Westerberg said with the exception of the adoption mother, members of the public were not permitted to see Gracie because the SPCA vet was busy in the hospital.
He said the dogs, which he labelled Afrikanis, would adapt to living in a home.
“They must have come from a home originally but turned feral. Gracie is not growling and biting like she was when she first came, which had been more from fear than anything else.”
Pets Lost and Found East London Facebook page administrator Jewel de Klerk, who would like to see them reunited, said she did not believe the SPCA would re-home the gypsies. “I think they will catch the male and put them both to sleep and I think a lot of people agree with me.
“If I am wrong I will apologise, but they are not adoptable dogs. They are feral and not domesticated.
“Some people want them back on the streets because Beacon Bay people have been feeding them and even dewormed them.
“They never caused anyone any harm.” — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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