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Thursday, May 26, 2005 Dogs rescued in Thembisa, South Africa - assistance needed please: Four sick dogs escaped a terrible fate when an animal ambulance service of Centurion rescued them in Tembisa. A resident of Tembisa called out Maria Conradie, owner of the animal ambulance, last week.Maria found four starving dogs at a shack. According to the neighbours, the residents of the shack left weeks ago without worrying about the animals. The dogs were very hungry and thirsty because they had no water or food.They were tied to a pole with chains that were only half a metre long. One dog was trapped inside an old drum.Maria says the dogs have a highly contagious disease called Sarcopies Scabei. The disease consists of mites that enter the skin and make victims extremely itchy. Many dogs with this disease die because they forget to eat while biting and scratching themselves constantly. However, the disease is curable with the necessary veterinary attention.All four dogs have the disease in such a bad way that they lost their hair and their bodies are covered with sores. They also are packed with ticks and fleas. Maria immediately took the dogs to a veterinarian in Centurion.Thereafter she took them to her house in Tamara Park, where she plans to nurse them until they are healthy. She named them Hope, Faith, Storm and Geronimo. "A whole day after they rescued the dogs, they were still starving of hunger."It will take three to four weeks for them to recover. Their hair will only grow back in six months."As soon as they are healthy, they will be available for free adoption to good homes," she says. Maria urgently needs donations of tinned food, flea and tick treatments and money for their treatment.She appeals to people to report cases of cruelty to animals to the authorities."You will find people who are cruel to animals everywhere. "I try to find homes for all the animals that I rescue because I believe that they deserve a second chance in life," she says.People with donations or who want to adopt the dogs, can phone Maria on +27 (0)83-241-4452 Physical address:
[Posted by: Davina at 3:08 pm] Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Please read the following post regarding a 24 hour Vet on Wheels and keep the number at hand ... Regards Davina Robbers poisoning pets to shut them up The Centurion area, including The Reeds and Rooihuiskraal, has become the latest killing field for dogs. More than a hundred dogs have been poisoned in the past month in this area. It appears that the animals are killed by housebreakers wanting to get the dogs out of the way before they target that particular house. About two weeks ago, 30 dogs were poisoned over one weekend in the area. A pet owner in Lyttelton lost all five of her dogs, including a six-week-old puppy, while another lost her eight dogs, due to poisoning. Things have now got so bad that pet lover Maria Conradie and her partner Grant Peel of The Reeds have started a service called Vet on Wheels. They will transport a poisoned animal free of charge to a designated vet in Centurion who is willing to attend to the animals 24 hours a day. "I lost one of my dogs last week and my other dog barely pulled through," Conradie said. She told the Pretoria News that her neighbour's dog was also poisoned at the same time, but managed to pull through. The poison that is being used is Aldicarb, an organo-phosphate used for agricultural purposes. It looks similar to small peppercorns or poppy seeds, but is deadly. Inspector Reinette Coetzee of Wierdabrug police station said they are aware that this particular poison is being used. It is available on the street - where it is commonly known as "two-step", because the dog usually takes only two steps before dying. Coetzee said the poison had been taken off the market, and anyone caught with it would be prosecuted. She confirmed that there have been recent cases in The Reeds/Rooihuiskraal area where people were caught with the poison in their possession. Aldicarb can be absorbed through the skin. "It is very dangerous, and people do not know what they are playing with," Coetzee warned. It is sold on the street as rat poison, but potential housebreakers hide it inside meat or a sausage and throw it over the wall for the dogs to eat. Conradie said this normally happens during the night, because pet owners discover only the next day that their dogs have been poisoned. Then it was usually too late to save the animal from a cruel death, she added. Coetzee said they have had a few cases, especially in The Reeds area, where owners had complained that their dogs had been poisoned. In many of the cases, a crime or an attempted crime, such as housebreaking or car theft, followed a few days later. She, however, could not confirm how many cases of dog poisoning there had been. "People normally do not contact us when their dogs are poisoned. We urge them to do this, because then we can know which areas are targeted," she said. Conradie said the poisoning had been so rife during the past month that she and her partner were up until the early hours of the morning last week to save some of the dogs. She believes crime is the motive, because two days after her Irish wolfhound was poisoned, her car alarm went off. Luckily her dog, who survived the poisoning, barked, Conradie said. Colleen Bennett of the Centurion SPCA also confirmed that dog poisoning in the Centurion area had taken on alarming proportions. Pet owners are cautioned to patrol around their fences for any suspicious-looking meat. It also helps to keep the animal in the back of the yard during the night, Bennett said. Anyone who wants to make use of the 24-hour Vet on Wheels service can phone Conradie on 083-241-4452. [Posted by: Davina at 10:45 am] Monday, May 16, 2005
Punishing the Poor and their Pets The City of Johannesburg in South Africa is set to introduce new dog and cat bylaws that discriminate against poor pet owners, and which could see the wholesale confiscation and possible destruction of thousands of pets. IFAW says Johannesburg hasn't properly consulted with animal welfare groups and organisations such as CLAW, which work in these communities daily. Click Here to Sign our Petition and tell the City Council that discrimination against the poor is unacceptable Dear Friends Please find on the following link, the new draft by-laws regarding animals: - http://www.joburg-archive.co.za/bylaws/draft_animals1.pdf As always SPCA Councils Marcelle Meredith talks the talk, and as always I am 100% in agreement for the sterilisation laws, but certainly responsible ownership should not disclude number of animals we keep/rescue I would urge you to send any comments to the below contacts as well post them on this Blog Members of public are invited to voice their comments in writing to The Director: Legal Services, PO Box 1049, Johannesburg, 2000 or email their comments to tshidem@joburg.org.za or aidam@joburg.org.za. [Posted by: Davina at 8:30 pm] |
 Every animal deserves love, protection and our voice.
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