Champion for the four-pawed

The animal shelter on the outskirts of Diepsloot is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the welfare of animals.

Each morning Brits sends two inspectors into Diepsloot and other township areas.

They find stray dogs and feral cats and also offer a veterinary service to pet owners who cannot afford it.

Brits started the organisation in 2006 but has always been involved in animal welfare.

She said, “I would always see feral cats and dogs by the side of the road while I was driving on William Nicol and I started taking them home to care for them. I later joined an animal welfare organisation from Roodepoort which offered mobile clinics in townships, but they were so far out that I realised I needed to start something closer to home so that we could help the animals and pet owners in Diepsloot.”

The organisation relies heavily on donations from the community, and while Brits commends members of the public for consistently lending their support, she admits that running the shelter comes with many challenges.

She said, “Homing animals is a big challenge. We always pick up up more animals than we can find good homes for. We take animals out of bad situations but as far as possible, we try to keep pets in their homes and offer the pet owner support in terms of veterinary services, especially sterilisation, that they would not be able to afford.”

Brits added, “We focus a lot on education. Not just for pet owners in townships but also the community in general needs to be educated on how to deal with things like feral cat colonies. People need to be mindful of sterilising strays and pets, but they should also stop causing harm to them. We have so many cases of feral cats that have been poisoned and dogs that have been mistreated.”

For more information on how you can help the shelter or for enquiries about adoptions contact 4 Paws.

Details: 083-377-3219