While most visitors at Kingfisher Park enjoy a leisurely morning walk with their friends with fur, Patric Mswi (44) dedicates his weekends to keeping the space clean, picking up litter, refreshing water bowls, and clearing away dog waste left behind.

Mswi travels from Diepsloot to Fourways to clean up the park. He started this work from July last year, and he has never skipped a day.

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“I’ve been volunteering to clean here for the past nine months.”

He said two men previously maintained the park, but when they moved on to pursue other opportunities, he stepped in to take over.

The park is a spacious place that is pet- and child-friendly. Mswi’s day is full of vibrant dogs and happy children who are seen skateboarding.

Mswi said he is not a dog person himself, but he understands them.

“I grew up in the Eastern Cape, so I am not scared of dogs as I grew up familiar with them.”

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His favourite thing about his job is changing the water in the bowls to make sure that the dogs have fresh water.

This is a voluntary job for Mswi, and he is dependent on the tips that he receives from the dog owners and would appreciate some donations as well.

“I am not specifically asking for money only, but anything that might be old that I will be able to sell would be appreciated.”

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