Kloof SPCA’s Sue shares her love for all animals

LONG after she has left the office, the Kloof and Highway SPCA’s devoted inspectorate manager, Sue Noakes, continues to pour her heart and soul into helping obtain justice for animals.

With years of experience under her belt, Sue shares her wealth of knowledge in the animal welfare industry with the Highway Mail.

Who was the biggest influence in your life?
My dad, for his strong work ethic and principles.

What is your life’s motto?
Something good always comes, even out of the worst circumstances and no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

What does your morning life entail?
I need time to ease into the day as I get up quite early. My husband wakes me up with coffee in bed and, once I have checked my phone, showered and dressed for work, I sit on our veranda, listening to the birds and watching the sunrise. There’s no better way to start the day.

How would your friends and family describe you?
Passionate, determined and driven by my love for animals.

ALSO READ: Lauren’s love for animals is boundless

Have you taken up or developed on any hobbies since the lockdown?
I did more gardening and my animals loved having me home for a few extra days.

If there is one thing you could change about your personality, what would it be?
I battle to shut my mind off from work when I am at home, as this is a calling and not just a job to me.

What has the lockdown taught you about yourself and others?
People are remarkably resilient in stressful situations and can really pull together to make a difference. Sadly, the lockdown also brought out the worst in some people.

How has your workload increased since the lockdown was implemented?
A lot of animal owners experienced a loss of income in some form and were not able to feed or care for their animals properly. Our inspectorate are continuously visiting the furthest rural areas to check on animals and assist animal owners with pet food. The number of unwanted animals that are signed over to the Kloof SPCA increases daily.

How many animals do you own?
I have two elderly cats, a Scottie and a three-legged Africanus that I adopted from our SPCA four years ago. She was surrendered to the Kloof SPCA by its owner who did not obtain veterinary treatment after its hind leg was caught in a snare. The damage was so severe that her leg had to be amputated. She adjusted remarkably well and she went from a scared, underweight dog with a dull coat, to the happiest, healthy dog with a shiny black coat. She brings so much joy to our lives.

What are the top three things you love about your job?
Making a difference in the life of each animal we deal with.
Preventing cruelty by educating animal owners and their families and prosecuting owners where necessary to set an example.
I work with the most passionate and dedicated inspectorate team in the country who tirelessly fight for animals 24/7.

ALSO READ: Sarah bares her soul for Kloof SPCA

Describe one of your most challenging experiences and how you overcame it:
Inspector Petra Abrams and I went to court 22 times to obtain justice for Boyz, a two-year-old crossbreed male that was found chained without food, water or shelter. The chain was embedded 2cm deep into the dog’s neck, forming a deep, infected wound. Although we experienced resistance in prosecuting this case, we kept on fighting for justice and I continuously wrote case summaries and scheduled meetings with different prosecutors until the case was eventually handed to one prosecutor with whom we met before every court date. Although Boyz’ injuries were so severe that he had to be humanely euthanased, we eventually obtained some justice for him when the owner pleaded guilty to the animal cruelty offences and was fined R2 000. Furthermore the magistrate ruled that she would never be allowed to own any animals again.

What is your favourite cuisine?
My husband could be on Master Chef South Africa. Everything he prepares is just out of this world. I do love his seafood pasta, among others.

What is a misconception people have about you work and what is your response?
People think that the SPCA likes to kill everything, when that is the saddest part of our job. Owners do not want to deal with the litters their unsterilised animals produced, can’t or won’t afford veterinary treatment. They would rather choose to surrender the animal and make it our problem, but still want to dictate that we should keep it for an undetermined period because living is better than death.

For a large number of animals we deal with, death would be far more humane than the horrors they were exposed to. When we sometimes admit in excess of 1 000 animals per month, I would like to challenge anyone who criticise us, to raise the funds to keep the animals in large enough areas where they would not experience kennel stress and then see how to make room for the next 1 000 animals that will come the following month.

A lot of people also think we are government funded and therefore should offer all of our services for free. We are totally reliable on the donations and goodwill of our community. We need support now more than ever to keep our SPCA open, to enable us to help more animals in our community and to continue in our fight to end cruelty against animals.

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