Upper Highway couple improve animal welfare in Cliffdale
Since it inception, the organisation has fed an average of 400 dogs and puppies and about 60 cats in the area.
RESCUING and finding a home for a homeless dog was the start of a happy ‘tail’ for other four legged friends in the Cliffdale community.
The idea to help started when Upper Highway couple, Graham and Wendy Smith could not bear the sight of the malnourished and sometimes horrendous state of the dogs and cats that they passed daily on their route through the Cliffdale township where they drop their domestic staff off at home every afternoon after work.
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They started by feeding one homeless dog, whom they named Cliffie, hence the name of their organisation, Cliffies Crew – Cliffdale Animal Welfare.
“Cliffie was a bag of bones and infested with mange, ticks and fleas, and one of his front legs severely injured. He was terrified of humans and the only way we could get him to eat was to place food on the side of the road and drive away.
“After several months a trust developed, we managed to find him a home in Cliffdale with a local resident and checked up on him daily. He flourished into a beautiful (and well-fed) dog with the sweetest nature, allowing for a tickle every now and then, and a very happy tail upon arrival each afternoon,” said Wendy.
Lending a helping hand
Since it inception, the organisation has fed an average of 400 dogs and puppies and about 60 cats in the area.
“We have built more than 160 dog houses from recycled wood and roof sheeting and supplied them free of charge to residents of Cliffdale township. We currently feed 367 adult dogs, 48 puppies and 57 cats on a daily basis
They also provide weekly food handouts to the pet owners.
While feeding is their main objective, “when funds allow for it, we also sterilise the dogs and cats, vaccinate and assist with medical treatment, supply beds, blankets, bowls and donated goods for the people.
“Majority of the dogs in the early stages were malnourished, mange and parasite infected and now are healthy happy flourishing animals,” said Wendy.
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For the first three years Wendy and Graham funded all the dog and cat food themselves.
“As the word slowly went out, we started getting some donations which helped lift a major weight off of our shoulders.
“We are also blessed with two organisations; Friends of K9 and Sanctuary Project who help us cover the costs of some of the sterilizing and vaccinating of the pets.”
They mentioned that they chose to focus mainly in Cliffdale as it a small township tucked behind a mountain on the side of the N3 freeway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
“We see it has been ‘forgotten’ and they desperately need some assistance. Our current funding and donations only allow for us to service Cliffdale at this stage, there are many animals even here that we are not able to help yet die to a lack of funds.
Reaching out for help
The couple appealed to the public for pet food, blankets, kennels and donations towards their vet accounts.
“We would like to be able to assist with more medical and veterinary care to the animals of Cliffdale by doing more sterilisations and vaccinating more animals.
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“Basically, we desperately need pet food and funds. We can only do so much on our own with limited resources and we and the Cliffdale community will be forever grateful for any assistance aligned with the information above.
In 2020, they teamed up with Daniel Stewart and Khula Vet in 2021 and their teams and vaccinated hundreds of the Cliffdale pets against rabies with vaccinations sponsored by the State Vet and Amageza Animal Welfare.
“Both years saw us vaccinate a few animals short of 400 in one day.We treat minor illnesses and injuries, that do not require veterinary attention on site, as we carry a fully stocked medical kit.
“In the case of a medical emergency (such as serious illness or injury), we reach out to the Kloof and Highway SPCA to assist unless we have some extra funding, in which case animals are taken to various private vet clinics for treatment.
“We have already sterilised 224 dogs (as at July 29, 2021) with 10 planned for first two weeks of August,” said Wendy.
If anyone wants to get in contact with Cliffies Crew, contact Wendy on 083 256 1516 or email cliffiescrew@gmail.com or alternatively get in touch via Facebook page: Cliffies Crew – Cliffdale Animal Welfare.
The public is also welcome to drop off any small donations for us at What’s Cooking in Hillcrest or Watercrest Mall.
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