It’s all monkey business for little dog

A local woman’s two-year-old dachshund named Sarah was recently forced to spend the night high up in the branches of a tree after a troupe of monkeys had dragged her up and left her stranded there.

Rosemarie Heck, the owner of Sarah and another two-year-old dachshund named Eddie, said she had arrived home from work at her property along the Sabie/Lydenburg Road on Monday August 8, when Sarah and Eddie went charging out of the gate after a troupe of monkeys. Heck said Eddie returned later on Monday evening with a few bumps and bruises, but Sarah was nowhere to be found.

“There is just bush and forest surrounding my property. I was in a flat spin. My husband and I were out searching the bush until 22:00 on Monday, but we could not find her. I just could not stop crying,” said Heck.

The heartbroken dog lover said on the next day, Tuesday August 9, she searched the woods again and even drove out to the SPCA to see if Sarah had been left there, but to no avail. She then posted on Facebook asking if anyone had seen Sarah, when someone suggested that she get hold of the South African Bush-Warrior Association’s Jaco Klopper.

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“I called him and he came out that same afternoon.” Once Klopper arrived, he began searching the bush and Heck tagged along, calling out for Sarah in the hopes of hearing her bark or whine.

“We would hear her crying and then it would stop. At one point, we stood for 45 minutes, just waiting for her to cry out again. When she eventually barked again, it sounded like it was coming from a pile of rocks right next to us,” said Heck. “We were looking under the rocks, and when she barked again and I looked up, there she was, sitting up in a tree, looking back at me. She was just watching us the entire time,” she said.

Klopper said the monkeys had attacked Sarah up and abandoned her in the tree to fend for herself. “Luckily they did not bite her or Eddie. But it does seem like the monkeys had manhandled the dogs quite a bit.” However, Heck said the encounter has not stopped Eddie or Sarah from barking and chasing monkeys.

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“Both Sarah and Eddie were quite scared after the ordeal. Sarah battled to sleep, but they are both doing a lot better now. Whenever the monkeys come, they still go crazy,” she said with a laugh. Heck said they have reinforced their fencing around the property to ensure the dogs do not get out again.

“I was super impressed with Klopper and how quickly he was able to track down the area in which Sarah was stranded. I am very grateful for how quickly he responded and for helping to bring my dog home safely.”