Sandton SPCA receives much-needed vehicle sponsor

The Sandton SPCA has acquired two vehicles to assist in their fight against animal abuse.

Jaco Pieterse, general manager of the Sandton SPCA with Miss SA, Ade van Heerden and the new vehicle.

The Sandton SPCA recently received a donation of a bakkie, following their appeal to the community for help after they couldn’t rescue a dog, Sandton chronicle reports.

Within days, Cell C, thanks to its ongoing Acts of Kindness campaign, together with Abela Business Leasing and Melrose Nissan came to the SPCA’s rescue.

The SPCA only had access to three vehicles, and has a vast area to cover, with some areas having inaccessible roads. The organisation therefore urgently required a one-ton bakkie.

The need became even more urgent after the SPCA received a call about a dog being stoned by children, but was too late to get to the scene because of a lack of transport.

Through a partnership with Abela Business Leasing and Melrose Nissan, Cell C will share the monthly rental of a Nissan NP 200.

The monthly rental includes the annual cost of licensing and a full maintenance and tyre replacement plan up to 120 000 kilometres, for three years.

Jaco Pieterse, general manager of the Sandton SPCA, said: “This will make a huge difference in the lives of the many animals and the members of the informal communities that we serve.

“As well as assisting animals we also need to educate the public about animal welfare. If the youth is educated, they end up building a better future for animals in the country. We thank Cell C, Abela Business Leasing and Melrose Nissan for their kindness and care.”

He said that Cell C’s CEO heard the plea on radio and immediately jumped into action to assist them.

In addition to the sponsorship, the Sandton SPCA has purchased another vehicle with funds raised by their crowd-funding project, meaning they now have two extra vehicles on the ground.

“We have employed three additional staff members within our Inspectorate Department who will be trained as inspectors.”

Pieterse said the vehicles will be used in their daily routines whereby they respond to cruelty complaints, rescues, proactive inspections and outreach projects.

To raise awareness on animal cruelty, Pieterse said: “We have an educational program whereby we visit schools and educate the children, we educate animal owners when we do outreaches and we share our stories on social media.”

Suzette van der Merwe, managing executive corporate social investment at Cell C said: “We are confident that this donation will help the Sandton SPCA achieve their stated objectives of public awareness about animal welfare and to be able to tend to animals in areas where their help is most needed. We could not have done this without our partners Melrose Nissan and Abela Business Leasing.”

Darryl Brook, Melrose Nissan’s fleet sales manager, said: “We are happy to be a partner to such a worthy cause; prevention of cruelty to animals and educating the communities about animal care thus promoting kindness, respect, and responsibility towards all animals.”

Ross Richards, director for Abela Business Leasing, said: “The Sandton SPCA fulfils a critical function of preventing cruelty and improper treatment of defenceless animals and they are able to provide animals in distress with a place of safety and a place where they are able to get the care they so require.

“We are grateful that we have been afforded this opportunity to support them in their mission.”

Details: www.sandtonspca.org.za