A gush of JOY in Ballito

Massive balls of fur and happy, wagging tales belonging to three English Sheep dogs made a short pit-stop at Ballito last week, on their way to a conference at the Wild Coast.

The adorable, Johannesburg trio kept heads turning and left Ballito a much happier place because, well… that is their actual job.

Owner, Sue Green founded the JOY Dogs organisation nine years ago with the intention of using the, then puppies, as means to make people happy. Today the dogs, Jazime, Oscar and Yogi are specialists in their field of spreading love and even pose for photos.

“The dogs have trained since they were three months old to do tricks. They now show-off their talents at schools, orphanages, old age homes and hospitals.

“They can jump through hoops and can even read placards and respond to them. I realised that people were fascinated by the dogs and that everyone needs a bit of happiness in their lives, so we try to spread love and lots of sloppy kisses where ever we go,” said Green.

All three of the dogs were imported from Belgium in Europe. There are currently only 30 English sheep dogs in the country and they cost about R50 000 a pop.

The furry siblings who all sleep on an imported water mattress, are groomed daily by their “human mother”, who has found an innovative way of putting their excess fur to good use.

“I have a spinning wheel which I use to spin the dog fur and make jackets, blankets and key rings out of it,” said Green.

The most important aspect of the JOY Dogs is to ensure that children learn how to take care of pets from a young age.

“We want kids to interact with the dogs and see first hand that they also have individual personalities. When children love animals from a young age they grow-up to be good pet owners.”

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