“MAKE proper arrangements for your pets to be taken care of over the festive season,” urges two animal rescue organisations as they approach what they say is the busiest time of the year for them.

Neeri Naidoo, founder of Phoenix Animal Care and Treatment (PACT), said its common for pet owners to leave their pets alone with a bag of food and bowl of water while they go on vacation.

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“It’s the families who go away for weekend or short stays, thinking their pets will be fine on their own. The animal goes into distress due to fireworks or noises and runs away. We are inundated with animals who go missing over the festive period,” said Naidoo.

She said a good place to start would be for all pet owners to ensure that their pets are wearing tags and collars with proper identification and to ensure they are chipped, or both.

“There are still far too many animals who don’t have proper identification, and when they go missing, it makes it difficult to locate the owner. The pet then ends up another missing animal on the system, when in fact, if they were chipped or wearing a collar, they could be reunited with their family,” she said.

Naidoo urged pet owners to book their pets into a kennel service or get someone to watch them if they plan on going on holiday, no matter what the duration of the stay is.

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“As a pet owner, it’s the responsible thing to do. Your pet is a part of your family and should be treated as such – like a living being with feelings,” she added.

When it comes to giving pets as Christmas gifts, or for any occasion, Naidoo said she was strongly against it.
“Having a pet is roughly a 16-year commitment. Pets need love, time, affection… It’s also costly to own a pet so before you give someone a pet, discuss it with them first. The person may not be emotionally, physically or financially equipped to own a pet. We don’t need any more unwanted pets in the system,” she added.

Keep them SAFE

Kerry Jonke, director for SAFE Animal Rescue and Fostering Network, said the organisation sees an increase in cases from November to January.

“This is due to a number of reasons. We head into our rainy season in KZN which is often accompanied by thunderstorms, and there are a lot of pets who are very sensitive to loud noises and run and escape properties. During this period, we also have Guy Fawkes, Diwali and New Years, which are accompanied by fireworks, flash bangs and crackers. This causes many animals to run in panic to try and escape what they find an overwhelming and terrifying situation,” she said.

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“Of these pets, a large percentage do not have collars with tags and contact details, and they are not microchipped. It is only a very few that we see a happy outcome with where they are reunited with owners through a microchip or ID on a collar,” she added.

The third reason, she said, is the increase in the number of people going on holiday and leaving pets behind with what they think is adequate food and water until they get back.

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“These dogs also escape properties in search of owners and get lost or injured, while others injure themselves on the property trying to get out. There is also a high fatality rate for dogs kept on chains during this time period as they try to get away from the noises and hang themselves when trying to jump a fence, or create deep wounds around the neck area,” said Jonke.

On gifting an animal to another person – be it a birthday, Christmas or any other occasion – Jonke said it’s a hard no from her.

“Getting any pet requires a lot of consideration. A young puppy, for example, cannot be left on its own for long periods of time if a person works – it is the equivalent of a toddler. If left alone, it stands the risk of developing serious emotional behavioural issues, for example, separation anxiety, trying to dig out of the property, chewing, escaping the property, howling, insistent barking and destructive behaviour,” she said.

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