Helpful tips to pet safety

With the festive season in full swing, the SPCA urges residents to be extra attentive to their pets, especially their dogs at this time of year. Craig Rudman, general manager at the Randburg SPCA, said that dogs go missing for various reasons and he highlights some major reasons why this happens.

Here are the list of reasons dogs go missing/run away:

• Gates that are left open along with walls that are too low, some dogs have the ability to climb/jump high walls and therefore the animal may or may not exit the property depending on its character.
• If the animal is treated in an abusive manor, this could mean different forms of abuse like no water and food therefore the animal will look for nourishment. n Violent abuse – chaining the animal in closed quarters – its natural instinct will be to escape/look for a way out or retaliate in a violent predator manner.
• Celebratory parties with fireworks or loud explosive noises is also a factor – the animal gets so traumatised that it will hurt itself to get out of any explosive noise situation. Animals have been known to impale themselves on palisade fencing, stuck between objects and down drain systems causing major trauma and injury or even resulted in death.

How to avoid these circumstances:

• Make sure your property is secure as much as possible; make sure your pet is safely in your property before you drive off.
• Treat your pet with kindness, love, compassion and above all as part of the family. Your pet is much the same as a human – it understands between good and bad.
• If you are going to have a celebration involving fireworks/noise, secure your pets away from the party, or ask your vet for a mild tranquiliser to keep them calm. Loud bangs traumatise pets insanely and they will always be nervous thereafter.

If you have a lost/runaway pet.

• Most importantly make sure your pet has an ID. This could be a collar with a disc, or a microchip which you can have done at your local SPCA; costs will vary. Microchips will have the details of the pet’s owner and, if the animal does get handed to a vet or a local SPCA, the animals will be scanned and the owner notified. Microchipping has been proven to be the best form of recovery – especially, if an animal has been stolen.
• Check with your local vets.
• Always have a full picture of your pets handy to submit to the SPCA or vet for their lost-and-found files.

Details: Randburg SPCA admin@spca-rbg.org.za or 011 462 1610/50

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