Dog left paralysed due to festive fireworks

The RandWest SPCA took in numerous animals during the festive season and although there were some positives, 2024 is one year they would rather want to forget.

SPCA manager René van Straten explained that 2024 was particularly bad in terms of ongoing fireworks and it started early in the festive season already, especially in areas such as Kagiso, Mohlakeng, Bekkersdal and Westonaria.

She further noted they already had to collect animals that were bewildered on Christmas.

According to Van Straten, they had a vehicle driving around to help animals on New Year’s Eve and she stayed at their premises as their animals were in distress due to the fireworks.

In one severe case, a dog had injured itself so badly it was paralysed but luckily no other serious injuries were reported. They did, however, have many cases of animals that were bewildered.

René added they still get calls from community members who kept animals safe which she is grateful for.

“For me, this was the worst festive season yet, not in terms of injuries, but with the number of fireworks. Two or three days after New Year’s there were still fireworks,” she said.

She said no animals have been claimed by their owners as of yet and the SPCA will keep the animals for seven days to give owners the chance to claim them before they will be available for adoption.

Her advice to curb the negative effect on animals during the festive season is simple – people should just stop using fireworks.

“It’s easy to say keep your dog safe in the house but what about all the wild animals? For example, birds that leave their young and are too disoriented to find their nest again, even bees are affected by the loud noises.”

With all the new intakes, the SPCA is now in need of food for the animals especially cat food as well as treats to spoil the animals a bit.

She concluded by saying thank you to all their supporters who carried them through 2024.