Sixteen “stolen” dogs found in the Hennopsriver valley
The 16 dogs that were allegedly stolen by a man and a woman were found at an animal shelter in the Hennopsriver valley.
Sixteen dogs allegedly stolen from a woman from Waterval in the north of Pretoria have been found at an animal rescue centre in the Hennopsriver valley.
Stella and Nicolas Meldau, owners of the registered non-profit organisation Woodrock Animal Rescue, claimed they did not steal the dogs but rather saved them from poor living conditions. They said the owners willingly handed over the animals.
Stella said the owners signed a form that was read out to them twice.
Trudy Otto, the owner of the eight labrador puppies and eight dachshunds that were taken, maintained that her dogs were stolen by a man and woman who pretended to be “inspectors”.
“The form we signed did not say that we gave them the right to take our dogs away permanently. It merely said that we gave them the permission to sterilize the animals and return them on Sunday,” said Otto.
Stella denied having threatened to shoot the Otto and her son if they did not hand over the dogs.
Otto said an English-speaking man and woman stopped at their house around 2pm on Friday afternoon with a white Nissan Navara bakkie with a white canopy. On the front the word “inspector” was written and on the sides were two logos of a dog’s head in a black circle.
Nicolas said he had received a complaint about six weeks ago that the dog owners were poor and could not look after their 34 dogs.
“Our intention was not to take the dogs but merely to investigate the property for possible problems and to educate the owners.”
Stella said when they arrived at the location, the conditions in which the dogs lived were so horrific that she burst into tears and insisted on taking the dogs to their rescue centre.
“This was a gross case. This was truly the worst case of animal abuse I have ever seen,” said Stella.
Stella said there was no food or fresh water for the dogs and the animals were living in small, dangerous and dirty cages among their own faeces.
Otto disputed this.
“We cleaned the cages about four times a week and ensured that they always had fresh water and food,” she said.
“I even gave special soft food to one of the dachshunds that did not have any teeth any longer. The SPCA inspector saw the facilities himself and he had no problem.”
Stella said she would never condone the selling of dogs as if they were “mere goods”. Commenting on the allegation that they had stolen the dogs, she said there was no financial benefit for them to steal a dog as they never sold dogs.
“We saved them, we have no intention to sell or breed with them. We are planning on sterilizing all of them,” said Stella.
Otto said breeding dogs was merely an extra income for her.
“We have a company that removes garden rubble which is our main income. Dog breeding is just a sideline to help us survive,” said Trudy.
Stella said she was worried about the labrador puppies.
“All of the dogs have hook worms. These worms attack the heart muscles. I do not know if the puppies will survive.”
Stella said their rescue centre has a very high profile and is well-known.
They were chosen to feature in a programme South African Heroes for the ENCA television news channel in November. She gave the assurance that the dogs would be well looked after at the shelter.
“The dogs have an indoor place to sleep and each dog has its own garden in which to run and play around. We have air conditioning systems for the dogs and even play classical music to them. We also take the dogs for daily walks.”
Otto said veterinarian Dr Chris Jannis from Pyramid Animal Clinic had never detected any problem with the health of her dogs.
Jannis said he had known the Otto family for a very long time and that the dogs had been in a good condition.
“The owners may be struggling a bit financially but they love their animals and have never abandoned or mistreated them in any way that I am aware of. They are looking after them as well as it is possible for them.”
Jannis said the family brought their dogs to him regularly and the dogs had never showed signs of having worms. They were also not underfed.
SPCA area inspector Mishack Matlou, said he visited the family the day after the dogs were taken and the dogs which remained in their possession were all in a good condition.
Matlou said nobody had the right to confiscate somebody else’s dogs without any legal documentation. A court order was required before dogs could be removed.
Nicolas from Woodrock Animal Rescue said he did not have a court order for removing the dogs. He said a court order was not necessary seeing that the owners surrendered the dogs willingly.
Nicolas said he only took 16 dogs, adding there were another 18 that could not fit into his vehicle.
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