Soshanguve dog lover hosts Save 500 Informal Settlement Dogs Weekend
"Since we started our programmes, people are starting to treat their dogs with love."
A Soshanguve dog lover and various organisations hosted a Save 500 Informal Settlement Dogs Weekend campaign in various informal settlements in the north of Tshwane.
Tebogo Maredi from Soshanguve, block W, has been assisting community members with washing their dogs, feeding them, helping sick dogs with medication, and advising residents about how to care for their dogs.
Maredi said at first they planned to visit five informal settlements, however, they only managed to visit three of them.
“On Friday, we went to Block W in Soshanguve. On Saturday, we went to Vuma’s Kloploof informal settlement in Hammanskraal and we also went to Dali Mpofu informal settlements in Soshanguve.
“The notion behind everything is to help informal settlement dogs because most of the time you find these dogs are skinny and do not have food. So we just figured that we have to go out and help them,” Maredi said.
“We also had to identify dogs that needed emergency veterinary attention.”
Maredi said most of the dogs were owned by children and they aim to teach them how to treat dogs.
“We had large numbers in Vuma’s Kloof and Block W because of the Walk The Dog campaign we host every Friday.”
Maridi said every Friday, children come to his house for the campaign.
“Every Friday at 16:00, children come to my place and we would take them on a 2km walk with their dogs. Afterwards, we cook food for the children and we also cook for their dogs. At the moment we have 80 dogs and 80 children.
“When we started eight months ago, there were many things that were concerning. Since we started our programmes, people are starting to treat their dogs with love. People have also changed the ways they treat animals,” Maridi said.
“They now have respect for their dogs and they no longer tie their dogs on leashes anymore. The reception we get from them is phenomenal.”
He said because most of the children came from underprivileged households, the little dog food bowls and dog collars that they gave them were very appreciated because they cannot afford them.
Maridi said because the children looked up to him, he did not only teach them about dogs but how to become better people in society.
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“We teach them about morals, how to become better human beings. We also do programmes like Sarafina and traditional dances to keep them closer to us.
“We also teach them the basics of life and the importance of working hard so that they can make their dreams come true.”
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