Wetnose rescued 200 dogs in trouble
“What we found was heartbreaking. The original owner of the shelter and her husband both passed away recently and had left their daughter to cope on her own, without direction.”
Wetnose rescue centre is filled to the brim after taking in 200 animals bringing the total animals in their care to over 500.
The centre recently had received complaints from concerned residents about an animal shelter in Pretoria North that was in trouble.
“What we found was heart-breaking. The original owner of the shelter and her husband both passed away recently and had left their daughter to cope on her own, without direction.
“The fencing was broken, the shelters were dirty and the old houses that many of the dogs were living in smelled terrible and were really unhygienic, since they had no staff to look after the dogs.
“The dogs were not being fed proper dog food due to lack of funding and many camps and kennels had no water,” said Debbie Buys MD of Wetnose Rescue centre.
Buys said the daughter was relying on the people living on the property to clean, feed and report sick animals. Unfortunately, there was no proper structure or management in place.
“The dogs, although most were not skinny, were being neglected. Way too many dogs were in each enclosure and there were regular fights, especially when they came on heat. Many of them were also unsterilised.”
On September 22 Wet Nose staff rallied together to start the process of transporting the animals that were signed over to the centre by the owners.
As the animals arrived they were all given clinical examinations by a vet, 35 dogs had to be euthanised as they were too weak and sick to have any quality of life.
“Every dog gets vaccinated, de-wormed, micro-chipped, tick and flea treated, sterilised, and checked for any medical conditions,” Buys said.
“In addition, every dog gets a file with all its information, vaccination cards, medical records and history of behavioural rehabilitation. They also all get a name.
“This ongoing process of intakes will continue throughout the week and it is quite a time-consuming exercise. The sterilisation of all the dogs will take around three weeks.
“Tshwane SPCA Inspectorate deserves a big shout out for their contribution to transporting and assisting in the rescue,” said Buys.
Be a Wet Nose hero and assist the centre to care for these dogs by adopting, assisting and donating.
The urgent needs include: dog food, poop scoops, blankets, de-wormers, flytraps and trees for shade and funds for medical treatment and sterilisations which nearly all the dogs need.
“We are looking for fencing contractors that may be able to assist with good pricing or even a donation in order to erect more exercise runs. We issue Section 18A tax certificates for those companies kind enough to assist with this project,” said Buys.
To find out how you can help, reach out to the centre on 012 932 3941 or shelter@wetnose.co.za
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