Roodepoort security boss risks life to save stolen pit bull

Family pets hold a special place in their owners’ hearts and an unspeakable void could be left if they were ever smuggled into a smokey abyss.

Zané Esterhuyzen and André Louw began flooding social media on 14 February with posts about their missing pit bull. Their muscly power-breed, Rango, disappeared from their home in Kenmare and by Monday morning, via the social media grapevine, the couple were positive that their precious boy had been stashed away in the Princess informal settlement.

Zander Schlemmer was preparing for his Monday morning meetings, unaware of what drama the day would bring. Zander is the owner of Weltevreden Park based Cordiguard Security Services, specialising in guarding, evictions, riots, and crowd control for events. Cordiguard will celebrate their three-year anniversary next month but the man from Wilro Park comes from a family that have dedicated themselves to the safety and security of others for almost three decades.

The social media posts about Rango’s disappearance caught Zander’s eye just after 10am and the time stamp on his first message to Zané reads 10.44am. Zander filled the worried couple with hope and by 1pm he and his right-hand man, Alfred Mungani, were on the fringes of the notorious informal settlement. Alfred had been scouring the area earlier in the day in the hope of generating any leads.

Together they attempted to probe residents but were met with blank stares and hostile reproaches. The pair then fortunately crossed paths with a man named Ayanda whose unusually friendly demeanour led them to an area deep inside the settlement. “We started getting followed. The community was getting tense and I’ll admit I started to get a little worried,” laughed Alfred.

A faint barking sound in the distance led the armed heroes to a small makeshift shelter and hidden inside it was the now famous brown and white beast. The tension from residents was threatening to boil over but Zander secured Rango with his belt and the men prepared to make their exit. “People began to ask lots of questions. They tried to intimidate us and we were getting verbal abuse from all sides,” said an unfazed Zander, speaking about their march out of the settlement.

Pit bulls are close to Zander’s heart as he too is an owner of the breed. “The best moment was seeing Rango reunited with his owners; no money can buy that feeling,” he said. From his suburban home, through the narrow sheet-metal passageways and back into the arms of his owners, Rango rests easy thanks to his selfless heroes.