TAWI: Changing the lives of rural dogs
The team is looking for polar fleece blankets for their next steri drive.
A small outreach group is changing the lives of many rural dogs and feral cats.
The hardworking group of volunteers from Transkei Animal Welfare Initiative (TAWI) are committed to curbing the big issue of unnecessary breeding.
Most recently, a team consisting of veterinarians and volunteers headed to the foothills of Mtweni near Port St Johns for the weekend.
Linda Dunn of TAWI said three special veterinarians: Dr Davis Watson, Dr Lee Pachonick and Dr Tinashe Chimatira, gave up their weekend to help dogs who never get veterinary assistance.
Impressively, the trio managed to sterilise a whopping 127 dogs in one weekend: 74 dogs on the Saturday and 53 dogs on the Sunday.
Dunn said besides the sterilisations the vets did stitch ups, treated transmissible venereal tumours and growth removals as it is only one chance to see a vet, so everyone makes the most of it.
Last month, Gift of the Givers brought a massive truckload of veterinary supplies for the South Coast’s animals and community.
Scott Kvalsvig of Tidy Towns Shelly to Margate explained that an air-conditioned storage unit has been set up at Makuluskop Banana Ripening, where local NPOs can fetch the supplies, instead of from Pietermaritzburg.
He thanked Dunn for arranging sterilisations for the cats abandoned by humans at the local beaches.
To date, the team has sterilised a total of 681 cats at St Mike’s since March last year.
The team, which is on a mission will host another steri drive in Port St Johns on July 19 and 20.
With winter here, one of their needs are polar fleece blankets.
If anyone would like to donate towards the wonderful work being done, contact Dunn on 082 7705579.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
