Rescue kennels celebrate 1 year milestone
Whether it is to drop off a bag or two of food or to just spend time there, you can be sure that the furry friends are always ready to shower you with affection.
AS the festive season draws close and leisure time becomes more available, consider visiting the doggies at the Bluff Rescue Kennels (BRK).
Whether it is to drop off a bag or two of food or to just spend time there, you can be sure that the furry friends are always ready to shower you with affection.
The dog shelter has grown after starting out just last year. With the public’s generosity, the BRK is now a registered non-profit organisation, which means more stray dogs off the streets. The team of dedicated volunteers have also been able to secure funds to add more kennels, and in true BRK fashion, these kennels are big and very open.
“We’ve added a total of five kennels since last year, three of which are at the back. These are the emergency kennels for dogs that are with us for a short term stay which we’ve just started doing. Our boarding facilities are available to keep dogs a night or two in instances where homes are fumigated of your home or moving house and the dogs need to be off the property.”
“We offer this service, providing that a kennel is available, and the stay can be for a period of up to two weeks. But, I must stress that the rescues will always come first,” said founder and director, Amanda Herschel.
She said the charge for the short term stay is a donation ‘fee’ that goes to towards the kennels’ upkeep. They currently have 14 dogs in their care which might increase during the looming festive season. The dogs typically go through an 8kg bag of food daily.
“This adds up to about 30 bags of food per month and this is without the tins and treats. Our wish list will always be food – dry food, biscuits or treats. We also need toys, old blankets or towels, as long as they are still in good condition. And as far as our building is concerned, we’re always in need of building material to help expand the kennels.”
“Monetary donations also go a long way as we’re able to use it for everything such as the vet bill, sterilisations, the building of more kennels or whatever we need at that stage. Recently, with the annual fireworks celebrations, we had more expenses with getting the dogs calming tablets, which we don’t normally use during the year,” she said.
Amanda said while their aim initially was to take care of strays on the Bluff, they have since expanded their reach as far as Cape Town and the Eastern Cape. They collaborate with other rescue organisations and share resources, sometimes having to keep their dogs temporarily.
“We’re open to having volunteers, especially over the festive season, as the regular volunteers would want to spend time with their families. For the younger volunteers, we prefer children over the age of 10. They would be much more capable of taking care of the dogs, especially the bigger ones,” she said.
To make a donation or for more information, like the Bluff Rescue Kennels page on Facebook or Amanda Herschel on 071-869-8746 or Mariska Baard on 082-335-4511.
