An SPCA Story - Love at First Sight
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“The smell, the amount of ammonia would burn your eyes,” says Lisa Mörck about the small granny flat she stepped into one day while working for the Kloof & Highway SPCA in South Africa. Twenty-eight animals lived within. Kept in shocking conditions by an animal hoarder, they lay in their own faeces and urine that covered the floors. Rats lived on the kitchen counter, a pig under the couch, and a small pug named Barney stood wobbling on thin legs. The dog’s skin sank between his ribs and under his hips. His eyes sagged with exhaustion. The inspectors confiscated him among the other animals and bought them to safety. Barney was given food and water, but his condition was serious. Suffering from mange, malnutrition, and worms, Barney had to undergo x-rays and blood tests to discover additional damage that pained him because of his past home. To the right is an image of Barney on his first day at the SPCA
On average, 1,920 animal cruelty cases are reported in the media each year, thirteen percent of which are victims of animal hoarding just like Barney. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) helps animals by rescuing them from roaming the streets or dire circumstances and giving them a chance at a better life. Acting under the Animal Protection Act, the SPCA strives to guarantee animals their five freedoms which include freedom from thirst, hunger, malnutrition, discomfort, pain, injury, disease, fear or distress as well as a freedom to express normal behaviour.
“I might not be able to save them all,” says SPCA inspector Sherri Radebe, “But I feel honoured to wake up every day and make a difference to an animal’s life.”
Financial funding is the main need that enables the SPCA to do their work, but a hindrance to their mission is lack of education. People who don’t know how to look after their pets put them at risk of neglect and often abandonment. Not knowing why sterilization and vaccinations are important also place pets at risk of disease and falling pregnant with litters of unwanted puppies. It is sad when animals suffer only because of a lack of awareness to their needs. Therefore, the SPCA offer to teach people about animals and have educational teams that go into the community and inform people how to look after a range of animals as well as what to do when they see animal cruelty.
These educational teams preform puppet shows and presentations within local and rural schools. In the Kloof & Highway area, these teams have already made an impact as a school child informed his parents that they should phone the SPCA when the family had witnessed an act of animal cruelty.
In addition to the education teams, the SPCA also sends teams of vets into different areas to offer sterilization and health aid to surrounding animals who are in need. Doing so, not only helps the animals but also the community. Up to 300 dogs can be sterilized by these vets and vaccinated against rabies and skin diseases that are contagious to humans. The SPCA’s work in this regard greatly affects the community by limiting the risk of disease to both animals and humans alike. Healthy animals mean healthy people.
Reporting animal cruelty cases can help the SPCA, especially when saving animals like Barney from painful situations. Every SPCA has different needs and anybody’s help is welcome in any form possible. The best thing to do is to contact the local SPCA and ask what can be done to help them. It can be as simple as clicking the share button on a Facebook post of an animal in need of a home.
A lady who saw Barney’s story on the news phoned the Kloof & Highway SPCA asking about him. As he underwent a rough recovery, Barney already had someone who was waiting for him. The animal hoarder received a R21 000 fine and a criminal record for how she mistreated the animals in her care. No jail time was given, but she was banned from owning any animals for a period of ten years. Because of faithful vets and volunteers, Barney was given treatment for all his symptoms and on a long-awaited day, he was introduced to his new owner. To the left is an image of Barney on his first birthday in his new home. It was love at first sight.
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REFERENCES
NSPCA South Africa. (2013, 02, 20). NSPCA Corporate. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onAovI-_tAY [Accessed 15/04/2017]
Peters, E. (2017). Inspiring Quotes For People Who Love Animals. Retrieved from Pets-N-More: http://www.petsnmore.org/2013/02/inspiring-quotes-for-people-who.html [Accessed 15/04/2017]
Smit, M. (2013, 10, 22). Adopt a pet at the SPCA. Retrieved from Highway Mail: http://highwaymail.co.za/139261/adopt-a-pet-at-the-spca/ [Accessed 15/04/2017]
Statistic Brain Research Institute. (2016). Animal Abuse Statistics. Retrieved from Statistic Brain: http://www.statisticbrain.com/animal-abuse-statistics/ [Accessed 15/04/2017]
As well as, two interviews done with SPCA Marketing Director Lisa Mörck and SPCA inspector Sherri Radebe at the SPCA centre in Kloof, Durban, KZN.
