April is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, but animal cruelty is something the Ottery-based Animal Rescue Organisation (ARO) confronts all year round.
The ARO’s animal hospital serves those who can’t afford private vet care and consultations range from vaccinations to cases of neglect, says ARO vet Dr Natasha Clark, of Meadowridge.
“It can get frustrating but that is why one of our main focuses is education. We use the opportunity of a consultation to educate owners on what it means to be responsible for a pet and what they need to provide in the way of health care,” she said.
Sterilisation is their top priority and they will not offer their services to those who will not agree to have their animal sterilised – except in the case of stabilising a very ill animal.
“This is the only way we can have a long-term impact on the massive overpopulation of pets and strays in these areas,” said Dr Clark.
Recently, the hospital dealt with a case of a cross-breed that was brought in by the owner who had left the animal with a clearly unsuitable carer while she had been away.
“Brownie was kept on a rope and as this pup grew, it got tighter until it eventually cut right through his skin. One can just imagine the constant pain this pup endured. Thankfully Brownie was brought in in time to save his life,” said Dr Clark.
She cleaned, stitched and dressed the wound, and Brownie is now recovering.
ARO needs funding to continue its work, and there are various ways the public can help. A R450 donation will cover a sterilisation. You can also pay R250 to sponsor a specific kennel in the hospital for a month or R2750 for a year. This will help to cover the feeding, caring and medical expenses of the animals that stay in the kennel.
ARO will hang a personalised plaque on the sponsored kennel with a message of the sponsor’s choosing.
“The sponsor will also receive quarterly emails with updates of the animals that have stayed in the kennel and what kind of treatments they have received under our care,” said ARO spokeswoman Lindsey Concer of Kenilworth.
Kennel sponsorships help the ARO to budget more effectively than it can with once-off donations.
On Friday May 6, the ARO will hold its 20th annual golf day fund-raiser at King David Mowbray Golf Club. After a day in the fresh air, there is dinner, drinks and an auction. Ms Concer said it was an important event on the ARO fund-raising calendar and that despite Covid it raised R49 575 last year.