The Animal Protection Network (APN) is in dire need of funds to pay veterinarian bills and buy pet food.
APN is a registered NPO established in Alberton and surrounding areas. With the assistance of the community, they rescue, save and rehome unwanted and stray dogs, cats and other animals in need – one animal at a time.
They are a group of volunteers who depends on the help of the community to look after these animals.
No animal gets left behind and they go out of their way to assist where needed. Being the voice of the voiceless is what they do, but they are hitting a wall as they are struggling to pay their vet bills. It is also a battle to feed the pets.
More about them
“APN strives to meet our commitment to the pets in our area daily. We have gone beyond the Alberton borders to feed pets and we stress as we cannot say no. How do you say no to a hungry animal?,” said Di Hingley and Zuerina Venter.
According to them, there is a huge need in Alberton regarding pets. They are voiceless, so someone has to stand up for them.
“There are too many animals. We can’t feed all of them, even though we try. We need to sterilise some animals, but we really can’t do it on our own,” said Zuerina.
“Being part of an animal welfare organisation is at times heart-breaking but the ones we can save bring much joy and make this worth the time we give to ensure we can help these voiceless animals. The rescue work never stops.“
APN has been blessed by many with their generosity of donations and support and we are truly thankful to every one of you. Without you, we would be unable to give these furbabies the second chance they deserve,” said Zuerina and Di.
APN has partnered with New South Veterinary Centre, Paws In Motion, Brackenhurst Veterinary Clinic and Hennie Alberts Veterinary Clinic to help them to examine injured or ill pets.
They have boarding kennels in Walkerville and Drumeblade to provide a safe place to sleep.
How you can help
APN relies only on funds which are either donated or raised.
These donations don’t have to be money but anything that can be sold at a jumble sale as this is one of APN’s main sources of income – clothes, old appliances or furniture or toys (to name just a few things), are more than welcome.
“Don’t throw away leftover food! We need food and especially meat for the animals. Another thing is freezer space – we need deep freezers to put all this food in and preserve it,” they said.
Members are constantly looking for new ways to raise funds, rehome, feed and provide medical help for pets in need. “It is our daily battle,” Di added.
If you would like to donate towards their vet bills, feeding schemes and sterilisations you can deposit into Animal Protection Network, FNB, 6269 398 8770 or contact Zuerina on 082 850 9842 or Di 082 653 1815 for more information on how you can assist.
Kindly email your proof of payment to info@animalprotection.co.za to enable members to thank you. Also, visit their website at www.animalprotection.co.za or visit their Facebook page where you will see their work and the story behind each rescue.
• APN needs 2 000kg of pet food to be able to feed 1 000 pets in the Alberton area and another 2 000kg of food for their Thinasonke feeding scheme.
• Currently, they only receive about 600 to 700kg of food per month mostly from one company.
• In the past they had funds available to pay for sterilizations, but now there is nothing and they managed to raise R5 000 which will cover 10 pets. They are not able to help anymore as there are no funds available.
• Fuel per week costs members about R2 600 per week.
• They have five outstanding vet bills, which is a total of R12 373 at their partner veterinaries.
• They have boarding kennels in two places namely Walkerville and Drumeblade. They need to R2 000 per month for the kennels in Walkerville and R7 200 per month for those in Drumeblade.
• Helping and caring for injured and ill dogs normally cost them nothing less than R10 000 per month.
