I was at the Alberton SPCA this morning, February 27, after I saw the article in the RECORD with reference k11 for a dog which could be adopted – apparently she has already been adopted.
This looks identical to my dog that I reported missing in December 2013. Then I had a call to say that their facility received her on February 8 and she was healthy, but became sick at their facility and the SPCA put her to sleep!
What kind of place are you running there? How do you give the Alberton RECORD a picture to advertise for adoption a week ago and on Monday you put the dog out!
Karen Fourie
With reference to the above letter, I would like to set out the facts as follows.
The Jack Russell female went missing on November 30 and was reported to Alberton SPCA on December 2. On February 8 a Jack Russell female was brought in as a stray and remained on a stray status for seven days.
As the dog wasn’t claimed in that period, it became the property of Alberton SPCA and was put up for adoption.
On February 18 her details were placed on our Facebook page advising she was available for adoption. Unfortunately her physical condition deteriorated and she was humanely euthanised on February 24.
While we have sympathy with the owners of lost dogs, the onus is on them to visit the SPCAs in the area regularly as well as to check vets, shelters, notice boards etc. We receive numerous strays everyday and while we do check our register, we can only keep details for a few months. In many cases the dogs are found and we are not notified.
If the dog had been micro-chipped, then we would have contacted the owners immediately, but as there was no identification, we had no way of knowing who it belonged to.
We are sorry to the owners and feel as they do, but with the vast amount of strays we have to take in, is it reasonable for us to be expected to recognise one stray two and a half months later based only on the owner’s description?
We appeal to all responsible animal owners to get your pet micro-chipped! Even then, if your pet goes missing, keep trying your local SPCAs, vets and animal shelters; these owners had from the February 8 to 24 to visit and claim their dog and it would have been longer if the animal hadn’t become sick. We constitutionally and morally do what is best for all the animals in our care.
Kingstone Siziba
Senior Inspector and Acting Manager Alberton SPCA
