SPCA grateful for donations from K9 unit

The K9 Team from Vapor Wake K9 South Africa and Oaklands Vet donated a much-needed 248kg of dog food as well as toys and dog brushes to the Kempton Park SPCA on December 23.

The unit’s director for international operations and former Edenvale SAPS station commander, Robbie Roberts, said the handover will help the SPCA during the difficult December and January months.

“We also want to challenge other K9 units in Gauteng to either match or better our donation to their local SPCAs,” said Roberts.

The Vapor Wake K9 team decided to help the Kempton Park SPCA after their appeal for pet food was circulated on Facebook.

“This donation is really wonderful,” said Kempton Park SPCA inspector Kira Sparrow.

“If we could get regular donations such as this, we would not be in a position where we struggle. If every person is able to donate just one bag of dog food regularly, we would be able to ensure that we also have a good stock of food,” said Sparrow.

She added that a donation such as the one received from the Vapor Wake K9 Unit was especially welcome at this time of the year.

Chelsea Mercado, from the Vapor Wake K9 Unit, said the dogs used by the team are trained to detect explosives worn on the body as well as weapons being carried.

“The Vapor Wake dogs are able to screen large masses of people in a non-intrusive way. The dogs work in an efficient and effective manner,” said Mercado.

The dogs used by the Vapor Wake team were trained in the USA at Auburn University through Vapor Wake USA.

The South African Vapor Wake K9 Unit has seven Vapor Wake-trained dogs which work at all the airports in South Africa as well as large events.