Chairwoman of the Benoni branch, Adele Makings, said this should be done because stray animals are kept by the society for the official pound period of seven days, which gives the original owners the opportunity to go to the kennels and claim their lost pet.
Only after this period may the animal be adopted.
“Anyone wishing to adopt a stray animal that they may have found is most welcome to apply to do so at the SPCA,” said Makings.
Operations manager of the NSPCA liaison unit Vonny Strachan said the Benoni SPCA has been contracted by the Ekurhuleni Municipality to operate what is known as the municipal pound.
“If anyone wishes to adopt an animal that was found wandering, this is possible if undertaken through the SPCA and provided that the animal has not been claimed by its owner during the so-called pound period,” she said.
She supported Makings’s statement by saying an animal may be adopted once the prescribed pound period has expired.
To ensure that every home is suitable and for sound welfare reasons, all applications to adopt an animal involve a pre-home inspection.
“All animals adopted from SPCAs are sterilised, vaccinated and dewormed,” added Strachan.
Makings said the pre-home inspection, sterilisation, vaccination and deworming will be carried out only once the animal has been held at the society for the official pound period.
Strachan added that SPCAs are not a “national organisation” and have their own management committees.
“Each SPCA is autonomous and operates within its own municipal boundaries,” she said.
The Benoni SPCA is situated at 3 Klein Street and can be contacted on 011 894 2814/5.
