SPCA welcomes new manager

Things are looking up at the Benoni SPCA and, with the permanent appointment of Vicky Finnemore as manager, the organisation has placed their faith in this experienced animal protector.

Vicky Finnemore has been appointed full-time manager of the Benoni SPCA.

Finnemore was appointed permanent manager of the facility at the start of July.

Before this, she managed the grounds on a part-time basis, due to personal time-constraints.

“They wanted me to join full-time, and now that more personal time opened up for me, I accepted the offer,” the Northmead resident said.

This year, Finnemore plans to start an outreach programme, in which underprivileged areas will be visited by the Benoni SPCA.

“We want to go to areas weekly, where we will perform services such as sterilisation, dipping, vaccinating, de-worming, collecting unwanted animals and educating the public on the treatment and care of animals,” she said.

“We just need volunteers from the public to help us with these initiatives.”

Finnemore added that the outreach programme will commence once a budget for it has been set up and approved.

“Hopefully, we’ll start with it closer to summer, maybe in August,” she said.

She explained that the Benoni SPCA will have to work harder at fund-raising to overcome the deficit in its budget in the next 12 months.

At its recent annual general meeting, the committee was informed that the organisation operated with a deficit of more than R700 000 in the 2015/16 financial year.

“Once the community of Benoni’s faith in us is restored, we hope more donations will start trickling in,” Finnemore said.

“We need to prove to the people that we are trustworthy and corruption-free. We pledge all donations will go towards the animals and running of the facility.”

Finnemore is no stranger to the matters of the animal protection organisation, she was the manager at the Brakpan SPCA for about six years.

She left in 2013, to raise her child.

“Vicky is a breath of fresh air; things are moving at the SPCA and the animals of Benoni will benefit from her management,” said SPCA co-chairperson Shelley Owens.