Rajesh Gopal writes:
We were very disappointed when we went to collect our reserved puppy from the Benoni SPCA.
I called and spoke with a young lady to confirm if our new family member was ready for collection on the Tuesday at 9am. She assured me that all was in order and even confirmed that it’s the ‘not-so-shy puppy from the litter of three’.
When we got there on Tuesday morning, we asked once again to have a look at the mom and the other pups.
My son was curious to see how big the mom was, which would give us some indication of our pup’s eventual size. However, the pup we wanted to adopt was not in the kennel. Upon some investigation, we learnt from the caretaker the pup had been injured by another dog and was taken to the vet for stitches.
He said he will find out and see if the pup was OK and ready to go home. So, I went back to the office and asked what was going on and why our puppy was not available.
The lady then told me that the pup was taken to the vet for sterilisation and will be back from the vet at 11am.
Why couldn’t she tell us this before or upon arrival? This didnn’t make sense, as the previous week the other lady who works there told me the pup was too young to be sterilised now and they would give me a voucher for the sterilisation to be done in September, when the puppy was slightly older.
So how could this have been the case? More so, why take only one pup for sterilisation – what about the other two? If indeed the sterilisation story was true.
I feel they lied to us and wasted my time going there.We are extremely disappointed and disgusted at the unprofessional and candid manner in which the Benoni SPCA operates.
Ironically, the SPCA constantly reaches out to the public, asking for people to adopt the dogs and cats, and when we want to this is what they do.
The cost of adoption is R900. I was prepared to give them R2 000 as a donation.
We were very disappointed with this experience and would like to know the truth as to what happened with the pup we wanted to adopt.
Editor’s note: Diane Wooldrige, chairperson of the Benoni SPCA, responded: It is with regret that we note the complaint received with regards to the adoption of one of our puppies. The following is the information received from Jenene, our receptionist, who dealt directly with Mr Gopal:
Two of the puppies were almost identical. One was adopted by a home out of the area and was sent in for sterilisation on Monday. Mr Gopal was booked to collect his puppy on a steri contract that Tuesday. The puppy he applied for was the one who was ‘not shy’.
When arrived, he went around because he wanted to look at the mom of the puppies, and I was excited, hoping he’d apply for her too. Mr Gopal then came back to the office, saying she is not his puppy, that the puppy there is completely shy.
I tried to explain to him that puppies don’t have one set emotion and both the puppies appeared ‘shy’ at the time. It is not something we can predict, but if he felt the incorrect puppy was waiting to go home with him, the other puppy was coming back from sterilisation at 11am and we could confirm then.
He then said he was told they are too young to be sterilised and asked why would the out-of-area pup have been sent to the vet. I explained they are big enough to be sterilised, but because he stayed in the Benoni area, his pup could be sterilised at a later date when the vet had an available appointment.
In line with society policies, we may not home out of the area unless sterilised; therefore, the decision was made to book the available appointment for the out-of-area adoption first.
Mr Gopal then said he doesn’t like the way we operate and that I’ve wasted his time, stormed off and said he’s going to the newspaper.
Even though I was sure the puppy who was there for him was the correct one, I tried to accommodate him and ensure that he was taking the right pup, but he refused to even listen to me.
When the lady who was adopting the puppy from out of the area arrived, the puppy who was sterilised the day before also arrived and she confirmed that is her pup as it had a slightly white mark on its left-hand side.
I would like to add that this puppy was very timid and scared, just like the other pup was. Everything is new and unfamiliar to them.
A few days later, Mr Gopal called and asked to speak to Kristin, the original receptionist who attended to him, or someone in charge. I told him that Kristin is not in and Martine, our manager, is in a meeting.
He then told me that it’s him calling and asked if I recall what happened. I told him the puppy was definitely the right puppy, and again, he would not listen, saying ‘I can be as friendly as I want, but he knows something else is going on and that I probably gave the puppy to a friend of mine’.
Mr Gopal said the puppy wasn’t the one he wanted and that he had taken photos. So I asked him to please send an email to management. We would then be able to compare photos, as we have photos of all the puppies, and of the one he thought was meant for him, going home.
He responded that it won’t do any good to email, it’s pointless and he doesn’t know how we operate, that we expect support from the community and this is how badly we treat them. He then put the phone down.
I tried in every way possible to be helpful and make sure of the puppy to be going home with him, either way would make him happy, even if it had been an error on our part. However, this was not to be.
If only he were patient and understanding he would have left with his puppy that day. I would also like to state as a reminder that by Mr Gopal trying to discredit the Benoni SPCA, he doesn’t take away from the employees, but rather the animals who we try our utmost best to care for and rehome.
Even having to spend time responding to such a complaint takes away time and resources, which are better spent focusing on our animals. There was no reason he could not have happily adopted the puppy he chose on that Tuesday, but he chose to get upset and storm off instead, unfortunately.
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