Collect your pets, says SPCA

DURBAN and Coast SPCA is urging pet owners to collect their pets, as kennels at the SPCA are still full of run-aways.

According to Income Development and Communications Manager, Lindsey Fogarty, the SPCA had a slow New Year's Eve. Only one call was received about a stray dog, which was collected by an inspector. It was not injured.

“Since then, 48 dogs have been brought in by the community and inspectors. Only seven of these dogs have been claimed by their owners. Twenty-five lost reports were received and two have been found over the past four days,” she told Berea Mail on Monday.

She said luckily only four of the 48 dogs were injured. One injured its leg jumping over a fence, one had bite wounds and two had minor injuries such as cuts and bruises where they could have been hit by cars.

“Thankfully there were no cruelty cases, and over the past three years we have seen an improvement in this,” she said.

She said people needed to bear in mind that after seven days the dogs would be put up for adoption.

“We have seen similar stats to last year, the numbers are general but it's always awful. Of the 48 dogs brought in, none had micro chips. We urge pet owners to micro chip their pets. It doesn't cost much. Collars are either removed or pets pull them off, so it is important to micro chip so we can find the owners,” she said.

She said pet owners who have micro chipped their animals should also update contact details if these have changed.

“It is also vital to look after your animals during firework, and keep them indoors,” she said.