PET owners are urged to claim their lost pets from the Durban and Coast SPCA.
Tanya Fleischer, marketing manager at Durban and Coast SPCA, said the festive season proved once again to be a busy time for the SPCA which saw an increase in the number of animals admitted compared to the previous festive season. Between 24 December to 1 January, 300 stray and unwanted cats, kittens, puppies and dogs were admitted. She said of these, 27 per cent of the animals were surrendered as unwanted pets, with 73 per cent being strays.
“Of the 73 per cent, only 16 animals have been claimed by their owners, five of them having had microchips. Others are still waiting for their owners or are waiting for new homes. We do still expect more animals to continue to come in over the next few weeks,” she said.
Fleischer said unfortunately there were reports of dogs that ran away in fear of the fireworks and were knocked over and killed by cars. She said there were also five rescues over the festive period.”Our inspectorate received 62 calls for collections during this period and over a hundred calls were received after hours on 31 December and 1 January. Most of the calls were owners concerned about their lost pets,” she said.
She urged pet owners to ensure pets are microchipped as this is the best and easiest way for them to be returned to their owners in the event that they get lost. She said people can book with the SPCA to have pets microchipped. Contact 031 579 6500.
For lost pets, owners must call the kennels department during office hours (Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm and Saturday from 8am to 12.30pm) to complete a lost pet report on 031 579 6524/6.
