THE dogs that have been terrorising cats in the Morningside area have been caught, and will only be returned to their owners when they comply with instructions by the Durban and Coast SPCA.
Berea Mail covered an initial story in August where residents expressed their concern at cases where the dogs, which appeared to be pitbulls, and were often accompanied by a brown dog, were seen wandering the streets of Morningside in the early morning, and had been identified as killing a number of local cats.
Metro Police then served notice on the dog owners to keep their animals in their property, and a number of reports on social media stated the dogs had been responsible for property damage (a resident’s vehicle) as well as the death of cats.
Resident, Nicky Burke, then urged residents to contact her with any cases.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Roaming dogs raise concerns in Morningside
Following the article, Morningside resident, Erik Glaser, corresponded with Berea Mail, after what he called ‘a distressing and upsetting killing’ of a young female cat early on Saturday morning, 26 September.
He said he had gone to check at DPHS where CCTV cameras are situated, as he felt this incident could have been caught on camera.
There, he was fortunate to find out that the Saturday security guard, Welcome Mhlamvu, had witnessed the dogs attack and kill the cat.
He later met with Mhlamvu who mentioned he had also seen the dogs before when walking home after night shift.
Glaser gave Mhlamvu his contact number, so he could let him know if he saw the dogs again.
Early on Sunday morning, 11 October, he contacted Glaser to say the dogs were in the vicinity.
Glaser posted a report on the Morningside crime WhatsApp group just after 5am, and at around 5.30am, Nicky Burke picked the message up.
“I contacted the poster and was informed that the dogs were still in the area and I found them just after that on the corner of 9th Avenue and Claribel Road. The female pitbull appeared to be injured and the male pitbull was lying guarding her in the garden area outside the library. The other golden brown dog was lying further down 9th Avenue on the opposite side of the road,” said Burke.
Burke contacted Metro Police and the SPCA, and Inspector Alfred Mntungwa from the SPCA arrived by around 6.30am.
“We were able to catch the female pitbull quite easily and placed her in the vehicle but the male pitbull was too smart for us and realised we wanted to catch him. The brown dog decided at this point to take off and go back home. After quite a few unsuccessful attempts to catch the male pitbull, he eventually took off home and we followed him, stopping traffic on route so he would not be injured. On arrival, he was caught and placed in the SPCA vehicle with the help of the owner. The owners of the brown dog were approached and this dog was seized too,” she said, adding that the process took around three hours. She thanked Inspector Mntungwa and others for their help.
ALSO READ: Appeal to continue helping Glenwood man
Tanya Fleischer, marketing manager from Durban and Coast SPCA, said: “The dogs are currently at our SPCA and the owners need to either put up a fence or get running chains before they are returned to them.”
To thank him for his assistance, Glaser later went to give Mhlamvu a reward, which his neighbour also contributed to, as she has four cats which she felt his actions helped protect.
“Without his early morning call to me, it is unlikely that I would have been able to contact Nicky Burke, and the opportunity to capture these dogs would have been lost,” he said.
Burke has made a request for people to submit statements to the police if their cats have been killed by the dogs.
*UPDATE: Tanya Fleischer from Durban and Coast SPCA confirmed that the dogs have gone home as their respective owners have made plans to ensure the dogs stay on their property. One erected a fence and another installed suitable running chains in order to confine the dogs.
Do you want to receive news alerts via Telegram? Send us a message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple
