Hospital group responds on behalf of colleague seen ‘dumping’ dog
The woman claims she was attending to the dog on the roadside as it had started whining in the car.
Netcare has released a statement in response to a recent post which made rounds this week on social media showing a woman allegedly dumping a dog along Van Dyk Park Road, near Brakpan Airfield. In its statement, the hospital said one of their staff member came forward earlier this week to set the record straight about the incident.
According to Netcare’s Group Human Resources and Transformation Director, Dr Nceba Ndzwayiba, Netcare has been conducting an investigation into the matter, with full cooperation by the staff member.
“The investigation concluded that the passer-by who stopped and confronted the staff member misunderstood what was happening and made incorrect assumptions about the situation. “Our colleague voluntarily approached the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to do an inspection at her home.
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Netcare has had sight of the formal letter provided by the SPCA upon conclusion of their investigation. The letter states that an inspection of the dogs belonging to the staff member in question was conducted on October 7, noting one black, male cross border collie and one male cross rottweiler. It also states that both dogs appeared to be healthy and had access to food, water and shelter. Dr Ndzwayiba said their colleague’s report of the incident indicates that she was out driving and had one of her dogs with her, as the family has recently suffered some traumatic criminal incidents and she feels safer with the dog by her side.
“She stated that on this particular occasion, the dog began whining, so she stopped the car to attend to it. It seems the passer-by then pulled over and began to interfere, which our colleague took umbrage to, and she put her pet back in the car and drove home.
The passer-by took photographs of this event, without permission, and posted them online along with her own assumptions that this was an attempt to abandon the dog. As a result, our colleague has been publicly berated and maligned.”
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He further states that the public outrage about the unfounded post has reached such proportions that the family are now afraid to drive their own vehicle, for fear of being harassed or attacked.
Dr Ndzwayiba said the family has decided to take legal action against the individual who misinterpreted the event and who has caused them a great deal of harm by levelling these false accusations against them on social media.
“This has truly been a terrible ordeal for our colleague and her family, for whom Netcare is arranging counselling to assist them in overcoming this traumatic experience.
“We trust that the information provided in this statement brings some much needed clarity to the situation and that the family will now be left in peace to recover,” said Dr Ndzwayiba. 
