Wilde has been involved in the SPCA movement for many years, working closely with many people in the service of animals.
The Boksburg SPCA allegedly had reports of a horse running on the N3, and they had no towing vehicle or working horse box to respond to the call.
“As my daughter is very involved with horses, Wilma was hoping we knew of somebody that would be willing to assist the SPCA and the horse.
“I live in Vereeniging, so it would have been futile for me to jump in the car, hook the box and drive to Boksburg, as by that time the horse would have probably been hit by a car.”
Wilde quickly made a couple of calls and within minutes, Nicola Sime, situated on the East Rand, sprang into action and assisted the SPCA with the transport of the horse, which was apparently traumatised, but thankfully not injured.
“(This is) a happy ending to a very dangerous situation.”
Upon closer inspection, and after Wilde spoke to Wilma, the following came to light – they are running on empty when it comes to resources.
The Boksburg SPCA has been utilising five vehicles in order to meet the demands of serving the Boksburg animals in need.
Currently three of the five working vehicles are not running, due to various problems, but mainly due to old age.
“The SPCA has two working vehicles only, and they service a very large area.”
They have two inspectors that investigate and prevent cruelty and two drivers that collect stray, sick and destitute animals.
“The result is that they cannot function optimally as one inspector and one driver cannot attend to the demand.
“They are working from emergency to emergency, and into the late hours of the night in order to ensure that animals do not suffer.
“They find it difficult to attend to proactive work and outreach as their transport is limited.”
According to Wilde the influx of animals, due to the recession, caring for these poor souls in the hope that they would be adopted is adding a load on to an already burdened industry.
“The hard reality is that those that have the means to assist in any way cannot allow the animals to suffer – making a small effort will go a long way in helping those that cannot speak.”
Wilde suggests the following to the community members interested in helping:
* If there is a company or a private person that can help with the donation of a vehicle – a 18A Tax redemption certificate can be issued in return for the goodwill.
* The SPCA needs financial support to pay for the repairs on the vehicles. Any amount will do – a lot of small donations equal a large donation.
* If there is a company that can assist with the repair of the vehicles, but not just to last another 100km.
Steynbergh says that Peter Parker from Parker and Maclear, along with Azoic Panel Beaters, Boksburg Nissan, Ron Wiggle from Steelcor and others have been repairing the vehicles constantly at their cost.
* The SPCA recycles –take your recycling to them.
* Donations of thrift that the SPCA sells at their jumble shop will be appreciated.
* Dog food, cat food, beds, blankets, dip, collar, leashes, stationary and cleaning materials donations are always welcome.
“Please make a difference and donate today. If you can have a cake sale and donate the funds towards the SPCA, you never know, but your donation will save an animal’s life,” says Wilde.
“We cannot allow a SPCA to face imminent danger of closure – show me an SPCA and I will tell you what the community is like,” says Wilde.
Below are the SPCA’s banking details: Boksburg SPCA; Absa Bank; Eastlands Branch code – 630442; account number – 4046388139 – @IschkeBoksburg
