Waterfall animal rescue needs your help

MAZARAT Animal Rescue needs your help.

The Waterfall organisation assists in the rescuing, feeding, sterilising, vaccinating, rehabilitating and re-homing of abused, abandoned and stray dogs and cats. Mazarat Animal Rescue was registered as an NPO in 2015, and several Highway schools undertake community service hours by helping the organisation.

What they do

“We set out to rehome domestic dogs. We started vaccination clinics, and every stray dog we bring in is sterilized, vaccinated and micro-chipped before they are rehomed. We need to raise money continuously to cover our vet expenses,” says Margie Rae, one of the organisations’ founders.

Rae says they have 14 dog rescues and numerous cat rescues on the site where they rent space from a boarding kennel, and they are cared for by two employees. Mbongeni Gumede tends to the day-to-day care of the animals.

According to Rae, the property suffered severe flood damage that impacted access to the premises for some time.

“Two of the bridges were damaged which effected access by vehicle into the property. Staff and volunteers had to hike in through the bush to reach the animals in their kennels. There was some wet bedding but no serious flooding in the kennels, and we didn’t lose any dogs. They were just annoyed that we were late with their breakfast,” says Rae.

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Mazarat Animal Rescue also runs a feeding scheme for dogs in the nearby rural community.

“There are many stray dogs in the area, and we use 80 to 100kgs of dog food per week to feed them. We regularly deliver to our ladies who feed the dogs on our behalf. During the pandemic, we were distributing donations from local grocery stores into the community, as well. We are doing as much as we can to assist,” she says.

Some local food stores have collection bins for them, and they additionally have a table outside the local Spar every month.

Future in jeopardy

The organisation’s monthly financial target is quite high in order to cater for all the animals in their care. Rae estimates that they will spend R2 000 to R3 000 on each animal before it is rehomed. This cost includes sterilisation, microchipping, vaccinating, and basic care.

Due to several reasons, including the recent KZN floods and the downturn in the economy in South Africa, some sponsorships and donations have dwindled.

Rae says, ” Our passion is to help these animals and that’s what we’ll continue doing to the best of our ability.”

If you’d like to help, go to the Mazarat Animal Rescue website to read their wish list or info on how to donate.

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