Alberton SPCA welcomes new general manager

Alberton SPCA’s newly appointed manager, Charmain Southon, is confident that furry friends are in safe hands.

The 36-year-old, whose first love is working with animals, took over from former manager Kingstone Siziba on December 1 and was warmly welcomed by her colleagues.

Southon is adamant that the future looks bright for Alberton SPCA as she is determined to work around the clock to smoothly run things at the facility.

In an interview with the RECORD, she said for as long as she could remember she had always had a passion and love for animals.

“I grew up passionate about animals and I have since been committed to their welfare. I live on a smallholding in Walkerville with my five dogs, three horses, five chickens and my fiancé,” said Southon.

Well experienced

In most of her working career she worked in boarding kennels which later developed her interest to understand animal behaviour in greater depth.

“I obtained an advanced diploma in animal behaviour from COAPE SA in 2016. I have also completed the first two levels as dog training instructor with the SA Dog Training College. I have also attended man trailing, tracking and detection seminars,” she said.

The animal lover and pet owner was once privileged to volunteer her animal behaviour skills at the Johannesburg SPCA and during this time she was nominated to sit on the board of directors.

“Shortly after, I was offered a position as the kennel manager, which I accepted. I have since successfully completed the SPCA’s inspector’s course and the Animal Welfare Assistant (AWA) training,” said Southon.

Future plans

According to Southon, her main goal in animal welfare is to educate people about responsible breeding and positive reinforcement training.

She assured the RECORD there are going to be changes with regards to a lot of mental engagement for the animals in their care.

“We will always put out calls to the public if they could maybe donate toys which would help provide some mental stimulation to our animals. If an animal is stressed or not feeling well, we will provide it with something to chew and this really does help,” she said.

Her endless list of plans at the facility include reaching out to impoverished communities as well as conducting awareness and sterilisation campaigns.