Animal cruelty a continuous concern for the SPCA

Animal cruelty continues despite the SPCA’s every attempt to stop these malicious acts.

On August 28 the Roodepoort Record reported on an animal cruelty case involving numerous pit bulls including two grown pit bulls and seven puppies. The owner was sentenced to an R8 000 fine and he is not allowed to have an animal for five years.

Mandi Cattanach, the manager at the Roodepoort/ Krugersdorp SPCA, stated the case took seven years to go to court before the owner was convicted. She explained the details surrounding the conditions in which the animals had to live. The male and female were each chained on very short chains, about 2m long, which weighed about 7kg, and in the female’s case, the chain did not even reach the wooden travel box that was her kennel. Their enclosures were covered in feaces as it wasn’t cleaned. Seven of the puppies were ganging up on the one viewed as the underdog of the litter and they were never separated. This means that one puppy had to endure the constant bullying of seven others. There was no food or water in any of the enclosures.

• Also read: Roodepoort North pit bull breeder convicted on 59 counts of animal cruelty

She continued the dogs were used for competitions and fighting. One of the competitions involved them hanging from an overhead contraption made of steel, she added the dogs had to jump up and hang there and they would make a fire underneath the animal or beat them to keep them from letting go. She noted both the pit bulls’ teeth were broken as their jaws locked onto the contraption. Another practice the animals had to endure was running on a treadmill where the person could set the speed to whatever they liked and the dog would just have to run for long periods on end. She added they would put a small animal in a cage which the dog would then try to catch to keep them running. This is also how they got the dogs to pull heavy weights. They would load a trolley of some sort with whatever materials they could find and then tie it to the dog’s harness and force it to pull the weight using the incentive of the small animal in the cage.

She said that they found another dog in a trailer in the sun, which they wouldn’t have known was there if they weren’t on the premises.

She stated the dogs had fighting scars, they were emaciated and their ears had been hacked off.

“A dog would do anything to please their owner, these animals endured these horrendous conditions and did all the owner expected of them.”

She continued the care of the dogs cost them about R32 000 including looking after the animals, X-rays, dental work, upkeep, and the behaviourist they had to get to come to look at the animals. According to this report, the animals had to be put down as they could not continue living in a kennel with all the trauma they had experienced.

She noted the big issue with these cases is many people’s complete disregard for animals. They do not view it as a life but rather just an animal and therefore think it’s less important. Evident of this was another case they had in which a dog had died of starvation and was just shoved into a garbage bin. Luckily the SPCA was able to rescue the second dog in that particular owner’s care, however, he was severely starved.

Another case that has made the rounds on Facebook was that of a badly hurt pit bull terrier. Cattanach noted in July they received a call after hours about a dog that had been involved in a fight after getting out of his home. He was then involved in a fight with two other power-breed dogs down the road.

She stated they went out to have a look, the owner claimed he was waiting for transport to take the dog to the vet. After waiting for two hours the inspector on scene loaded him into the van and took him to the vet. The vet put stitches in and had him return home.

This was however not the last time, the third time the dog was involved in an altercation the SPCA removed the animal from the owner’s care. He was badly bruised and the stitches from the first fight hadn’t even been removed. He had scars all over him from where the other dogs bit him, his ear and mouth were badly hurt as they tried to pull him through the fence. She continued that when they found him he cowered down in the corner, he was afraid of his owner, which is very uncharacteristic of a pit bull.

She noted they then had to treat the animal as well as pay for his rehabilitation and he is still on medication. She continued they are struggling under the pressure of finances or rather the lack thereof.

Cattanach explained, “We try to give these animals a better life than the one they had, they deserve a second chance.”

The SPCA however needs the community’s support to continue this quest. They need finances and supplies to care for these animals. Supplies include cat tin food and Montego dog food as they’ve discovered their dogs don’t react well to the other brands.

She also added another instance of neglect was that of a cross between a pit bull and a Staffie who suffers from a swollen teat. It was left unattended by her owner and therefore the SPCA took her in. They were able to drain some of the puss, however, she is still in need of medical care. Cattanach asked for any person wanting to contribute to her medical care to contact the SPCA on 011 672 0448.

She added they need people to understand the consequences of animal cruelty, aside from the effect on the animals, children are being desensitised to the act of violence. If they can harm an animal, what stops them from eventually harming a human being? She exclaimed it starts with the adults, teaching children to love and care for animals instead of hurting them.