Kennels get new name
The kennels at the Lowveld SPCA, Nelspruit and White River, have been named after Hughie Lyell last week. The reason for this becomes very clear when digging into history.
NELSPRUIT – The kennels at the Lowveld SPCA, Nelspruit and White River, have been named after Hughie Lyell last week. The reason for this becomes very clear when digging into history.
These kennels were founded in 1960 by Lucinda Lyell, Peggy Wood and veterinarian Peter Davies. During this time, residences were used as kennels with garages serving as sickbays, their backyards for older animals and front gardens for the more robust ones. Commercial pet food was unavailable at the time and maize meal, rice, bread and butchery scraps were sourced and cooked daily at the houses of Lucinda, Hellen Moolman and Elma Pullen to feed animals.
In the mid 1960s, these shelters were moved from the private homes to the municipal pound which consisted of two small-fenced rooms measuring 3×3 metres. In 1973, the first kennels were established in Banket Street and were named Wil-Dien.
They were situated next to the shooting range, which unsettled the dogs during weekend shooting practices.
Dienie Eshuys was the chairman of the SPCA and she, with the help of Hughie and other committee members aided in developing the kennels. The first large animal to live there was a stray donkey named Corrie. The municipality then expropriated the land after a couple of years to use it for domestic housing.
In 1989, after hours of research and hard work by Hughie, a final re-establishment was made to the present location and these kennels set the standard for other societies.
The Lyell family has been dedicated to the SPCA for 40 years.
