Mandela Day: 700 people inquire about volunteering at Wollies Animal Shelter

Wollies Animal Shelter in Pretoria is expecting 700 people on Nelson Mandela Day if everyone who inquired about coming pitches up, founder Cilla Trexler says, adding that every day should be like that.

“We are always very grateful but we need volunteers every other day, not just on Mandela DayWe need people to help clean the cages and play with the animals,” she said.

Trexler said it was going well at the shelter under the circumstances, adding: “We need people to adopt animals and we need people to stop giving away animals or dumping them.”

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Trexler said more and more people were dumping their animals. “People can’t seem to take care of their animals, financially or for whatever reason, then they dump the animals on the side of the road or at our gate,” she said. Trexler said the new trend was people immigrating and leaving pets behind.

“They don’t take the animals with them and give them away to people who don’t really want them and then they end up at the shelter anyway. If you go overseas for a so-called better life, why not take your animal with you to live a better life?”

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From January until June, a total of 635 dogs and 470 cats were taken in at the shelter and only 439 dogs and 185 cats have been adopted in the same period. One of the caregivers in the cattery, Chelly Chizemo, said her favourite stray cat was called Gloria.

“I love this cat; she’s like me, a mommy. She’s caring and friendly,” she said.

Chizemo said she loves working with the cats because it helped release her stress.

“These cats are my friends. When I come and sit here, all these cats come to me and show me love,” she said.

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Lientjie Duifelaar said she had many favourite stray cats at the shelter.

“When I am off duty, I miss the cats. They are just lovely. When I clean here with the broom, there’s one cat that loves to chase the broom,” she said.

Duifelaar said working at the animal shelter broke her heart at times.

“As a person who loves my own animals so much and coming here and seeing all the cats people have left behind, it breaks my heart,” she said.

Duifelaar said they get so emotionally attached to the animals that they are sometimes sad when a cat is adopted.

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“But I know they are going to a good home then.”

Duifelaar said some cats at the shelter had very bad or sad stories of abuse and neglect. When we find the cats outside the gate in a box I wonder to myself, what kind of human being does that,” she said.

– marizkac@citizen.co.za