Budding new Facebook group to the rescue

COMMUNITY safety and animal welfare are two passions close to the heart of Sunningdale resident, Tyron Powell. The latter inspired Powell to start a brand new Facebook initiative, called Here Buddy.

The page, he said, was designed to function as a dedicated page where people from local communities could publish and share posts regarding lost or missing pets.

“We have been sharing posts of missing animals onto our official Marshall Security Facebook page, however during the festivities on days such as Guy Fawkes, Christmas and New Year’s we found that there were just too many,” he said.

“However, as animal lovers we have always assisted in terms of rescues and missing animals, so the Hey Buddy page was created in the hopes of reuniting people with their fur babies,” added Powell.

The animal lover said he hoped the page would work alongside similar Facebook groups, such as the Durban Neighbours Facebook page, which has grown synonymous with its support of animal welfare and posts of lost pets. Thus far the new page has garnered 804 likes, and according to Powell, has also led to several success stories – one involving a Labrador that was reunited with its owner.

Most astonishingly, the Northglen News witnessed the power of the relatively new initiative during an interview with Powell last week Thursday. A post was shared on the page regarding a female German Shepherd spotted wandering on Umhlanga Rocks Drive. Within an hour of it being posted to the site, the owner, Yvette Farinha, spotted the post and immediately identified the dog as her missing pet, Roxy.

The page will serve communities north of Durban, from the uMgeni River to the Umhlanga River and from the coast to the N2.

Last year, Powell also created a WhatsApp group called Durban North Animal Rescue. However, the group was created to provide immediate response and assistance to animals in distress, said Powell.

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