IN her 12 years of working at the SPCA, Caroline Smith’s job title has changed and evolved, but the one thing that has never wavered has been her love for the animals.
The Mt Edgecombe resident was recently appointed as the general manager of the Durban & Coast SPCA, taking over from Chris Matheson, who retired at the end of last year and had been at the helm of the organisation for 13 years. Northglen News recently caught up with Smith to find out about her new role and her vision for the SPCA.
Smith, who previously served as the organisation’s marketing manager, has spent little more than two weeks in her new post, but said she was looking forward to it.
“It’s certainly a new challenge and a very different role to marketing. But it’s a challenge that I’m looking forward to. These are big shoes to fill. I’ve had the privilege of working with Chris, who has been my mentor and inspirational leader. My hope is to use what I’ve learnt from him and also incorporate and imprint my vision on the organisation going forward,” she said.
Smith said one of the key aspects of her new position was to increase the organisation’s adoption rate.
“Our adoption rate is around nine per cent, which is just tragic. The reality of the situation is that there are too many animals and not enough homes, which is why we are vehemently opposed to breeding and have strict sterilisation policies attached to our adoptions.
“When you adopt from the SPCA, you give a sterilised dog or cat a second chance and help with South Africa’s pet overpopulation problem. I understand there are a number of factors that come into play but I’m passionate about our adoption programme and I hope to increase the adoption rate. We owe it to the animals,” she explained.
“Some of the greatest challenges we face at the SPCA are the issues of chaining and lack of pet sterilisation. Too often we’ve seen first hand the effects of chaining. Dogs are social creatures who need to be part of a family; banishing them to life on a chain is cruel and dangerous. We also currently have an education programme where a dedicated member of our staff goes around to underprivileged schools to teach pupils about animal sentience. In a sense this inculcates compassion in young children through education.”
On her list of things to do is strengthening, training and developing staff at the Durban & Coast SPCA with a customer service orientation.
She also stressed the importance of community involvement in the organisation’s projects.
“We receive no funding from the government and we rely solely on the generosity of the community we serve to support us and the many services we provide. Many of the donations we receive are from people bequeathing a portion of their possessions or money to the SPCA in their wills,” Smith said.
For more information, visit www.spcadbn.org.za.
