Tied to a cold, palisade pole without shelter from the storm; its matted fur cold and stringy.
A frightened mutt was allegedly abandoned by it’s owner at Newcastle Clinic late last week.
Restrained to the clinic’s fence by a simple black scarf, the dog allegedly almost choked itself in a desperate attempt to break free; an attempt that sparked a familiar flame in the hearts of two irate residents.
Bystanders formed a ‘mob’ around the animal, expressing unadulterated disgust.
“We have had enough of this in Newcastle!” exclaimed the complainant. “We are against animal abuse!”
According to reports, the dog was in poor shape and had been tied to the fence for more than an hour.
Later it was discovered that the dog followed its owner’s daughter to the clinic from Siyahlala-la. When clinic security refused to allow the pet onto the premises, she allegedly had no other option than to restrain the dog.
Warrant Officer Luthuli, who was on scene at the time, concluded the woman acted out of desperation and couldn’t be held accountable for an apparent ‘lack of education’.
“The residents of Siyahlala-la are uneducated when it comes to caring for their animals,” he explained. “I suggest the SPCA launch an educational programme for these residents specifically.”
Upon arrival, Heather Gero from the SPCA established that the resident had not acted negligently or with the intention to purposely hurt the animal, and offered to take the woman and the dog home, putting them both out of harm’s way.
“The dog idolises this woman to the extent that it followed the bakkie the moment we dropped it off,” explained Mrs Gero. “We noticed that there was a similar looking dog on the premises that also belonged to the woman.”
The SPCA has made arrangements to deliver a kennel large enough for both dogs to be delivered to the woman’s home.
“We will also provide her with a run long enough for the dog to move freely when she isn’t around. We understand that she did the best she could under the circumstances, but have encouraged her to take preventative measures to prevent this from happening in future,” concluded Mrs Gero.
While an obvious misunderstanding of the rules of animal protection was to blame here, the community cares so deeply for animals that just about everything becomes personal, according to residents on scene.
The community thanked the SPCA staff for their contribution and hoped an educational programme for the ‘blissfully unaware’ was on the cards.
