A Honeydew resident was recently taken for a ride after her dog went missing on 25 November.
Beth Schimansky’s pit bull, Butter, went missing from her property in Honeydew and when hours had passed without any sign of the dog, they put up ‘Missing dog’ notices.
“Butter is not the kind of dog to wander off, even on the farm, he often accompanies the horses on outrides and when he is tired he just walks back home. We searched the property and when we didn’t find him, we put notices up and contacted local vets in our area,” said a distressed Schimansky.
The Honeydew resident was visibly upset, but believed there is more to the story. She said several people she has spoken to, have all mentioned an increase in the disappearance of dogs or cats.
“Depending on who is taking them, they must be selling them on to other organisations. Dogs, probably for dog-fighting rings and there are only certain types of dogs that are being taken. They will take your staffies, pit bulls and fox terriers. They take the cast and use them as live bait to tease the dogs,” she continued that the cats are used between two dogs to teach them to kill.
Schimansky’s suspicions were raised when her neighbour said a car parked in her driveway on 29 November and a man and woman tried to lure another one of Schimansky’s dogs. “There are massive dog-fighting rings at Diepsloot and Randfontein,” she added.
For the dog owner, however, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope on 6 December when she received a call that her Butter had been found in Zandspruit. A meeting was quickly arranged and Shimansky set off to meet the two men with her partner in another vehicle.
“This guy named ‘Moses’ phoned me and told me they had found my dog in the squatter camp. He said he saw the picture of my dog at the Honeydew Spar. When we met, the two guys came up to the car and introduced themselves, so I called my partner up and they were more than happy to take us into part of Zandspruit,” explained Schimansky.
The two men were willing to help the dog owner for a bribe and when they arrived in Zandspruit, were told to wait. Fifteen minutes later and there was no sign of the two kind strangers or Butter. Schimansky continued “I phoned him and believe it or not, he picked up and said there is no dog. He was just hungry. You can just imagine getting the phone call that your dog has been found and then going through that trauma.”
Beth Schimansky opened a case of animal theft and attempted animal theft at the Muldersdrift Police Station but has not received any more information on the
whereabouts of her dog. She continues to appeal to community members with information regarding her dog’s safety.
Efforts to contact Muldersdrift SAPS were unsuccessful
Details: Beth Schimansky 083 447 6058
