On Tuesday 21 January the NSPCA expressed their sincere hope that their official comment on residents’ disgust at the Roodepoort SPCA will be published.
“The NSPCA, Chairperson and the rest of the management committee, as well as the staff of the Roodepoort SPCA were taken aback at the allegations published in the article Residents disgusted at Roodepoort SPCA,” Christine Kuch, secretary of the Roodepoort SPCA management committee, wrote to the Record.
“To ensure fair reporting and transparency for the public, we hereby ask that our comments be published.”
In her own words, Kuch said that “the Roodepoort SPCA has no record of anyone reporting the issue of abandoned dogs in Lindhaven … “after checking our complaints register and individual complaint sheets as well as our driver’s log sheet which lists collections to be undertaken”.
“We take the issue seriously and ask the complainant to furnish us with details of how and when the matter was reported to us, if this is indeed the case [sic].”
Kuch reported that senior inspector Eric Taljaard was sent out to the relevant address to investigate and that they are awaiting feedback on his findings.
“Regarding the complaint about the hospital at the Roodepoort SPCA, Mrs Cloete must have phoned phone the Roodepoort SPCA before 8am to have received the recorded message on our answering machine.
“Our question in why it took her five hours to bring her sick dog to hospital [sic].”
Kuch defends the animal hospital with regards to the specific complaint, saying that “there were five seriously ill animals with their owners before her in the waiting room.
“Sick animals are not turned away.”
The allegation that hospital staff wanted to leave the premises at 1pm is denied, with Kuch commenting “the allegation is totally unfounded and malicious”.
The letter also makes reference to a previous invitation to the journalist to visit the animal hospital, stating that the invitation was declined on grounds of time constraints. The journalist, however, has no recollection or proof of this.
“Residents can be assured of our commitment to the welfare of animals and our undertaking to promote and aspire to the highest standards of integrity.
“We are not averse to criticism but require specific details, not generalities or hearsay, and facts rather than exaggeration or assumptions.”
It should be noted that this letter (received on Tuesday 21 January) and updates about Roodepoort SPCA investigations (received on Monday 20 January) were received a week after the journalist had asked via email (Tuesday 14 January) for comment on their public image and updates on an investigation undertaken in November 2013 (for which no further information was given after Wednesday 4 December 2013).
