Leon the dog saved by SPCA

RUIMSIG – Leon the dog is well on his way to a full recovery after he had part of an aluminium snare removed from his foot.

Helga Tsoumbris, a resident of Helderkruin who runs an outreach programme in rural areas to educate the community about vaccinations and sterilisation, found Leon when she was in the Muldersdrift area.

It took Tsoumbris, with the help of Booysens SPCA, two days to finally catch Leon, a feral dog. One of the SPCA’s inspectors, Leon Malherbe, after whom the dog was named, used a type of sedative dart to catch Leon.

“He had managed to free himself from the snare but needed treatment. You could see he did not trust humans and you had to keep a safe distance of 10m but we were able to dart him,” Malherbe explained. The inspector thinks he was caught in a snare meant for a rabbit.

Once they caught him, they discovered the snare had been on Leon’s foot for some time, as skin had started to grow over the aluminum. He was taken to the SPCA where he went straight into theatre and the snare was removed on 6 February. On 8 February, Leon was moved to the Ruimsig Veterinary Clinic, where he is currently being cared for and visited every day by Tsoumbris.

Leon can already walk on his foot but still has a long way to go to perfect health, as he suffers from biliary, an illness of the liver. Tsoumbris is grateful Leon still has the use of his foot, as amputation would have been the next step. She wants Leon to recover and learn trust so he can find a forever home but she does not know how long it will take.

To follow developments in Leon’s journey, you can follow his Facebook page, Loving Leon, or Helga Tsoumbris‘ page.