Volunteers and vets open their hearts to animals in need

While most of South Africa was at a bar or at home waiting to watch the final match of the Rugby World Cup 2019, dedicated volunteers and veterinarians spent their Saturday sterilising pets for free.

Dogs and cats were brought in to the Florida Vet bright and early on Saturday, 2 November, to receive admirable medical treatment and care from volunteer veterinarians and nurses from PAIN (Pets and Animals in Need), Kya Sands, the Florida Veterinary Hospital, and a few final year students from Onderstepoort.

The success of last year’s Charity Spay Day meant that they had the resources to spay 60 dogs this year (almost double last year’s numbers). While only 39 pets were brought to be spayed, the event was no less successful. At 7am doctors, nurses and volunteers started performing pre-checks on all the animals, doing general anaesthesia monitoring, and conducting post-surgery monitoring.

PAIN forms an integral part of the annual spay day. The NPO aims to help all animals in need; whether abused, homeless, injured, or just in need of assistance (such as sterilisation). The organisation’s mantra is, “There may be days when we can’t help all the animals in need, but the day will never come that we won’t try”.

Every dog and cat that came in to be sterilised left with a care package that contained products donated by community members and veterinary supply companies. These included blankets, collars, leads, toys, food and parasite control products.

The pet owners expressed their immense gratitude and all left smiling, happy, and grateful that their pets had been so well looked after during the sterilisation process. One of the owners even left a small note for the doctors and volunteers to say thank you.

Tracy Topper, Practice Manager at the Florida Veterinary Hospital, thanked all the volunteers and the community members for their help, whether it be generous donations, or their time and expertise. “We are changing the world, one moment at a time,” she said.

For more information on the spay days, or to find out more about how to donate or get involved with future events, contact Tracy Topper, Practice Manager at the Florida Veterinary Hospital on 011 679 1042 or email tracy.topper@floridavet.co.za.