When Brownie, the four-year-old long-haired Dachshund went missing on Monday, July 11 his owners had no idea how he got out of their yard.
“He never runs outside and always stays by your feet,” explained Lànice Jankowitz, Brownie’s owner. “We moved to Allen’s Nek about five weeks ago. We noticed he was missing as soon as we got home around 17:00. We immediately drove around, and even family members came to assist. My mom and father-in-law drove around during the day looking for him. We contacted 20 vets in the area and the SPCAs. We added him on so many WhatsApp and Facebook groups we lost count.”
“On Tuesday, July 19 around 13:45 I received a call from one of the nurses at the Johannesburg Specialist Veterinary Centre in Randpark Ridge saying that they might have found Brownie. She sent me a picture via her WhatsApp number and I completely freaked out. We couldn’t believe he was alive after eight days,” Lànice continued
Earlier Community Support Services received a call concerning a dog that was seen inside a storm water drain on the corner of Pruimbos Avenue and Kastaiing Street in Weltevreden Park. The caller stated that the dog ran back inside and they couldn’t lure it out,” explained Brandon Inkley from CSS. CSS requested assistance from ER24 who immediately made their way to the scene.
“On arrival there was no sign of the dog and a search began. We removed the concrete slabs covering the storm water drains to inspect the pipe underneath the road. Once the slabs were secured we were able to go down into the storm water drain and found the dog inside the pipe about halfway into the road. The team then had to remove the covers on the opposite side of the road to assess which way we could remove the dog safely and prevent further risk of him moving down the storm water system. We managed to lure the dog towards the awaiting rescuer on the one side of the pipe,” Brandon said.
“Once the dog was removed safely we gave him water and put the concrete slabs back. The rescue team transported Brownie to the Johannesburg Specialist Veterinary Centre in Randpark Ridge to check if he was chipped. Fortunately he was, and the owners were contacted immediately,” concluded Brandon.
“I don’t know who the community member was who made the call to CSS for assistance, but we would like to thank you personally for going out of your way and taking the time to make that call. You truly are an angel from above. To all the CSS guys who helped to get Brownie out of the storm water pipe, each and every one of you are absolutely amazing and we are definitely in your debt. And finally, to the Johannesburg Specialist Veterinary Centre thank you so much for making that call immediately and for doing a check-up as soon he got there. You guys are the best,” Lànice concluded.
