The tragic death of Sally, the bull terrier cross who died from a heart attack due to fireworks has again shifted the spotlight to the effects loud bangs have on pets and wildlife.
After waiting for many months at the Lower South Coast SPCA for a forever home, Sally was finally given a lifeline by a lovely family.
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Then the beautiful, healthy young dog suffered a heart attack as a result of sustained, prolonged loud bangs from fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
Speaking to the Herald, Carla Steenkamp, vice-chairman of the LSC SPCA committee, said the society had had a busy season, with fireworks this New Year being worse than in previous years.
Apart from the proven negative effects fireworks have on pets, Carla said it was terrible to contemplate what horrendous effects they have on wildlife.
SPCA staff had to assist with cases involving monkeys as well as an injured duiker and a dassie.
“The society was very well prepared and we sold out of tranquilisers for pets. The community also co-operated, and missing pets brought into the SPCA were mostly collected the following day,” she said.
However, she added that it was the loud bangs that were a very big issue, and that the society was looking into how to take a legal stand against fireworks this year.
In other SPCA news, last month Trainee Inspector Werner Taljaard responded to a case of animal cruelty in Palm View, where a dog, barely a year old, was suffering from severe sarcoptic mange.
The dog had had the condition for most of its life and had been badly neglected, with the mange being treated with engine oil.
The dog, which is now on the mend, has been named Phoenix.
“Contrary to popular belief, engine oil is NOT a treatment for mange and will actually make it worse as well as inflicting terrible pain on the animal. We beg all pet owners to please seek professional veterinary advice when their pets are ill.
“This sweet girl was found tied to a gate without adequate food and water. Her mange is so severe that it is causing tremendous pain and suffering,” said Carla.
Trainee Inspectors Taljaard and Jacob Maduna convinced the owners to surrender the dog and she is now safely in the care of the LSC SPCA and under critical veterinary treatment to ease her pain.
Carla said the public had been very generous and more than R4 000 had been raised toward Phoenix’s medical costs.
Last Friday, the SPCA was alerted to a dog in a shocking condition in Palm Beach.
The dog was running in the streets and Trainee Inspector Werner Taljaard gave chase for some five kilometers, some of it a mad dash through the bush, before he managed to capture the dog and take it back to the SPCA.
Unfortunately in this case the dog was extremely aggressive and in such terrible condition, suffering from advanced mange and broken teeth, that it had to be euthanised.
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