Animals best interests prioritized

THE Johannesburg South communities, animal lovers and Johannesburg SPCA pulled together in the best interest of animals as part of International Animal Week.

From October 4 to October 9, members of the public were encouraged by JSPCA to take the time to perform one random act of kindness towards animals. The week was also a time to create awareness around the needs of animals and to pay tribute to all furry friends in the world.

“One story in particular really stood out and that was the story of Johannes (a kennel handler) and the Great Dane Mix. A stray dog who refused to move, and seemed very nervous at a human touch, snapping at Johannes and chewing the lead,” told JSPCA team member, Jolene Beyleveld.

The handler did not get fazed by the nervous canine at all but rather tried a more laid back approach to gain the trust of the dog.

“Johannes saw that this was not working, and simply sat next to the dog. Every minute or so, Johannes moved his hand a little closer to the dog, avoiding eye contact ensuring that the dog didn’t feel challenged. After a while, Johannes was patting and rubbing the dog. He had gained the dogs trust. To build this trust, Johannes went and opened a tin of dog food, and the now very happy dog went prancing next to Johannes into the kennel. Of course the dog was rewarded with the tin of dog food.”

Jolene says that their centre always gets asked by residents of the south, how they can play their part to help change the world for animals and their answer is “One Act of Random Kindness at a time.”

People were informed on how to dip an animal to help control ticks and flea as well as how to feed the animals correctly. During this week, JSPCA teams went to Orange Farm a township south of Johannesburg to visit members of the community and to them about vaccinating their pets against rabies and other diseases and also did their best to meet their target of sterilizing 50 animals.