FOLLOWING on from a primary healthcare package project in 2012, which was offered to benefit the pets of Kanana Park residents, the Animal Anti-Cruelty League (AACL) Johannesburg initiated a community outreach project in Bellavista in September 2014.
To date, six successful clinics have been held on a monthly basis, with the most recent having taken place on February 12. Grateful appreciation must be expressed to Mrs Julie Bezuidenhout, owner of The Dog Club and AACL Committee Member, for her invaluable support in facilitating the clinics at her premises and for helping to educate and drive the community to support this project.
The Bellavista outreach project is to form an important part of AACL’s soon to be launched mobile clinic service, which will see essential professional veterinary services reaching areas across a broad spectrum, that have little or no access to primary healthcare for their animals.
Sister Cindy Price, General Manager of AACL Johannesburg, had this to say: “We are extremely excited at what can ultimately be accomplished with our outreach and mobile clinic service. The mobile clinic vehicle is presently undergoing the final stages of being fully equipped from a veterinary perspective, and we are hoping to launch the service in the very short term. We are moreover pleased to announce that we successfully procured part of the funding necessary to bring all the components together from the National Lottery Board, and remain extremely grateful to them and all others who have contributed towards the origination and implementation of this vital community service.”
She went on to say that 36 of the pets belonging to AACL’s hospital clientele had been sterilised in celebration of the recently held World Spay Day, with all cost implications having been absorbed by AACL.
“Sterilisation is important in resource strained communities, as just one extra mouth can have huge implications for a family. As these pets have now been vaccinated and dewormed, they are safe pets for the community, as a healthy pet is a safe pet. We thank our staff for a great team effort and our clients for their support of this important event.”
