Cape Town - The Mdzananda Animal Clinic is calling for urgent assistance after the clinic’s homeless dog shelter was flooded in last week’s rainstorm.
The Mdzananda Animal Clinic said that the homeless dogs needed to be moved to small hospital cages during the flood as they had no other space for them.
“It’s only the start of winter and the pets are already struggling,” said Marcelle du Plessis, fundraising and communication manager.
“Just last week we found a 10-year-old dog wondering the streets in the rain. His feet were worn down and his joints painful from arthritis. He had no hair on his back and was covered in fleas. We looked for his owners but couldn’t find them, (and so) we named him OG.
“OG received warm food, a soft bed and medication for his pain, but when the shelter flooded, we had to urgently make space for OG and the other dogs in our hospital unit,” Du Plessis said.
She added that OG is safe and warm at the home of one of the organisation’s staff.
“He has picked up weight, the hair on his back has grown and he enjoys wearing his cozy jacket. He is now waiting for a perfect family to adopt him.”
Du Plessis added that they urgently need help to upgrade their shelter unit to prevent future flooding and to ensure that their homeless dogs have a warm place to stay until permanent homes can be found for them.
Upgrading the shelter will cost just under R100 000.
“We did not expect that we’d need to do such an upgrade. Winter comes with increased expenses too. Our electricity goes up by 50% to keep our patients and facility warm. We also just spent R10 000 on fixing a leak in our operating theatre’s roof,” said Du Plessis.
The flooding is not the clinic’s only challenge. Their hospital is full to the brim. Puppies are arriving at their door in hypothermic states and pets are being knocked over by cars driving badly in rainy weather.
“Our clinic treats up to 1 000 community pets per month. With the cold weather pets can take longer to recover, so our hospital stays full. We are just so grateful that we can help so many animals,” she said.
“Without our clinic and one other animal organisation in Khayelitsha, most pet owners would have little to no help for their animals as private veterinary fees are too high for them to afford.”
The clinic is appealing to the public to give an emergency monetary gift to help them upgrade their shelter unit and care for the increased number of pet patients in winter.
For further information visit www.mdzananda.co.za or contact [email protected]
Bank details: Mdzananda Animal Clinic, Standard Bank, Account number: 075595710, Branch: Rondebosch, Branch Code: 025009, Savings account, Reference: Winter+Your Name.