TAR in dire need of dog food
Thabazimbi – April is Animal Abuse Awareness month. The dedicated staff at Thabazimbi Animal Rescue (TAR) are actively involved in helping animals who have been abused and/or abandoned.
“It’s astonishing how many abused, neglected, and stray animals we come across. Our biggest concern and the number of chained dogs or underfed dogs,” said TAR kennel manager Magda Steward. “We were recently faced with a situation where pet owners did not take the pets to a vet when they really needed it, and even worse… one pet owner fed their dog rotten food.” Animal abuse take on many forms. Firstly, there is trauma and physical harm. TAR had the unfortunate experience of dealing with a poor dog who was burned with cooking oil and stabbed.
Neglect is another form of animal abuse. This is where dogs are chained up and don’t have enough space to move around or don’t get enough attention. Certain breeders force animals to mate to produce puppies for profit. In some cases, the females are over-bred and get diseases like cancer or their organs start to fail because their bodies can’t handle giving birth over and over again.
Magda added: “In order to break the breeding cycle, we want to encourage people to have their dogs neutered. It is important that we teach children from a very young age to nurture pets.”
Although TAR receive several reports of pet abuse, they have to act within the confines of the law. That means, if you report a case, they will go out and assess the situation. They will first try to educate pet owners to properly take care of their pets. If the pet is in immediate danger, the owners have to take the dog to the vet that same day or sign over the pet to TAR. If the owner decides that they don’t want to opt for the any of the two options, the case gets handed over to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA). The SPCA also accompanies TAR members to investigate cases of animal abuse. TAR currently has 18 dogs looking for their forever-homes and they are in urgent need of food to feed the animals in their care. For more information, to get involved, or to report matters of abuse (information will be kept confidential), contact TAR on 082 375 4064.
TAR banking details
TBZ Animal Rescue
Standard Bank
Current Account
Account number: 411000667
Branch code: 054246