Answering the call of animals howling for help

The massive challenges facing the animal-welfare sector in South Africa were brought to light when dogs and cats had to be rescued from a Cape animal shelter on 22 August.

In a place that was supposed to provide safety, it was clear the animals had been neglected, their illnesses and injuries untreated, and they were living in overcrowded squalor.

“This story is a tragic example of good intentions gone wrong,” says Carolyn Borland Dudgeon, one of several Jews working in the animal-welfare sector. “It highlights the desperate need for strict guidelines on shelter management, and encourages us to ask questions and visit shelters to see how they operate before offering support.

“Animal welfare in South Africa is in crisis,” Borland Dudgeon says. “There are more unwanted animals in shelters and foster-based organisations than available homes to adopt them. The challenges are a lack of regulation and resistance to sterilising pets. But there are also successes: those who are ethical and responsible, waking up every day to serve animals in need.”

Yael Sacks, the founder of African Tails, a non-profit organisation which sterilises and cares for neglected animals in the Cape, says, “The main take-out here is that each animal rescue organisation needs to be practical in the number of pets they can save without compromising the care of other pets in the organisation. This is why it’s essential to ‘adopt rather than shop’. There are so many beautiful souls waiting for homes. The way a rescued pet looks into your eyes is second to none.”

Borland Dudgeon found her way into working in this sector because of a love of animals. “After adopting my first dog and learning his heartbreaking story, there was no way I could turn a blind eye,” she says.

At the age of 36, she’s the founder of Paws-A-While (PAW), which she launched while being a part of the Democratic Alliance’s first provincial leadership academy. “We were tasked to find a social cause and make a difference. PAW was meant to be a once-off concept to highlight the desperate need for sterilisation of companion animals. But it has since grown, and we now focus on pet-owner education and adoptions. We’ve helped nearly 1 000 pets find homes through our adoption fairs and social media platforms.”

Says Borland Dudgeon, “I’ve been fortunate to be taken under the wing of legends in the sector, and recently worked through Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha. I’ve participated in discussions on the City of Cape Town’s animal-keeping bylaws, and have begun conversations with the social development minister in the Western Cape to find a department to take ownership of animal welfare within government structures.”

Jolene Harris, the chairperson of Lamberts and Elands Animal Protection Services (LEAPS), says, “Overall, we have a dedicated group of people desperately trying to help animals in South Africa. However, we must have the support of the government to function effectively.

“Laws need to be updated, animals need to be regarded as sentient beings, and people who commit abuse need to be appropriately punished,” she says. “Financial support needs to be provided by municipalities to assist smaller organisations. We receive no funding from the municipalities we operate under.”

Harris’s journey to animal welfare began when she went for a run in Elands Bay, 220km up the West Coast from Cape Town, and passed a township, seeing neglected dogs. “Besides my ongoing job as an attorney, I was volunteering with children. I shifted my efforts to working with animals in need, which in turn helps people in townships. That was 15 years ago! I now run my own full-time law practice and am chairperson of LEAPS.”

She has done it all, “from administration, to adoption, working in the townships, building kennels, distributing food, transporting animals, fostering, and fundraising.”

After seeing the dogs in the township, Harris found people working in Lambert’s Bay and Elands Bay assisting animals with the resources they had. “We decided to start a new charity from scratch, incorporating Lambert’s and Elands Bay. Since then, we have incorporated the enormous township of Vredenburg, and are constantly asked to assist in other areas. We’re on standby for emergencies, and are the only organisation in some areas. Our closest vet is 60km away.”

The organisation relies entirely on foster homes to care for animals until a permanent home is found. “We have about three foster homes, but have on average about 30 dogs looking for homes at any given point in time.”

Successes include “the thousands of animals we have sterilised, and the difference we make in the lives of township animals daily. When we see our advice being put into play by pet owners, it brings such joy.”

Sacks worked in the corporate world before finding her calling in animal welfare. “If you feel there’s a gap, ask questions, follow your heart, and most importantly, be part of the solution. When the opportunity arose in 2006 to tackle prolific pet overpopulation in the Western Cape, I could no longer ignore my deep-seated passion to be a voice for neglected dogs and cats.

“This would turn out to be the start of a fascinating 18-year journey, still going, encompassing much sweat and tears and countless ups and downs. In the beginning, we had no staff, and volunteers were juggling with what was essentially a start-up business. We eventually hired a dedicated team, many of whom are still with us today. African Tails has now matured into a pivotal Cape-based animal rescue organisation, having sterilised more than 16 500 dogs and cats, homed more than 2 300, and fed thousands of hungry tummies.

“We strive to make a sustainable long-term impact through mass sterilisation and pet-care education. Seeing abandoned or surrendered animals get a second chance, often from death’s door, makes it all worth it,” Sacks says.

There have been many challenges, “including the mind-blowing statistic that one unsterilised female dog and her unsterilised litter can produce 67 000 puppies over a six-year period. It’s tough when our team face resistant pet owners who want to breed, and cases of animal abuse.”

Harris expresses her gratitude to those who support animal welfare organisations. “We literally can’t express what this means to us and for animals. We continue to do the best we can. We believe people want to help, and just need to know where to begin. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”

All three women emphasise that their main obstacle is funding, and call on the community to consider supporting animal-welfare organisations to make a widespread impact.

“Sterilise pets, get involved with your nearest shelter, volunteer to walk dogs, open your home to fosters, and help us educate,” says Borland Dudgeon. Meanwhile, “I’ll keep pushing forward – asking the right questions to the right people in the hope of stronger regulations to protect animals.”