Tag: Welfare

Posted on

Identifying the Enemy

“We are not going to deal with the violence in our communities, our homes, and our nation, until we learn to deal with the basic ethic of how we resolve our disputes and to place an emphasis on peace in the way we relate to one another.” ~ Marian Wright Edelman

The South African Animal Welfare sector, and more specifically the companion animal sector, is characterised by conflict.

Conflict is a disagreement in which the parties involved perceive a threat to their needs, interests or concerns, and it is unavoidable in a world where such needs, interests or concerns are mutually exclusive. Conflict can be resolved without confrontation when the parties choose to engage in a rational manner.

It is the nature of the companion animal sector, however, that these differences are not dealt with amicably. Instead the manner in which conflicts are handled include malicious gossip more often than not based on rumour or fabrication, character assassinations, disinvestment which often includes influencing others to disinvest and in most cases without due justification, condemnation based on a single or a few instances, and various other typically unethical and somewhat adolescent practices. People who do these things  need to grow up, and the fact that many also do these things ‘behind the backs’ of those they seek to discredit means they also need to grow a backbone…

What I found most disconcerting was that it seemed to me that the parties Continue reading “Identifying the Enemy”

Posted on

Beware, Corporate Body Bullies!

(Download the pdf version of this here: Beware_Corp_Bullies)

In recent times, there has been a development in policies of residential complexes and retirement homes that has had a significant effect on many people’s relationships with their companion animals. In many cases the tactics employed by Corporate Body Bullies are underhanded, illogical and prejudicial.

This document will give people a cleat understanding of the variables involved and some strategies for dealing with these dubious tactics.

The Law.

Firstly one needs to establish whether the scheme within which one resides is a sectional title scheme, a homeowners association or possibly even, the now outdated, shareblock scheme, as each of these have specific laws, rules and regulations.

In most cases, residential complexes are bound by the Sectional Titles Act. In addition, Municipal By-Laws will apply, and it’s a good idea to have an understanding of both before deciding to buy or rent in a given complex.

Sectional title schemes are established under the Sectional Titles Act of 1986, as amended, and within this Act are prescribed management and conduct rules, the latter of which [annexure 9 of the Act] deals with pets.

The Sectional Titles Act (ST) includes the following clauses relevant to this discussion:

35 (3) Any management or conduct rule made by a developer or a body corporate shall be reasonable, and shall apply equally to all owners of units put to substantially the same purpose.

35 (5) (a) If the rules… …are substituted, added to, amended or repealed, the body corporate shall lodge Continue reading “Beware, Corporate Body Bullies!”

Posted on

BREAKING the CYCLE: The Animal Welfare Imperative

‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ – Benjamin Franklin

As a strategist and problem solver in the Corporate world, I was always somewhat dumbfounded by the degree to which problem-solving was directed rather simplistically at symptoms rather than root causes, effectively only solving part of the problem, or solving it only for a short time, or causing other problems that negated the solution anyway.

Animal Welfare SA suffers the same malaise. Many organisations and individuals focus on rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming, and of course there is a necessity that somebody do this, since there are so many homeless animals. This is an attempt at finding, for each animal, a ‘cure’ – a home in which they can live happy lives.  If we recruited more people to welfare, could we home more animals? That very much depends Continue reading “BREAKING the CYCLE: The Animal Welfare Imperative”

Posted on

THE GRAVE OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER

(People who work in animal rescue and welfare speak of the ‘war’ – it is a war against incredible odds with scarce resources and a never-ending time-frame. I’m not sure we’re winning it. – animalman)

Today I put down a dog. I don’t know if she had an owner and I don’t know if she had a name.

She was just an old dog, probably not nearly as old as she looked, who had spent her whole sad life in a bad place. She was very thin and had bad mange of most of her body, and ticks and fleas and worms. Her hindquarter had collapsed, partly from malnutrition and partly from bad arthritis from old untreated injuries. Her ears had been cut short and were eaten away by flies. Her teeth were stumps, Continue reading “THE GRAVE OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER”

Posted on

THE TRUE UNSUNG HEROES

I would like to dedicate a short piece to those incredible people who take in our battered and abused dogs, and treat them with such dignity and love that they learn to trust humans again, and learn to accept a kind human touch.  Once every two or three years, we bring in a soul that had been destroyed by human abuse to such an extent that, in such a case, the dog cannot be networked to be homed, due to his/her extreme fear and accompanying behavioural problems.

In each instance, a human angel has come forward, willing to mend the broken spirit with unending and absolute love and commitment.

The most recent of these adoptions happened this weekend, to everyone’s delight.

I was called out to remove a Chow from a property earlier this year.  The so-called caregivers of Teddy, as we came to call her, had left her behind on a rental property when they moved. She had been on her own Continue reading “THE TRUE UNSUNG HEROES”

Posted on

Spaying: Why it’s better…

(This is an excerpt for an excellent article I found on the subject of spaying – please refer people to this when they give the classic ignorant arguments for keeping their female unspayed – animalman)

The following significant medical benefits can be gained from spaying your dog:

* Mammary (breast) cancer: Females spayed prior to their first oestrus cycle have a significantly reduced risk of developing mammary cancer, a common cancer in unspayed females. The chances of developing this cancer increase if a female isn’t spayed until after her second heat cycle, but they still remain lower than the risk for unspayed females. So if your dog has already gone through her first heat cycle, it’s not too late. Spaying her will still reduce her risk of developing cancerous

Continue reading “Spaying: Why it’s better…”
Posted on

The Breeder and the Damage Done

Today, while you work, have tea, conversations with friends, lunch, make arrangements for your weekend, and do all the things that enable you to enjoy life, 822 domestic animals will be ‘put down’ in shelters around the country. And that is a conservative estimate. There will probably be a lot more.

We say ‘put down’ when we refer to animals. We do not use the term ‘murder’ because they are ‘only animals’. In today’s society, one ‘puts down’ creatures of a ‘lower order’, where they ‘belong’ – we use euphemisms as shields, lest we should be ashamed…

And we should be ashamed. We should be ashamed because the measures that could have prevented this have been available for some time, because the ignorance that prevails over this scenario is inexcusable, and because the majority feed the problem and sustain it Continue reading “The Breeder and the Damage Done”

Posted on

A Letter from a Shelter Manager

This is an article that appeared a while ago in emails and was published on, among other places, change.org. It is from an American shelter manager but it is nevertheless relevant and applicable to the South African scenario. (animalman)

I think our society needs a huge “Wake-up” call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all…a view from the inside if you will.

First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the “back” of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don’t even know.

That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it’s not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there’s about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 30% of all Continue reading “A Letter from a Shelter Manager”