Hello
Friends and supporters of the Harare Spca.
We seem to
have survived the bangs and flashes of the fireworks so far. It appears
that many people did take heed and kept their pets safely indoors . Of course
there are more fireworks to come over the festive season. This brings me
to the care of pets over the Christmas holidays. Most cat and dog owners prefer
to leave their at pets home when they go away . Animals feel content in their
own environment .If this is your choice, ensure that your house sitters
and staff have a list of numbers to contact in case an animal strays or becomes
ill. Always leave photographs of all your pets for easy identification .Ideally
your pets should be Micro chipped and should wear a collar and tag .Some of the
private vets offer house calls so it is advisable to tell them you will be
travelling and that you will leave their number with your animal caretaker. The
SPCA will be open over the holidays ( shorter hours on the public holidays) and
will continue to take reports of lost and found pets. The Harare Spca also
takes in boarders. The animals are well cared for and stay safe whilst you are
on holiday.,
When strays
arrive at the Harare Spca they are checked by our vets. They are then kennelled
at our surgery or kennels for 10 days. When the 10 days are up, if an
animal has not been claimed and does not have any form of identification,
it is placed in the re-homing section. During the school holidays we hold onto
cats and dogs for a longer period in the hope that owners returning from their
travels will come and claim their lost pets. Please bear in mind that some pets
only resurface months later. Some have been stolen for resale or breeding
purposes ( a very good reason to spay and neuter) and some go into hiding.
Never give up !!! So many of our residents are ultra friendly, well mannered and
fit the picture of a typical family pet.
The
hospital holds out patients, victims of road traffic accidents and other
patients that have been admitted for surgery and recovery. We presently are
helping a burn victim to recover from his “punishment”. He came into our
hospital in shocking condition. Burns covered a large percentage of his body
.He has always greeted vets ,staff and volunteers with a wag of his tail
and a look of absolute trust in his eyes. His will to live has been an
inspiration. Once he has completely healed we will be looking very carefully
for the perfect home for him.. My thoughts are that perhaps he could serve as a
therapy dog for human burn victims or perhaps he will serve the Spca, as one of
our representatives to show that where there is hope there is a
chance to overcome the worst abuse.
Sadly many
bitches with large litters of thin ,flea and tick infested , sick, puppies are
being surrendered to us. Many are infected with parvo, distemper and biliary.
Many do not survive despite our best efforts. Some mums have adopted puppies
from orphaned litters . They have an incredible maternal instinct and never
reject the outsiders. These pups will be needing homes but will probably end up
in cages without stimulation and enough human contact. We do not have enough
hands to do everything. The pups will be fed, vaccinated and cared for. What
they really need is good homes. Please come and choose a pup at our kennels
rather than buying one.
Progress at
our surgery is now visible. As I write, a very kind and generous donor has her
staff planting grass in our new runs in the convalescence block and strays and
investigations block. We look forward to allowing dogs to roll around on a nice
green lawn . Hopefully the rains will become regular and help the grass to
grow. Our donor is also going to lay concrete around the new kennel blocks and
the surrounding areas. This is a way of ensuring that strict hygiene is
maintained and that vets and staff have easy access to the new external blocks.
The internal post –op wards are being refurbished. The cages are freshly
painted and the doors are being fixed. This is a work in progress as we need
the cages as the hospital is full of patients. The years of wear and tear have
caused the doors to buckle and the latches to break and the paint has peeled
off. The doors will be straightened and the latches replaced at cost.
Would anyone like to offer to pay for the repair of a door, or two or three… ?
They will cost us $45 per door and the wards have a total of 46 doors.
One of my
future wishes is to build an “emotional enrichment” area for the cats and a
separate one for our dogs at the kennels. This entire project will have to be
sponsored and built by volunteers. Here is your chance to extend a helping hand.
The cats will need an area with climbing frames, places to hide and toys to
play with and logs to sit on and sharpen claws on. Carpeted boxes are perfect
to sunbathe on or to hide inside. A lawn would be fantastic or failing
that large pots filled with catnip would be great. The dogs need a large area
filled with different surfaces to walk on and explore. They need logs and tyres
to climb over and treats to find hidden in different places. I would love to
put in a small pool for the water lovers .Puppies need to learn to chase and
retrieve balls. The enrichment areas need to be fenced and secure. I am
looking for volunteers to come forward to help us with this project. The
project is dear to my heart but it is constantly pushed aside for more serious
needs. I keep walking past the sad faces in all the cages promising to do this
and then the lack of funds, time and lack of helping hands stall me time and
time again.
We hope to
start the New Year with a SPAY AND NEUTER CAMPAIGN. Too many unwanted dog and cats
are roaming our streets. They are hungry and sick and face life out in the open
without any hope. There will be more information about our campaign soon
as our surgery is able to cope with the increasing number of animals. We will
need voluntary help from vets, vet nurses and animal carers. Watch this space.
Please
remember to support the ZIMBABWE COLOUR RUN on 7 December at the
Borrowdale Race Course. It promises to be a fun filled event for the whole
family. Entry forms are available at the Borrowdale Village at the clock tower
. The Harare Spca will be one of the beneficiaries of this event.
Often we
are asked “ How do you do all of this? Why do you do all of this ?” Well the
answer is simple…Someone has to. The animals have been dumped, abused and
neglected. They have no voice and no choice. Yes, there are days when it would
be easier just to walk out and just give up. This would be the ultimate act of
cruelty and betrayal. We will not and must not abandon those in our care.
What we need is more volunteers. Please come forward and help. It will take
courage ,determination and commitment . On some days you will need dark glasses
to hide the tears. We cry a lot but we get by. The rewards are bigger than
you can imagine so please come forward and assist.
Please e
mail me on shacker@zol.co.zw
Des Hacker
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