SPCA calls on animal lovers to adopt victims of human cruelty. Great relief, joy and hope greeted the SPCA’s city and coastal animal care centre when tiny pup Lucy was rescued nervous and painfully thin from a cold and damp drain on a wintry day.
“How we wish poor Lucy could tell us what had happened to her?” said Durban and Coast SPCA’s marketing manager, Tanya Fleischer, when she shared this harrowing story with the Durban North News this week. Describing the frail little dog as ‘the miracle pup’, she said Lucy was rescued from a drain after a concerned resident called and alerted the animal welfare organisation. “She was little more than a pup when Inspector Lucas Moloi rescued her in July. She was very nervous and painfully thin. We have spent the last three months talking to her with soothing words and gentle hands and gave her a special diet to help her grow into a healthy young dog,” said Fleischer.
She said the SPCA believes that “someone had deliberately thrown her down a drain’’ and the dog was left for dead in cold and hunger. “If you think that no one could be so cruel, you would be mistaken. Our inspectors deal with people like this all the time. There are those who have absolutely no compassion, feeling or mercy for animals. “Unfortunately, in this case, we don’t know who it was. There are no witnesses. All we know is that not far from where Lucy was found, another dog was found hanged. It seems the two cases are linked. Our hearts are breaking for the hanged dog. It is awful to think how he must have struggled helplessly to escape the noose as the dog had slowly choked to death. We cannot begin to bring the perpetrators to book. But we can help Lucy by finding her a special, new forever home with a loving and caring family so that she would not be hurt again.”
She said Lucy’s caregivers were in awe with her strength and marvelled at her friendly and curious nature despite her early start to life: ‘’Lucy was very nervous when she first arrived here. We are not sure how she was treated before, but everything seems new to her, she is happy, friendly and she wants to explore. She’s curious and adventurous and a strong dog. She’ll be your best friend.” Fleischer has appealed to animal lovers to adopt Lucy or her friends at the SPCA as part of their family. Lucy can be visited from Monday to Friday between 8.am to 3.30pm or on Saturday’s from 8am to 12pm at 2 Willowfield Crescent, Springfield Park. “Please adopt and don’t shop. Adopted animals make the best companions, come and choose an animal that best suits you, our adoptions team will help you make the perfect match to a new pet that suits you, your family, your environment, your lifestyle. We do not adopt for security purposes, all our animals are adopted to become a member of your family. All animals adopted from our SPCA are dewormed, vaccinated, sterilised, and micro-chipped and given a collar and a tag prior to going home. To enquire about Lucy, call 031 579 6524/6, her reference is 102459,” added Fleischer.
