KAWS April Newsletter

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KAWS gets help from Dad’s Army

We love to share a story with a happy ending, and the “tail” of Tiger from Homtini is just such a story.

One Sunday morning Mike Davies and his cycle group, “Dad’s Army”, were doing their regular ride on the 7 Passes Road when they stopped at the top of the Homtini Pass to catch their breath. “Dad’s Army” is a group of about 35 dads and granddads who cycle together regularly, amid lots of banter and good humour.

A young dog trotted over to say hello, and Mike recognised her as Tiger, a local dog who often came to greet the cyclists at the top of the hill. Just then, a man carrying a hockey stick walked over and took a swing at the dog, hitting her front leg. It made a sickening sound. Mike and the Dads intervened and sent the attacker packing.

You can’t transport a dog – especially a wounded one – on a bicycle, so the Dads found Tiger’s owner and helped him get her into a car so she could be taken to KAWS for emergency treatment of the broken leg.

The Dads continued their ride but Mike was worried about Tiger and drove back later to check on her. Just as well, because he found her dumped under a bush, in great pain, obviously not having had any help at all from a vet. So Mike called the KAWS emergency number and got hold of Helpus, the aptly named inspector on call.

Helpus was there in a trice and took Tiger to the KAWS hospital.

Mike Davies and Tiger after the surgery to save her leg

Mike visited KAWS the following day to pay for the treatment and to check up on how she was doing. The KAWS Veterinarian, Dr Anesca Loots, had done a great job pinning the broken bone so that Tiger could make a full recovery.

But Mike didn’t leave it there. Seeing as the Cape Argus Cycle Tour had been cancelled, he and some of the Dads rode the equivalent distance, and with the help of some sponsors they raised R7 800 for KAWS.

KAWS Acting Manager Kate Reid (left), Mike Davies (centre) and KAWS Chairperson Cobri Vermeulen receive a donation of R7800 from Dads Army!

And to top it all, Mike arranged a fantastic home for Tiger with Dr Joan Louwrens at Harmony, her farm near Simola.

Joan is an animal lover of note and enjoys daily walks and swims in the Knysna River with her dogs. And Tiger is now living the life of Riley, with a loving home and great dog friends, including a besotted Dalmatian, and everything a dog could wish for.

We are enormously grateful to Mike and Dad’s Army for intervening and saving the life of this bright-eyed, intelligent dog.

Tiger in her new home, living the life!

The KAWS Clinic

The KAWS veterinary clinic is a critical part of the work we do to end suffering and help animals.

Our veterinarian, Dr Anesca Loots and her team treat hundereds of animals per month who would otherwise not receive veterinary care. Our hospital is regularly full of patients in various stages of recovery from broken bones, burns and wounds as well as a variety of ailments and illnesses.

As the only animal welfare in the area, the KAWS clinic is under-staffed for the number of cases we handle. Our medical supplies bill averages close to R45 000 per month and is a major cost to the Society, yet our dedicated team continues to save lives and help endless animals back to recovery.

RUBY
Poor Ruby, a lovely, gentle black and tan female doggy, was brought in with mange so bad that she couldn’t even open her eyes! After treating the mange, KAWS veterinarian Dr Anesca Loots had to perform Entropion surgery on her eyelids to reverse the inward rolling so that she could open her eyes again. Fortunately the surgery was a success and Ruby is able to see again.

CASSIE
Cassie was surrendered. When Lucy of CX Animals in Need picked her up she smelt of motor oil, which is commonly used as a ‘home remedy’ to treat mange. It doesn’t work. Boiling water had also been thrown on her. Her skin was a mess, she was malnourished and she had rickets. Lucy bathed her and fed her and brought her to KAWS for medical treatment. As the Bravecto started working she was less chronically itchy and able to be a puppy again. Cassie will be available for adoption from KAWS as soon as she’s strong enough.

Our inspectors have recently started to provide a free service twice a week, dipping dogs in the communities in our area, in an attempt to reduce the impact of mange.

But Bravecto is far more instantly effective. Just one dose is enough to rid a dog of mange and completely change its life. The problem is that Bravecto is also very costly, at around R350 to R600 per dose, depending on the size of the dog. If you would like to help a mangey dog, you can sponsor a treatment by donating into the KAWS bank account with the reference MANGE. With your help we can treat the worst cases quickly and effectively.

Knysna Animal Welfare Society
Bank: FNB
Branch code: 210-214
Branch name: Knysna
Account number: 527-000-33-146

And a final story to lift your spirits. We all love Olive, she is a sweet, loveable cat. We especially love her face that is a bit Persian looking. She was picked up in November last year near Knysna High School. Her owners are new to town and only saw our recent posting of her on Facebook. Her Mom rushed through to KAWS with photos to prove it was her cat.
Go well 'Pepper' we are very happy you are back with your family.

The moral of the story is: never give up when your cat goes missing. They will often hide for weeks before showing themselves. A mico-chip is also a very valuable tool in finding missing animals.

MEMBERSHIP REMINDER
The KAWS membership falls due on 1 April every year, so please consider renewing your membership today! The annual membership fee is just R200.

We attach a link to the membership form, with simple instructions: please print, complete and then bring it to the KAWS office with your R200 in cash;
OR pay via EFT, with MEMBERSHIP and your SURNAME as reference and email both the form and proof of mayment to kawssecretary@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support.

KAWS membership form