Cash crisis threatens animal clinic
AT SIX weeks, a little puppy named James Bond arrived at the Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha, blind due to a herpes virus. His owners were unable to look after a blind puppy and put the pup’s life in the hands of the clinic staff.
The staff managed to heal the pup, who regained his eyesight and found a loving home with owners Lindi Theron and her family, who renamed the puppy Zorg. However, the clinic’s days of helping animals such as Zorg, may come to an end due to a deficit in their funds after their biggest donor pulled out from assisting them.
Mdzananda’s main funder, who lives in Europe, cut down their donation of R2.2 million a year by 64%, due to budget cuts and the state of the economy in Europe. The funding they receive now will be reduced further until it completely ceases next year.
“It is really scary to lose our main funder. They were covering around 65% of our monthly expenses, now leaving us in an extremely difficult financial situation. We are, however, extremely grateful for the support and funding they were able to give us over the past years.
“We are trying to be as proactive as possible and to not let the funding loss get our spirits down,” said Marcelle du Plessis, from Mdzananda.
Du Plessis said the organisation had now launched the “Become a #PawMember” campaign to save the foundation by trying to get 3 000 Paw Members to each donate R100 a month. It is hoped that this will bridge the deficit.
Theron, Zorg’s owner, heard about the clinic’s situation and got on board to assist the clinic to secure the funding they needed after they brought the puppy into her life.
“I saw James Bond on Mdzananda’s Facebook page and immediately fell in love. I said to my husband in Afrikaans:
‘Ek wil for hom sorg’ (I want to care for him), and that is how we got his name.
“I’ve been following Mdzananda’s work ever since I adopted Zorg. They recently announced that they lost their main funder and I was horrified. I knew I had to help.”
Theron signed up as a Paw Member and wanted to encourage more people to sign up, so she compiled a video with Mdzananda to encourage people to do so.
Her video can be viewed on the Mdzananda Animal Clinic Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=uzV7XxV7jbE).
If you can assist the Mdzananda Animal Clinic, sign up as a Paw Member on www.mdzanandasecure.co.za or contact them on info@mdzananda.co.za