Animals lovers help out rescue centre
HUNDREDS of dog-loving volunteers flocked to animal rescue centre, Tears, during the Mandela Day week, spending 67 minutes renovating the shelter in exchange for playtime with Cape Town’s friendliest puppies.
Adults and children selflessly took time out of their weekend to improve the kennels at the Sunnydale site, pimping previous wire and mesh fences with wooden crates and interactive boxes for the curious canines.
Tears hosted volunteering events on Mandela Day as well as the weekend.
With a core volunteering team of 40 to 50 people, events such as these are crucial to generate public awareness around the shelter. Volunteer Colleen Markus, a generous soul and one of Tears’ most enthusiastic team members, said she is always amazed by the public support: “We have sleepovers with the animals as well as various other fund-raisers, and the community really comes together for the events.”
The Emma Animal Rescue Centre, or Tears for short, has been running since 1999, saving over 17 000 animals. Operating under a no-kill policy, the staff work tirelessly to rehabilitate and re-house as many of their animals as possible; many of the staff adopt several themselves.
The centre’s fundamental values revolve around providing all the animals with the highest quality of care. While all staff and volunteers are fully committed to this policy, director and co-founder, Marilyn Hoole, explained that the high standards set by the shelter can sometimes lead to difficult moments: “In January last year, we almost had to close our doors because we were running out of money. But when a dog turns up at your door, what are you supposed to do? None of us ever wants to turn a dog away.”
Tears is named after Emma GearyCooke, a close friend of Marilyn and co-founder, Joan Bown, who tragically died in a car accident. Today, staff and volunteers work with the same compassion, enthusiasm and love that Emma is remembered for 20 years after her death.
The next step is to access consistent funding. With a monthly running cost of around R1.2 million, Tears relies on income from their charity shops, donations and other avenues.
“We can talk about all the things we need, but everything comes back to money,” said Markus. “The more money and donations we receive, the better we can do for the animals.” For more information, visit tears.org.za.