Feral dogs find their forever home at last
SPCA manager and his family adopt pair in act of compassion after trauma
A pair of feral dogs which roamed the streets of Beacon Bay and captured the hearts of the community with their devotion to each other have found their forever home with the manager of the East London SPCA.
The duo, who were nicknamed the Gypsies, have the run of the roomy backyard of Allen Westerberg’s family home with his family as well as Vlad the Jack Russell-cross and six cats.
Social media erupted with concern and consternation in February when users locked horns about how best the dogs should be treated, with some insisting they be left alone to live their nomadic life being fed by well-wishers, and others maintaining they should be caught by the SPCA and rehomed. Another group were determined the aloof hounds be sent to a no-kill shelter.
When the female was caught by the state vet and taken to the SPCA where she gave birth to stillborn puppies, social media sites once again erupted with accusations that she had been put to sleep, despite assurances by the SPCA that she was safe.
For two weeks the evasive male lived in the streets alone, howling for his mate and further distressing residents who bayed for them to be unified. The male was eventually captured and joined the female gypsy at the SPCA.
“They were very derogatory about the SPCA on Facebook and said we were going to put them down, even though that was never the intention,” said Westerberg when the Daily Dispatch visited his home on the grounds of the SPCA yesterday.
Westerberg said that although he initially had a person lined up who wanted to adopt the dogs, this fell through.
“They just stopped visiting and so I had to make a decision. I decided to keep them after an extended period in the boarding kennels to get them acclimatised to us. My family – wife Lynn, daughter Candace, 22, and son Steve, 27 – visited them regularly and grew very attached.”
Now, although Bonnie and Clyde get regular meals and curl up in warm beds at night, they are still nervous of strangers, and Bonnie trembled when the Dispatch drew near.
“They don’t trust humans anymore – somewhere along the line someone must have smacked them,” said Westerberg.
“When do woodwork outside they come closer and closer to me and I love them as much as I love my other pets. They will always stay with us.”