Help needed to fix flooded Khayelitsha animal shelter
A KHAYELITSHA-based animal clinic is appealing to compassionate Capetonians to help it fix up a section of its premises that was used to shelter homeless pets before the first winter rains flooded and damaged the facility.
The Mdzananda Animal Clinic, which is known for the work it does in rehabilitating homeless animals, especially in local communities, said that it was in desperate need of assistance.
Fund-raising and communication manager Marcelle du Plessis said the recent winter rains, which came down heavily last week, had badly flooded the makeshift shelter, the part of the clinic which had been housing many vulnerable animals.
“After the recent rains the animals have been struggling. We urgently need to not only fix up their shelter but to upgrade the unit as well to prevent future flooding and to ensure our homeless pets have a warm place to stay until they find permanent homes.
“Upgrading the shelter will cost just under R100 000, while we did not expect that we would need to do such an upgrade, winter comes with increased expenses too.
“Our electricity goes up by 50% to keep our patients and facility warm. We also just spent R10 000 on fixing a leak in our operating theatre’s roof,” said Du Plessis.
However, the flooding is not the clinic’s only challenge. The clinic is currently full.
“Puppies are arriving at their door in hypothermic states and pets are being knocked over by cars driving badly in rainy weather. Our clinic treats up to 1 000 community pets per month. With the cold weather, pets can take longer to recover, so our hospital stays full.
“We are just so grateful that we can help so many animals. Without our clinic and one other animal organisation in Khayelitsha, most pet owners would have little to no help for their animals as private veterinary fees are too high for them to afford,” said Du Plessis.
For information on how you can help the clinic repair its pet shelter, visit www.mdzananda.co.za or email info@mdzananda.co.za