Written by Pat Barr-Sanders, Fundraiser for Dogtown South Africa
Professional photography by Emma O’Brien
By supporting Dogtown SA, you’re also supporting many other animal welfare organisations. Through our unique, sponsored Click-to-Feed initiative, we are able to donate up to two tons of food to selected charities around the country every month. This falls under our division called Barking Mad, whose website serves as a platform to showcase pets in need of homes. Our other community-outreach division, Spay-it-Forward, aims to assist low-income families to sterilise their pets, thereby decreasing the alarming number of unwanted litters and pets that exist in our country.
What is Dogtown SA?
Dogtown SA is a superior animal rehabilitation centre where rescued dogs reach their full potential as happy, well-adjusted pets ready for adoption. Most of our dogs come from other shelters and are considered difficult and hard to home. We are their last hope and we commit to them for life.
What does Dogtown SA do?
Dedicated staff and volunteers are comprehensively trained to rehabilitate formerly abused, neglected and unwanted dogs. This is achieved through constant kindness, attention, training, consistency and mental stimulation. We are supremely proud of our centre; Dogtown SA maintains the highest possible standards in terms of accommodation, food, veterinary care, rehabilitation and training. Our founder, staff and volunteers are of the highest calibre – and profoundly dedicated.
Where is Dogtown SA going?
For the past year, in addition to our regular operations, we’ve been hard at work raising funds to build enough octagonal gardens to accommodate up to 160 dogs at our 50-acre farm in the Hennops area. Our intention is to build a self-sustaining rehabilitation centre, complete with a private veterinary practice, exclusive boarding facilities and weekend walking trails for members of the public to enjoy with their dogs and families.
Our reputation as a responsible, caring and professional organisation precedes us; we’re proud to boast the most popular animal welfare website in South Africa, with over 20,000 visitors a day, and we currently have 96,000 followers on Facebook. We are certified as a Public Benefit Organisation, which enables us to offer our donors Tax Certificates in terms of Section 18A of the Tax Act.
How you can help
- Sign a small monthly debit order – these are vital to our existence.
- Donating your time is precious, so sign up for our volunteer programme.
- Sign up to receive daily Click-to-Feed reminders. This helps with our food donations to other organisations.
- Donations of food, toys, blankets, indigenous trees, grass and plants. These are always welcome.
- Donations of fencing and gum poles to help us finish our building project.
- Provide leads for us to pursue in the hope of getting a new vehicle. Ours is 15 years old.
- And, of course, financial donations are needed for the future sustainability of our unique centre.
For more information email Pat at pat@dogtownsa.org, call 060 930 1111 or visit www.barkingmad.co.za
