Photo credit: Sanjay Singh
Written by Kerry Radmall, Co-Founder of Pit Pals
In July 2016, three strong women with a passion for animal welfare and Pit Bull Terriers joined forces to create a dedicated Pit Bull welfare. Robyn Bronkhorst, Nadia Vandecasteele and I opened Pit Pals without even having one dog in our care. Within days, Pit Bulls came flooding in. With no kennels or land of our own, we made use of private boarding facilities. And, so, Pit Pals was born.
Tough times
The beginning few months were tough; we were a new welfare trying to raise funds to save as many Pit Bulls as possible. Initially our supporters were few and far between and our kennel bill was growing at a rapid rate. But we never gave up. Fundraiser after fundraiser and constant marketing brought in the much-needed funds and, thanks to our amazing supporters, we quickly cleared our kennel bill.
Today, we are proud to have three kennels housing over 20 dogs. We have an experienced “power breed” trainer who assists us with intros and basic training. And we have some amazing foster homes where around a dozen dogs are being cared for.
In the year since we started, we’ve rescued many Pit Bulls. This breed is sadly neglected in many areas where they’re often kept for their tough reputation, rather than as loved family members, as they should be. They also need the right care and training, which many people don’t realise; when they become unmanageable as a result, they end up surrendered and in need of new homes. The need for more assistance is huge. Daily, we are heartbroken to have to turn dogs away due to lack of funds or space.
We do our best to get the dogs adopted quickly and have rehomed over 100 Pit Bulls into fantastic homes.
A passion for power breeds and education
Pit Pals is committed to rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming Pit Bulls and other power breeds, including, but not limited to, Bull Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. Power breeds are muscular and strong – and have unfortunately received bad press and are misunderstood, with people thinking they’re dangerous. However, these dogs are as loving as any other breed and can make wonderful companions.
Pit Pals is dedicated to educating people on how to treat and love animals in general while focusing on Pit Bulls (and other power breeds) and educating the public on how to deal with them properly.
Our education plan includes the necessity to sterilise your animal and aims to work with our supporters and fundraising team to raise money to assist those families who do not have the funds to sterilise their dogs. We believe sterilisation leads to less overpopulation (and, thus, less neglect and dogs needing rehoming) and is extremely important. We also plan to educate potential dog owners on the importance of not supporting “backyard breeders” and to support local welfares to ensure the animals we have rescued have an opportunity to get a good home.
Achieving great things
We’re amazed at what we’ve achieved in such a short time, but it is because of our love for Pit Bulls (and all animals) and our supporters that we’ve done so well. Our volunteer base is huge and every single person who contributes to us financially, physically or emotionally is why we’re as successful as we are.
We’re excited to be building more kennels so that we can house and rescue more dogs. But for this we need financial support and manpower.
If you can assist financially, please deposit into Pit Pals’ account – any amount is gratefully received – or contact Robyn if you can help build via WhatsApp on 076 673 4734.
Pit Pals
First National Bank
Acc #: 62631950682
Branch code: 254005
Ref: Kennel building
We never believed our tiny dream of saving Pit Bulls would turn into such a huge reality. And we want to thank our supporters for this.
For more information, please email info@pitpals.org.za, follow us on Facebook @pitpalsza or visit our website at www.pitpals.org.za/
