Professional photography by Yvonne Jansen from BlissfulTails
This is Shadow’s story, in the words of Werner Dippenaar who, with Philip Hattingh, saved this boy.
“It’s truly a miracle that this boy is still alive after spending three weeks roaming wild in a Big 5 game reserve after being reported by game rangers and game drive vehicles. The black dog had been seen numerous times by anti-poaching teams, game-drive vehicles and security cameras. From the reported sightings we could see he covered no less than 100km in the reserve – likely double that. Numerous attempts to capture him were unsuccessful.
“Then, he started hanging out at one of the lodges in the reserve, and a decision was made to use a predator capture cage to catch him as he was too scared for any human to get close to him.
“And he was eventually captured.
“My colleague and I drove to go see the wildlife vet to give him a once-over and she confirmed that he had Biliary. Being an Aussie owner, I’ve known Ingrid from ASSARO for many years. One call to Ingrid for advice and she generously offered to take him in. Thank you, Ingrid, for your hard work and dedication."
“Unfortunately, his friend got killed by wild animals in the game reserve. What this boy must have seen and experienced is heart-breaking!
“We went to visit Ingrid and her Aussies a few weeks ago when we passed by. We were very curious to see how little Shadow was doing. What a huge change in his behaviour since the last time I saw him. From a pup that didn't want to make eye contact when you spoke to him, Shadow transformed into a tail-wagging Jack-in-a-box, running up and down with the rest of the dogs at the rescue.
“It was heart-warming to see how happy he was. He formed a very strong bond with Chilli, one of Ingrid’s Aussies. No doubt that between Chilli and Ingrid they helped Shadow to find meaning in life again.”
Ingrid from ASSARO shares...
Shadow’s progress has been slow and we’ve been giving him as much space as he needs to go at his own pace. When he first came to us he was very afraid and sick from biliary and didn’t want to come out from under the bed.
In that first week he was under the bed and didn’t want to come out if I was around. Then I put Chilli in with him and slowly he gained the confidence to come out from the bed and explore his surrounds. During this time, he still wouldn’t come close to me at all.
As time went on he saw Chilli coming to me, so eventually he came closer and took treats close to me.
I finally managed to get him out into the main area of the house, along with Chilli helping him, and he met the rest of the dogs. He’s done really well with the dogs here and he comes close to me and sniffs and licks my fingers.
That’s as far as he’s been willing to go – and if that’s all he wants to do, then we’re fine with it. He knows he’s safe and loved, and that’s all that matters!
Shadow will go up for adoption eventually to a very special home who’ll know how to work with him – he deserves a loving home of his own.
