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Let’s be barking mad . . .
By Dianne Bayley
Let’s face it, there little nicer than having a dog or cat greet you when you arrive home after a long day’s work. The cat, of course, won’t bound up and lick you all over like your dog will - rather, she’ll give you that practised “my human is home to feed me” look.
Those are the lucky ones. There are many, many dogs, cats and other animals in shelters all over the country that won’t be getting a human home after work today.
Now, not everyone can go out and save a puppy or a kitty. But there’s still plenty each of us can do to help out. The number of shelters in South Africa that refuse to put animals down is growing . . . which means the number of animals that need a little of your time, money and compassion is growing.
Yesterday some friends and I went up to the SAINTS - Barkingmad/DogtownSA book sale at Northriding Square - Bellairs Dr (Dros and Checkers centre). A couple of friends donate their time and help out there on the first and last Saturday of every month, and the rest of us go and support by buying books.
Now, this isn’t purely about being kind to animals . . . I have to own up here. I love books as much as I love my cat Pickle - and the books at this sale are PHENOMENAL. Yesterday I picked up a brand new copy of Shantaram for R60.00. I also got four other paperbacks for a total of R60.00. So, for less than the cost of ONE new book, I got FIVE.
The bonus is, of course, that the money goes towards helping all sorts of animals all over the country!
So, what can you do? Here’s how easy it is to help . . . Visit the Barking Mad website and see the number of animal charities that are supported. Lend your support to some of their sponsors, too - and there are many, in all kinds of businesses - and if you visit the site every day, just by clicking a single link, you’ll donate one bowl of food!
You could also take two minutes of your time to send the word “dog” by SMS to 38919 and donate R10.00 per SMS. Then there’s donations . . . books, old clothes, pet food - just about anything you no longer have any use for will come in handy. Take a trip up to the book sale and take some goods with you. Ask for Amy (SAINTs@mweb.co.za) / 011678 0846 or Viv 082 259 0905.
Now, this may seem like a shameless punt - and it is. I see friends of mine putting in so much time and effort to help, knowing that if they don’t do it, few will. I take my hat off to them. But that’s not going to feed any human-less animals . . . so, to help out from where I am, they make it easy. The SMS thing is my favourite - and so is buying (and donating) books.
Of course, then there’s the adopting of the babies (of all ages). A married couple I know have a hectic lifestyle and opted to adopt grown up babies, thus circumventing the “puppy training”. Their three dogs and three cats bring them endless joy - and I think “walk time” every day is actually “down time” for the humans, who look forward to it as much as the dogs do!
Then there’s one of my favourite families on the planet, who adopted Jessica when she was just bigger than a block of butter and found in a cardboard box on the side of the road. They recently went back to the animal home and found another puppy - also found on the side of the road in a box. Coincidence, or pulling at heart strings? You decide!
But the little one - now five weeks old - is a beaut! Jessica adores her, and the yet-to-be-named baby already rules the roost. What a joy to see the two of them playing, knowing they have a safe home, all the food and water they need - and more love than you could shake a stick at!
If you have a spare ten bucks; some old books; want to buy some new books or can just pop a packet of dog or cat food in your shopping trolley this month, you’ll be doing SO much to help the little souls who can’t speak for themselves, and rely on people like Viv, Amy, Jackie, Jacqui, Erica and so many others to speak for them. Go on - be barking mad for a bit!
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