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NPO needs your help

The number of neglected, sick and homeless animals that animal welfare organisations who rely on public funding struggle to rescue, treat and rehome every year is increasing.

Spaying and neutering is a relatively quick surgical procedure with a long-lasting impact on animal welfare and overpopulation. It reduces the spread of zoonoses (diseases transmitted from animals to humans) in densely populated and water scarce, poor communities.

Tears Animal Rescue, which has been operating in the Cape Peninsula’s far south for the last 18 years, is a registered Tears Animal Rescue (NPO) whose aim is to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome abandoned, abused and neglected dogs and cats. The organisation operates a veterinary clinic and provides subsidised veterinary care. It provides free sterilisation and subsidised medical assistance to pets in communities such as Masiphumelele, Ocean View, Mountain View, Red Hill and Vrygrond, seven days a week. The organisation also provides care to feral cat colonies across the Western Cape.

Tears Animal Rescue’s chief veterinary surgeon, Dr Patti Foster, says they treat hundreds of animals monthly. Foster advocates sterilisation as the primary means of reducing domestic animal overpopulation. “Sterilising humanely reduces the number of unwanted pets and homeless animals, and indirectly the amount of contagious pathogens for diseases such as rabies, parvovirus and canine distemper virus in dogs, and feline enteritis, feline panleukopenia and feline respiratory disease, or snuffles, in cats.”

In the last financial year, the Tears clinic sterilised 5314 dogs and cats for free. Currently Tears’ two vets are sterilising an average of 400 animals a month, with approximately 300 or more rescued or surrendered animals homed at its shelters.

In addition, its 12-year-old Tears Feral Cat Project, a trap-neuter-return policy that ensures that feral cat colonies all around the Western Cape are humanely trapped, brought to the clinic for a health check, are sterilised and released back to their original home. Populations are supervised, fed and monitored by caregivers. Tears launched their “Pay-for-a-Spay” campaign via the www.tears.org.za website in January, with Hill’s Pet Nutrition donating R50 000 towards the cause, which has since enabled 143 pets to be sterilised.

Tears co-founder and director, Marilyn Hoole says: “Our mission in 2018 is to engage with the corporate sector to create sustainable and impactful programmes that will allow us to extend our service footprint.”

Donations from community member make a big difference, says Hoole.

V To donate to the “Pay-for-a-Spay” campaign and support the work being done by Tears, visit http://tears.org.za/pay-for-a-spay/

Source: News 24

Drive to microchip pets this Guy Fawkes

Drive to microchip pets this Guy Fawkes - images

THE Animal Welfare Society, in partnership with Identipet, are running a campaign to microchip pets so owners can be tracked should their pets go missing. Picture: Tracey Adams African News Agency (ANA)

The feeling of having your beloved pet go missing is harrowing and, with Guy Fawkes just around the corner, it is even more daunting. To help alleviate the stress of losing your pet The Animal Welfare Society of South Africa (AWS SA) with Identipet will be running a mass pet microchipping drive open to all pet owners between October 15 and November 4.

“Thanks to this preferential deal (with Identipet) we are able to offer the service for a mere R100 per pet. This represents a meaningful saving and will be of benefit for the lifespan of the pet. The process is quick and painless and we have decided to run the campaign on a first come first served basis. The actual microchip is roughly the size of a grain of rice or smaller and suitable for all pets, not only cats and dogs” said Allan Perrins, spokesperson for AWS SA.

The campaign will be run from its headquarters in Papkuilsvlei Road, Philippi, and the microchips will be professionally inserted by para-veterinary personnel.

“Too many revellers ignore the law and are completely indifferent regarding the negative effects of letting off fireworks especially in residential areas resulting in what can best be described as a mass pet panic. All pets – not only dogs – are terrified of fireworks, especially loud crackers. A dog’s hearing is reportedly seven times more acute than that of a person so the sound of a cracker is significantly amplified, causing them immense distress and often triggering their instinctive flight reaction sometimes with fatal consequences as they try to escape the perceived or even real danger,” said Perrins.

The injuries sustained are often severe and life-threatening. He said the welfare had seen and treated dogs with horrific injuries who had jumped through window panes, been involved in motor vehicle accidents, become impaled on fence posts and worse. “Many pets simply engage their flight mode and run and keep on running and in the process get lost and injured.”

Angela O’Neale from Identipet explained with the chip it would be easy to source the owner of the lost pet because of the managed database. Owners are immediately informed via SMS when their pet’s microchip is scanned at a vet or welfare organisation. An anti-migration cap is also fitted to ensure the chip does not move from the site of the implant. The Identipet app lets owners update their details should they move.

The motivation for the campaign is because many pets have no, inadequate or unreliable identification which severely hampers the lost and found department process and the massive increase in the number of stray animals admitted over the Guy Fawkes period and New Year and this year they are determined to pro-actively reduce the number.

“We felt that we had to do something to mitigate this untenable situation which seems to get worse, not better with every Guy Fawkes. We subsequently decided to approach Identipet to see if they would be willing to partner with us and are delighted to confirm their participation and willingness to drastically rebate the cost price of their microchips,” said Perrins.

Since the partnership, the welfare organisation has microchipped tiny hamsters and a wide variety of pets other than cats and dogs.

TEARS Animal Rescue’s Leone Gradidge said there is a definite increase in the number of animals that are brought in lost during Guy Fawkes and microchips “are very safe for pets and once they are registered on the database it becomes easier to find their owners”.

Source: IOL

 

 

Tears feels Eskom pinch

tears-animal-rescue-feels-eskom-pinch

Working in the dark.

Tears Animal Rescue in Sunnydale has been hit hard by load shedding. Their operational productivity in general has been affected as they rely on their computer systems to capture all veterinary processing for the clinic and also for all the animals at Tears.

Tears has two clinics, namely the welfare clinic and the satellite feral cat clinic. The clinics have a proud history of providing animal medical services to low-income households, as well as sterilising and treating animals brought to them as a result of various outreach projects, such as the feral cat project.

Monthly, they treat hundreds of animals for a wide range of conditions, advocating sterilisation as the primary means of reducing overpopulated domestic animal populations.

Tears general manager Lauren Carlyle said: “Sterilising humanely reduces the number of unwanted pets and homeless animals, and indirectly the amount of contagious pathogens for diseases such as rabies, parvovirus, and canine distemper virus in dogs; and feline enteritis, feline panleukopenia and feline respiratory disease, or snuffles, in cats. We strive to educate responsible pet ownership and sponsor sterilisations, vaccination, defleaing, tick treatment and deworming to all the low-income communities that we serve, i.e. Masiphumele, Red Hill, Vrygrond and Ocean View. Because we provide a veterinary hospital facility to these communities we find that the reasons for the patients coming in are mostly because of ignorance or because pet owners are unable to afford the basic primary healthcare (sterilisations, vaccination, defleaing, tick treatment and deworming) for their animals.”

When there is no electricity they have to rely on head lamps and torches, which greatly affects the services they offer to the animals in need

Carlyle said: “It is extremely disheartening that we are unable to be efficient and to provide the clinic services to the best of our ability. We do the best that we can with what we have – however the vets are limited in their ability to treat, operate on and care for animals when there is no electricity. Without electricity we have to limit the number of animals that we see. During load shedding we have at least 10% downtime. We are unable to do X-rays, run blood tests, etc.” she said.

Apart from treating the animals they also struggle to do all their applications for adoptions, while general queries are mainly corresponded via email. Hence the impact on their operations and adoptions is significant. Some of their equipment can’t operate without electricity, so the current situation is disheartening for them.

“Equipment such as surgical light, X-ray machine, hair clippers for pre-surgical shaving, fridges for drugs and vaccines, blood machines, microscope (for screening/testing), body freezer and sterilising pots need electricity. With electricity going on and off it can cause electrical damage,” said Carlyle.

If the situation continues like this, the animals treated by Tears will be greatly affected.

They are now appealing for help with generators, UPSs and solar energy. “If we get this, we don’t have to worry about having no electricity. On an average day we sterilise between 30 and 50 dogs and cats. The hospital has a capacity to care for an average of 30 patients per day which are hospitalised in-house patients. An average of 20 to 30 out-patients are treated on a daily basis which are brought in by our mobile (ambulance) clinic services.

“The vet starts her rounds in the hospital at 08:30 by doing treatments for hospital patients. The vet will then proceed to sterilise from 09:30 until 13:00. The rest of the afternoon is spent treating out-patients and all in-house hospital patients including emergencies. The animals that are sheltered at the Tears kennels and cattery are also seen during this time,” she said

Although acquiring generators, solar energy or UPSs is a pressing issue for now, the clinic still needs a lot of help. “The clinic needs Kwikspace units, a mobile van fully kitted with cages, a rescue vehicle (bakkie), X-Ray collaborator, dental machine, ultrasound machine and spay kits just to mention a few. We really need our clinic up to standard so that we can continue with the work we do in the communities,” said Carlyle.V To donate or to volunteer email Tears on tears@tears.org.za or call 021 785 4482

Source: Tears Animal Rescue

TEARS Animal Rescue Issues Urgent Covid-19 Pet Food Appeal to Assist Vulnerable Communities

Tears Covid-19 Pet food appeal

Cape Town ~ Following the announcement of the COVID-19 Lockdown and the economic impact on low income communities, TEARS Animal Rescue has launched a COVID-19 Pet Food Appeal to Cape Town based manufacturers to donate surplus edible pet food in response to the increase in requests from pet owners living in vulnerable communities as they struggle to feed their pets.

Says TEARS Animal Rescue General Manager, Lauren Carlyle, “We  cannot underestimate the impact that the COVID-19 Lockdown is having on the most vulnerable members of our society, and have therefore launched a Province-wide appeal to address what is fast becoming an animal welfare crisis. The reality is that many people have been retrenched or been put on unpaid leave for the next three weeks, which has dire consequences on the people living on or near the breadline. We’re receiving dozens of pleas for help from pet owners in vulnerable communities who say they won’t be able to feed their pets over the coming weeks.

TEARS issued a statement as part of a strategic communication campaign at the beginning of March, to emphasise the fact that animals have no direct connection with the spreading of the COVID-19 virus. Despite this, an increasing number of people have started to dump their pets after the release of fake news and misinformation surrounding the Coronavirus Pandemic. This, coupled with the fact that economic downturns always result in increased rates of pet neglect, starvation and abandonment, means that the organisation will remain on high-alert over the Lockdown period to support animals in need.  In 2018 over 500 cats and dogs were surrendered or picked-up as strays by TEARS, and last year this number increased to 683.

“Based on our experience, and as conditions continue to deteriorate, we expect to see a massive increase in the number of cats and dogs being surrendered, abandoned or left to starve as owners struggle to feed their own families. Dogs that are restrained on ropes and chains, to provide some sense of security to their owners, are often left without adequate food and care, and will most likely die slow and painful deaths, either from starvation or disease; and most often, both,’ says Carlyle.

Registered as an essential service during the Lockdown, and with its established infrastructure and operational footprint in low income communities in the Southern Peninsula of the Western Cape (namely Vrygrond, Ocean View, Redhill, and Masiphumelele), TEARS is able to collect and redistribute all pet food donations it receives to address the most critical needs in the communities it serves. Any surplus will be shared with other animal welfare organisations across Cape Town.

Says TEARS Operations Manager, Mandy Store, “We will be contacting our suppliers and partners directly with a request for assistance. All pet food donations received will be distributed to community leaders for redistribution in impoverished communities. We’ll work closely with other animal welfare organisations across Cape Town to make sure we’re able to coordinate a collective response to the increasing demand for assistance across the Province .”

While TEARS Animal Rescue will remain closed to the public for the duration of the Lockdown, it will continue to ambulance sick and injured companion animals, and rescue stray and abandoned pets within its operational footprint. In the case of emergencies only please call or SMS 071 864 4849.

TO HELP SAVE LIVES PLEASE DONATE AThttps://tears.org.za/donate/

Tears - Snap Scan

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

TEARS ANIMAL RESCUEGeneral Manager
Lauren Carlyle
Cell: 078 444 9952
Email: lauren@tears.org.za

TEARS ANIMAL RESCUEOperations Manager
Mandy Store
Call: 073 525 9191
Email: Mandy@tears.org.za

TEARS ANIMAL RESCUEMarketing Director
Lara Black
Cell: 083 326 1168
Email: lara@dreamteamworld.co.za

TEARS ANIMAL RESCUEMarketing Coordinator
Luke Kruyt
Cell: 061 722 7903
Email: luke@tears.org.za

FACT SHEET

TEARS is a Pro-Life, non-profit organization, established in 1999 (registered in terms of Section 18a of the Income Tax Act) whose core aim is to rescue, rehabilitate, reunite and rehome lost, abandoned, abused and neglected animals, and to educate the communities within which we operate, in particular the children.

We strive to meet the needs of the low-income communities in the Southern Peninsula by:

  • Providing free sterilisations, a mobile clinic,  subsidised medical support that includes vaccinations, deworming and parasite control
  • Providing a veterinary clinic on our premises, offering veterinary care for pets for almost any condition, illness or injury at a welfare rate.

We remain the only facility in the Cape Peninsula’s far-south that is available seven days a week to treat the hundreds of animals who need treatment each month for a variety of conditions, illnesses and injuries.

Our focus is on sterilisation to prevent unwanted animals from being born into a life of suffering, abuse and neglect and annually we sterilise in excess of 5 000 dogs, cats and rabbits. In addition we are one of the leading organisations in the compassionate sterilisation and management of the peninsula’s feral cat colonies through our Feral Cat Project. We feed, rehabilitate and care for up to 250 cats and dogs at our shelters. To date TEARS has homed in excess of 17 500 animals.

Source: TEARS

TEARS is having a Sleepover

TEARS

If your idea of a perfect Saturday night is to curl up with a blanket and a furbaby (or two, or three) then this event is for you! Whip out your sleeping bag and camping gear and spend a night at our shelter bunking in an enclosure with rescued dogs and cats on the 14, 21 or 28 November.

A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal. Find out why shelter pets cuddle better, help fundraise for their future and join us for a sleepover you’ll never forget!

TEARS

Source: TEARS

Parvovirus cases continue to rise in Cape Town

Image: Pixabay

Positive Parvo cases have been climbing rapidly at the TEARS Animal Rescue in Sunnydale, Cape Town. More and more positive cases give enough evidence to state that it is now an outbreak situation.

The Parvovirus is highly contagious and can last for months or even years in the environment. To help keep your pooch up and going, regular vaccinations are a must to manage these diseases.

“Covid restrictions have played a large part in restricting TEARS from reaching the communities we support in order to deliver vaccinations to pets in the area. Pet owners are financially constrained, out of work, and barely have enough means to support themselves, let alone feeding their dogs and cats and getting their vaccinations done”, says TEARS Animal Rescue Operations Manager, Mandy Store.

Parvo is also deadly and kills 95% of dogs who are unvaccinated and untreated. Some unvaccinated dogs are lucky enough to have access to expensive treatments and their chances of survival increase slightly to about 40%.  A vaccinated dog who does fall ill has nearly a 100% chance of survival unless the dog has a comorbidity.

Head TEARS Veterinarian, Dr. Tania Heuer, believes that the public needs to be educated about the importance of vaccinating when buying or adopting a pet.

“Parvovirus is a killer in waiting. Once an area has been compromised with parvovirus, we tend to see rampant infection spikes resulting in the deaths of many unvaccinated dogs and puppies. Vaccination is the key to not only preventing parvovirus but eliminating it from the community,” she says.

Parvovirus is also commonly referred to as “kat griep” or “cat flu” but as this confuses people into thinking cats are spreading the virus, which is why TEARS prefer to only refer to the disease by its causing agent, i.e the parvovirus.

Due to the virus being contagious, TEARS Welfare Clinic advises to vaccinate puppies four times, three to four weeks apart starting from as early as six weeks old. The ideal schedule remains to vaccinate all puppies at six weeks, nine weeks, and 12 weeks with the last vaccine at 16 weeks of age.

The parvovirus attacks the immune system that is also located in the puppies’ intestines, hence the general symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea.

Symptoms of Parvo:

  • Vomiting
  • Severe, bloody diarrhoea
  • Lethargy / Listlessness (Not wanting to play with other puppies)
  • Anorexia (Not wanting to eat)
  • Fever
  • Weight loss
  • Weakness
  • Depression
  • Dehydration
  • Death

Current Challenges with positive cases:

Due to Covid-19, many animal owners can’t afford even the most basic of veterinary care and this has left our community animals at risk of infections.

A positive animal could be shedding the virus for two weeks without showing symptoms and someone believing they have a healthy puppy, may spread the virus unknowingly.

Furthermore, should a puppy contract parvo, receive treatment and survive, it can continue to shed the virus for approximately one month (articles reporting three to six weeks of active shedding).

The virus can be spread with “fomites” meaning dead materials and things like clothes and shoes could spread the virus as well, and not just the usual direct and indirect routes between dogs.

Direct virus exposure is if a puppy licks infected vomit or stool from a sick animal, and indirectly from an active shedder (smelling a recovered dog’s behind) or if being touched by an owner that may have touched another ill puppy.

Pearls of wisdom:

  • Always vaccinate your puppy (four times, three weeks apart)
  • Do not touch a stranger’s puppy and then yours without washing your hands, clothes and shoes
  • Do not take your puppy to public places until two weeks after the last vaccination at 16 weeks old (four months old)
  • Keep puppies in your yard at all times until fully vaccinated (before taking them to the beach or park)
  • DO NOT GET A NEW PUPPY if you lost a puppy to parvo for at least one YEAR
  • Do not allow unvaccinated animals into your property
  • For all dogs (and cats) continue their vaccination schedule annually (more so in highly infectious areas and closed living communities)
  • Puppy training and puppy school properties are usually considered “safe” after the secnd vaccine schedule
  • Always speak to your own veterinarian for the best advice
  • Always check on your puppy and feed it three times per day until it is six months old. By checking on your dog regularly, you can identify problems sooner and seek veterinary care at the first sign of illness. Whether the puppy is being listless, not wanting to eat, “not itself”, showing signs of vomiting or having diarrhoea.

TEARS Animal Rescue is dedicated to the prevention of disease in the low-income communities that we serve. Diseases like parvo can be prevented and eventually eliminated in areas with vaccination programmes.

Last year, TEARS vaccinated 1340 companion animals. Donate today!

Picture: Unsplash

Source: www.capetownetc.com

The real issue with COVID-19 in pets is the cruelty that follows from myths – debunking the subject

The real issue with COVID-19 in pets is the cruelty that follows from myths – debunking the subject

COVID-19 occurring in pets is a topic circulating in the media – a myth that is detrimental to animals everywhere. Lara Van Rensburg from TEARS Animal Rescue has emphasised the dangers of this highly inflammatory subject and the dangers associated with it at a time when panic, fear and ignorance can lead people to treating innocent animals with cruelty.

“The fact is that while there have been reports of animals infected with the virus worldwide, most of these animals became infected after contact with people with COVID-19.

“A small number of pet cats and dogs have been reported to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 in several countries, including the United States, but this is so negligible that it has not been communicated or reported as being a danger to humans,” Van Rensburg told Cape {town} Etc. 

It is important to note that the Coronaviruses affecting dogs and cats are different from the coronavirus which causes COVID-19 in people.

In very simple terms, coronaviruses that affect dogs or cats are from the Alpha-coronaviruses and the current SARS-Cov-2 Coronavirus, which causes COVID-19 in people, is a Beta-Coronavirus.

These are different diseases which occur in different species caused by different types of Coronavirus.

TEARS head vet, Dr Tania Heuer, is helping us debunk myths: 

“To make sense of the confusion and hopefully to bring more clarity, I thought it best to start by explaining where the viruses come from, using the ‘family tree model.’

“As for each person, you have a family tree of your father or mother. For ease of reference, let’s use your father as the example; this starts with his parents, your grandparents (Family) and where your surname comes from traditionally, your father is thus the parent (Genus), and you and your siblings the children (species). Then for what you may one day become and do for a living (job) we’ll use as the effect you have on life (aka, the diseases).

“This is not to be taken literally it is just to help us understand and have a reference for the virus tree.”

The Corona Virus Family (Coronaviridae) is a large group of viruses that are common in animals.

Of this family, there are four genus’s that causes different diseases in different animals. They are called Alpha-coronavirus, Beta-coronavirus, Gamma-coronavirus and Delta-coronavirus (not to be confused with the delta strain of the current COVID infections, this is a separate matter altogether).

Of the four genus’s, only two are important that could spread to humans, namely the Alpha- and Beta- groups.

Below is a very good image that shows the virus family tree to help us understand:

The real issue with COVID-19 in pets is the cruelty that follows from myths – debunking the subject

Source: Boehringer Ingelheim

The different diseases:

Both the Canine (enteric) Corona Virus (CCoV) and Feline Corona Virus (FCoV) belongs to the Alpha- coronaviruses.

In most dogs CCoV infections are sub-clinical and produce few clinical signs. Occasionally an infection may cause more severe symptoms, particularly in young puppies. The most typical sign associated with canine coronavirus is diarrhoea.

  • In cats, FCoV is actually very common, but most of the time it does not cause any problems, other than perhaps mild self-limiting diarrhoea. Uncommonly, the virus mutates to a strain of Coronavirus which has the potential to cause disease. This mutated strain is the cause of a severe disease, known as feline infectious peritonitis (FIP).
  • COVID-19 is a disease caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus, which belongs to the Beta- Coronaviruses. This virus causes severe acute respiratory syndrome in humans and is the second type of virus to that after the initial SARS outbreak in China in 2002.

Vaccines:

There is a dog specific vaccine available against this virus that is used in large parts of the world.

Being specie specific, this vaccine can only be used in dogs, for the CCoV infection prevention and not for the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) infection.

The same is relevant to cats, a vaccine against FCoV is available in some countries but not in South Africa.

Given these differences between the virus species causing completely different diseases (Alpha vs. Beta), it is quite obvious that the vaccines for dogs and cats cannot be used to create immunity for your pets against COVID-19, nor used to protect you as they are not the same diseases.

COVID-19 Cross Infections – The current information available:

Can your pet be affected by COVID-19?

This may happen in rare instances. However, there is no current evidence that any animal or pet can infect humans with the new Coronavirus.

At this time, it does not appear that dogs become sick from the virus, but some cats may become mildly ill with respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms.

There are many illnesses that may cause similar symptoms in pets. If you are concerned about you dog or cat, call your veterinarian.

Should a pet owner test positive for COVID-19 it is best to avoid direct contact with your pets to steer clear of possibly infecting them.

Source: www.capetownetc.com 

Retired Rugby legends lend their support to help raise funds for animals in need

Retired Rugby legends lend their support to help raise funds for animals in need

Danie Gerber

Cape Town ~ South Africa’s most famous retired Springbok Centre and International Hall of Fame member, Danie Gerber is one of several ‘old school’ national rugby greats who will be playing in TEARS Animal Rescue’s upcoming  “Putts For Rescue Mutts” Golf Tournament at the prestigious Westlake Golf Course on Thursday 30 September to raise much-needed funds and awareness for vulnerable pets.

Gerber (63), who is flying in from Port Elizabeth for the occasion is excited about lending his support for a cause that is close to his heart. Says Gerber, “ When TEARS invited me to be part of their 4Ball Fundraising Tournament it was an easy ‘yes’. I’ve always had a soft spot for animals and am thrilled to be able to combine my love of golf with a good cause like this one. I’m looking forward to a great day at Westlake Golf Course meeting up with old friends and making new ones. If you haven’t already bought your 4Ball, don’t miss out!.” 

Ex Springboks Nico Wegner (Lock) and Chris Rossouw (Hooker), together with Dick Muir (Centre) from Kwa-Zulu Natal and John Allan (Hooker) from Gauteng are also lending their support to the event, which includes a limited rugby memorabilia Auction after the dinner and before the Prize Giving. There are several special autographed items up for grabs – including a signed SA Rugby Legends rugby ball that was donated for the cause by the South African Rugby Legends Association after hosting the annual SA Rugby Legends vs Drakensberg Rugby Club match in Winterton last month. 

All proceeds from the event will go towards the support pf vulnerable pets, which will enable TEARS to increase its rescue and treatment impact, which currently totals approximately 1050 animals every month. Says TEARS Fundraising Manager, Lara Van Rensburg,  “The amazing support we’ve received from Danie Gerber and so many of our country’s retired rugby heroes, together with the positive take up of 4 Ball tickets and Hole sponsorships promises to make this a day to remember.  Historically TEARS has relied heavily on fundraising events as a significant revenue generator for the Charity, but since the start of the COVID19 Lockdown last year, we’ve been forced to cancel 99% of our events. We’re thrilled that the current Level 2 Lockdown restrictions allow us to host this important flagship fundraiser for TEARS.”

In addition to a field of 100 players (25 x 4-Balls) there are 18 Hole Sponsorships available too, which so far includes SA Rugby Magazine, Vasco da Gama Taverna, Dot Sure, Hills Pet Nutrition, Haval, General Motors, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Peugeot, Citroen, STBB, Tyre Mart, and Deus Cafe amongst others. Flagstone Wines is generously sponsoring wine for the evening’s dinner.

Retired Rugby legends lend their support to help raise funds for animals in need

It’s not too late to book a 4 Ball for R3 500 and/or sponsor a Hole for R3 000.

For more information or to book please email lara@tears.org.za or visit

 https://tears.org.za/events/tears-putts-for-mutts-4-ball-charity-golf-day/

Source: TEARS

TEARS launches fundraising campaign aimed at easing the plight of Community Cats

TEARS launches fundraising campaign aimed at easing the plight of Community Cats

Leading pro-Life animal rescue and veterinary charity based in Sunnydale in Cape Town, TEARS Animal Rescue, has launched a fundraising campaign ahead of Christmas to raise R500,000.00 and highlight the plight of the City’s abandoned and forgotten community cats.

While TEARS sterilises and vaccinates approximately 250 community and homeless cats every month through its Community Cat Project, TEARS Operations Manager, Mandy Store stresses that there is a critical need for Government and animal welfare organisations to provide a sustained and humane solution to an issue that is marginalised and misunderstood. While it’s impossible to determine how many feral and abandoned domestic cats live in Cape Town, Store confirms that TEARS and its Mobile Clinic team receive up to 10 telephone calls every day about stray or community cats or kittens that need rescuing. 

“Since the onset of COVID19, many pet owners and families that are struggling financially, have surrendered their animals to TEARS. While many strays are lost pets that were not kept properly indoors or provided with adequate identification, many are simply abandoned and expected to fend for themselves. This is especially true for cats, “ explains Store.

TEARS is one of a few animal welfare charities that has been practising a humane Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) Programme since 2007 as a solution for community cats via the TEARS Veterinary Community Clinic in Cape Town’s Southern Peninsula. TEARS Co-Founder and Director, Marilyn Hoole, who has been a passionate crusader for community cats for the last two decades believes that more and more domestic cats are ending up abandoned and on the streets because their owners either move away or can no longer look after them.

”Thanks to the funding we receive annually from The Marchig Animal Welfare Trust and the dedicated team of volunteers who  provide monitoring and feeding support to approximately 500 community cats, we have been able to positively impact the lives of thousands of community cats by providing a sterilisation and vaccination service that enables them to enjoy a quality of life that they would otherwise never experience. Unfortunately however, we are only reaching a fraction of the number of cats that are living desperate lives, forgotten and without hope,” says Hoole.

Domesticated cats that have integrated with existing community cat colonies (there are an average of 10 to 15 cats in a colony), as a result of abandonment or abuse, succeed in diluting the feral gene-pool which makes these types of cats extremely shy, and increase the potential for these cats to be socialised and rehomed. Left to fend for themselves, and without sterilisation and vaccination, community cat colonies can quickly increase in population size and will ultimately either succumb to contagious and deadly diseases like Feline Leukaemia and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (cat FIV), or die from lack of food and malnutrition.

While law enforcement is mandated to collect healthy stray animals, residents who call to complain about a stray cat or cats in the area, are generally told to try and trap or confine the animal themselves. This is not an easy task, and in many instances TEARS has been called too late to rescue cats that have been poisoned or shot by pellet guns.

“There seems to be a negative stigma and perception that feral cats are ‘wild’ or aggressive, which is untrue. The term ‘feral’ simply means that these types of cats are undomesticated and as a result are generally afraid of people. It’s unfortunate that people don’t appreciate the valuable service provided by community cats as they control the population of rodents and other vermin that carry disease and have the potential to damage property and contaminate food,” comments Store.

TEARS asserts that while there are many animal welfare organisations that capture and euthanize community and feral cats, its neither a sustainable nor a humane solution. Sooner or later the empty habitat will either be overrun by other less beneficial species, like rats, or will be replaced by community cats from other colonies. The vacuum effect is a globally recognised scientific phenomenon that can be applied to all types of animal species. 

TEARS Head of Fundraising, Lara Van Rensburg summarises, “Our goal of raising R500 000 is an ambitious but critical one. It will literally change the lives of 1000 community cats and kittens over the course of the next four months. We’re appealing to the public to support this campaign, which we appreciate is one of many in terms of the massive need that exists in the non-profit and animal welfare sectors. However, donating to a worthy cause in  lieu of gifting someone a present that is unlikely to change the world is a great way to embrace this Season of giving back. Every donation we receive, no matter how small, will help TEARS extend its Trap-Neuter-Return Programme in the areas where it’s most needed and end the suffering of hundreds of kittens born to abandoned and feral cats this Christmas.”

Sterilisation and vaccination is a simple, essential and cost effective solution that succeeds in ending the cycle of over-population, illness, starvation and suffering that so many community cats are trapped in.

TEARS launches fundraising campaign aimed at easing the plight of Community Cats

As a recognised PBO all donations to TEARS are tax deductible. TEARS issues tax certificates according to the rules of Section 18A of the Income Tax Act (PBO No.: 930 001 672).

Source: Tears

TEARS Animal Rescue – Donating to support vulnerable pets can reduce your tax bill

 TEARS Animal Rescue - Donating to support vulnerable pets can reduce your tax bill

Bernie

Since the start of 2022 TEARS Animal Rescue has recorded an increase in the number of animals that need rescue and emergency veterinary treatment.  The Charity is appealing to individuals and especially corporate donors to consider making a tax-free donation to the TEARS Veterinary Outreach and Mobile Clinic Fund before the end of the financial year, entitling donors to enjoy a reduction on their income tax bill.

Says TEARS Head of Fundraising, Lara Van Rensburg. “ Most people think of TEARS as a Kennel and Cattery but by far the most critical service of TEARS, and the beating heart of its’ outreach and animal welfare operation, are the TEARS Mobile Clinic and TEARS Veterinary Hospital which together are responsible for the rescue and treatment of up to 100 animals every month. We spend just over R6,18M on veterinary treatment and community outreach per annum. Without the financial support we receive from individuals, Trusts and Foundations, corporates, and via Bequests, TEARS would not have survived the lean times or the impact of COVID-19 on its ability to fundraise or generate income to support the hardest hit and the most vulnerable in impoverished communities. As a recognised Level 1 B-BBEE contributor and Public Beneficiary Organisation all donations to TEARS are tax deductible, with donors receiving a Section 18A tax receipt, allowing them to claim the applicable tax relief.”

The TEARS Veterinary Clinic operates with three veterinarians and support staff including Animal Welfare Assistants and orderlies, and sees an average of 50-60 patients per day, which include sterilisations, scheduled and emergency surgeries and a variety of assessments and tests that range from blood work, X-rays and ultra-sounds. The number of cases the TEARS Mobile Clinic and Hospital is processing on a weekly and monthly basis has escalated significantly since the onset of Lockdown, as a direct consequence of the rising unemployment levels and resulting deprivation and hardship that is being experienced by people and pets.

 TEARS Animal Rescue - Donating to support vulnerable pets can reduce your tax bill

Tracker with his rescuer recovering well

‘Bernie Mack’, as he’s affectionately known, is a 5-year old Terrier-Cross who came to TEARS earlier this month after a child allegedly threw boiling water over the dog. By the time the TEARS Mobile Clinic was called out to attend to him, it was five days after the incident had taken place and Bernie had sustained second degree burns over half of his body. Thanks to the TEARS Veterinary team, he received emergency wound and burn treatment together with pain relief medication before going into a high-care environment where he is rehabilitating well and being exposed to lots of TLC from the TEARS Kennel team.

Homeless 7-year old German Shepard Cross, ‘Tracker’ was rescued by TEARS with limited odds of surviving. After being run over by a train on 14 January, which amputated his left hind leg, tail and both testes, most people would have judged his chances of recovering as something akin to a miracle. Thanks to his rescuers and TEARS and Noordhoek Veterinarian Dr Tracy Dicks, who consults to TEARS, Tracker’s will to live paid off and he’s recovering well in a loving home-environment with TEARS Kennel Manager, Luke Kruyt, until he can be fully rehabilitated and adopted into a forever home.

Says TEARS Operations Manager, Mandy Store, “TEARS is symbolic of second chance stories like Bernie’s and Tracker’s. The TEARS Veterinary Hospital treats a variety of lethal and non-lethal animal-borne diseases including skin diseases, erhlichiasis, distemper, canine parvovirus, feline herpes virus, as well as bite and stab wounds, burns, and blunt force trauma that many pets sustain as a result of motor vehicle accidents (hit and runs) or being beaten or trodden on! It costs TEARS approximately R 515,000 per month to operate our Hospital and Mobile Clinic and provide the welfare and rescue services we do across the Southern Cape Peninsula.”

For the 2020/21 period, TEARS rescued 727 pets; vaccinated 3 314 animals; sterilised 6 091 animals, plus another 3 314 feral and community cats, which were sterilised, treated and released; and treated 6 720 injured and sick animals at the TEARS Veterinary Hospital, which included 3 432 vet  consultations. 

TEARS Animal Rescue - Donating to support vulnerable pets can reduce your tax bill

TEARS Veterinary Clinic

Please donate to the TEARS Veterinary Outreach and Mobile Clinic Fund today or visit www.tears.org.za/basic-animal-health-care/ for more information.

An investment in TEARS will ensures that its’ rescue, treatment, rehabilitation and rehoming teams can continue to operate, and give more animals like Bernie and Tracker the “second chances” they deserve.

Source: TEARS