Last week, Inspector Jeffrey Mfini had to obtain a court order to remove an emaciated dog from a property in Ocean View following non-compliance with warnings issued. Jeffrey was obstructed and verbally abused in the process, and the owner damaged the SPCA vehicle.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA received a complaint about a starved Pitbull dog being kept on a very short chain in Ocean View. Inspector Jeffrey Mfini was assigned to investigate the case. At the property, Jeffrey found a dog called “Lastag”, which means annoying. Moving forward, we will call the dog Prince, because he is worth nothing less than royalty with his sweet and loving personality.
When a dog is called “annoying”, it says a lot about the owner.
Jeffrey found Prince on a 1-meter chain. Prince could hardly move around and was found in an emaciated state. The owner had every excuse under the sun and made several promises to Jeffrey to take the dog to a veterinarian and to let Prince roam freely inside the property. Sadly, this never happened.
Due to the owner’s non-compliance, Jeffrey was left with no other alternative but to obtain a court order in terms of the Animals Protection Act, read together with Regulation 468, to confiscate Prince.
With court order in hand, Jeffrey returned to the property and was escorted by members of the Ocean View South African Police Service (SAPS). Even with a police escort, the owner was still obstructive and became very hostile towards Jeffrey. Jeffrey was not going to be intimidated by the owner. Jeffrey walked onto the property and executed the court order, even with the owner trying to stop him. While Jeffrey was busy cutting the chain with bolt cutters, all you could see was Prince wagging his tail – very excited that he was being rescued.
With Prince safely in the back of the SPCA vehicle, Jeffrey issued the owner with a seizure notice. At this point, the owner got so angry that he punched the SPCA vehicle, causing damage to our vehicle. Jeffrey was also verbally abused.
The owner will now be facing charges of animal cruelty, obstruction and malicious damage to property.
Prince is in the SPCA’s safe care, where he will be nurtured back into good health.
We urge the public to please report any cases of animal cruelty to our Inspectorate by calling our 24-hour call centre on 021 700 4158/9 or 083 326 1604. Alternatively send us an email at inspectorate@spca-ct.co.za
Donate NOW to help us nurture Prince back to health.
We are appealing to our donors to please make a donation to nurture Prince back to health. He needs a lot of Tender Love & Care.
The SPCA receives no funding from the government and relies on donations from the public in order to function.
EFT donations:
Bank: Standard Bank
Branch: 025309 / 051001 (internet banking)
Account Number: 071832858
SWIFT: SBZA ZA JJ
Account Type: Cheque
Account Name: The Cape of Good Hope SPCA
Beneficiary Reference: HCU & Your Name and Email or Phone number
Send proof of payment to: inspmanager@spca-ct.co.za
Your continued dedication, ongoing support, and passion for protecting the lives of animals is what makes us successful. Thank you for everything you do to help make this a better world for animals.
