Jack’s life was spent on a chain—out of sight and out of mind, he was a ghost in his own home. He was full of parasites, underweight, and the chain around his neck had been there for so long it had become part of him. He had no water, no food in sight, no freedom, no hope, and no escape.
Cruelty stinks in every sense of the word, but in Jack’s case, it was literal. Inspector Taljaard smelled him before he saw him—the sickening odour of rot is unmistakable.
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See our LIVE video coverage of Jack’s Rescue below.
But nothing could have prepared our Inspector for the full horror of what he found. Jack’s chain was so entangled that his mobility was limited to just a few steps. He was covered in ticks, they were packed into his ears, all over his body and even in his eyes. A tennis ball-sized “growth” dangling from his neck wound, was the only thing about him with any freedom of movement. Shockingly, his suffering was of no concern to the four individuals living in the house, it was as if the stench of neglect and pain wasn’t filling the air they breathed every day.
When Inspector Taljaard stood before the magistrate, he carried Jack’s suffering with him, motivating passionately for a warrant to rescue him immediately. With a warrant in hand, law enforcement at his side, and justice in his heart, Inspector Taljaard returned to the Grassy Park property to free Jack from his living hell. It wasn’t going to be easy though, the sharp ends of the cable ties used to secure Jack to the chain had penetrated deeply into the wound in his neck. It couldn’t be removed without emergency surgery. Jack had to be transported to our hospital with his chain intact.
While sedation brought him his first taste of relief, it left our veterinary team shocked. As they carefully shaved the area they could finally see the full extent of his wounds and it was bad. With the chain finally removed and the site cleaned and sterile, Jack was fully anaesthetised for surgery to remove the large growth of skin that would’ve left him feeling choked, even without the 2kg weight of the chain he’d carried. It was touch and go that night, but Jack slept peacefully and well-medicated. We like to think, he dreamed the kind of dreams only given to those with hope in their hearts. Finally chain free and free of the ticks that must’ve driven him to the point of madness, Jack surely knew that life was about to get better for him.
Yesterday, Jack took his first steps outside of his hospital ward with Chief Inspector Jaco Pieterse, who reported live via Facebook at his rescue. For the first time in his life, Jack was able to explore beyond the length of a chain. Overwhelmed by the new sights and smells, he moved nervously at first. Chief Inspector Pieterse waited patiently, encouraging him with the soft words “You’re a good boy, Jack” while he skittishly navigated from tree to tree and bush to bush. Jack had clearly never known a life without pain, chains or parasites and he’d likely never heard those words before either. We suspect he had lived his entire estimated 3-year existence in the equivalent of solitary confinement – on the end of a chain. It was both a joy and a heartache to watch him experience freedom for the first time, but Jack had been robbed of so much that it hurt too watch him too. He wasn’t sure where to go or what to sniff next and finally exhausted, was led back to his bed to rest.
Feeling safer and more confident as a free boy, Jack spent some time with our onsite animal behaviourist Nicole Nel in the afternoon. Here it became clear, Jack isn’t just a good boy, he’s a clever boy too! In just a few minutes, he learned that human hands don’t always inflict cruelty, Nicole’s were offering soothing rubs over skin nobbled by tick bites and a never-ending supply of treats. He began engaging with her very quickly, hand-targeting, and gently accepting the treats she offered. Within 10 minutes, he was sitting for rewards and so eager to learn.
In Jack’s case, the fight for justice begins with every person in the household complacent in his suffering facing charges for contraventions of the Animals Protection Act. If found guilty they could face 12 months in jail and/or a fine of R40 000.00 with a criminal record.
