Life sometimes has a way of surprising you. When a dog was tightly chained and padlocked to a fence in Woodstock, he started choking to death. He was frothing from the mouth, gasping for air and trying to claw his way up the fence to escape the cruel noose around his neck.

Right then, the worst day of his life became the best day ever. Police Constable Rubashnee Naicker spotted the desperate dog, and brought in two Law Enforcement Officers to help free him. It seemed hopeless, until a man sauntered over and unlocked the padlock. The dog slid to the ground, lifeless, exposing fresh fighting wounds on his head.

Amazingly, the team revived him with water. Not only did they detain the suspect, but they phoned the SPCA. Soon after, Inspector Werner Taljaard had doggo safely in his vehicle. It’s most likely the first time he had known a kind hand or was called “a good boy”.

Our SPCA team found two other young dogs on the suspect’s property. They were permanently confined to a dingy 1m x 1m box, living in a pile of putrid urine and faeces infested with maggots. Their nightmare also ended! Our Inspectors rescued all three dogs – and arrested the suspect, taking him to the Woodstock Police Station and charging him with animal cruelty.