SPCA chief executive Allan Perrins said there had been a spike in the number of stray animals admitted.
“We are bursting at the seams with stray animals. We are running at full capacity and are oversubscribed with dogs and cats.”
Among the horror stories of the weekend was one of a dog tied with rope to the train tracks in Crawford. Around its neck was a note that read “fleabag”.
The dog was spotted on Monday by a nearby resident and rescued by the SPCA.
Perrins said the dog would be kept for a minimum period of 10 days. “We hope that someone claims him. He is very scared, but hopefully we will be able to win his confidence. He is covered in ticks and fleas, but otherwise appears healthy.”
The SPCA would carry out forensic testing on the rope and note in the hope of finding the culprit’s fingerprints.
If anyone is interested in adopting the dog, call Robyn Khoury at 0217004167.
According to Perrins, there have also been a number of cases of abandoned animals. “Families are going on holiday and leaving their pets behind. By the time we find them they are often dehydrated and emaciated.”
Perrins suggested owners rather leave their pets with relatives or neighbours, or a local animal shelter. The chances of people voluntarily coming to claim their pets after the animals have been rescued by the SPCA are zero, he added.
The SPCA also rescued a pig and her 11 piglets, which she had just given birth to on the N1 by the Klapmuts and Stellenbosch turn-off.
More recently, the SPCA removed livestock from people’s boots and cars. Perrins speculated this could be because people wanted to sell the animals or slaughter them at home for their own consumption.
Perrins said there have been a number of reports about the roadside sale of puppies, particularly in the Cape Town CBD.
“The sellers approach people sitting at restaurants and emotionally blackmail them into buying the dogs.”
Perrins urged locals to not buy puppies from roadside sellers. “It creates a demand and it is an offence to sell live animals.”
Perrins encouraged citizens to contact the SPCA’s lost and found department at 0217004160/4166.