Cape Town – For the first time in Cape Town, yogis will be able to do the downward-facing dog with a homeless animal.
The Mdzananda Animal Clinic, a Khayelitsha-based NPO, will host yoga with homeless dogs at the Downward-Facing-Adopt-A-Dog event on October 27.
The class, led by yoga teacher Lee-Ann Elliot, will be a one-hour gentle flow class guided by Tombstone Pete’s live acoustic music.
It comes on the back of the clinic receiving a larger than normal influx of homeless dogs last month.
Being an NPO animal hospital, the clinic is not set up to house stray dogs, but will never turn a pet in need away.
Marcelle du Plessis, the clinic’s fund-raising manager, said the animal hospital served up to 700 Khayelitsha pets per month through consultations, hospitalisation, surgery - including sterilisation, general and orthopaedic, mobile clinics and an animal ambulance.
“Our outside runs were dedicated to patients for exercise but they have now been taken over by our strays and converted into a stray unit.
‘‘We can house up to 20 stray dogs and 20 stray cats at a time. Sometimes we go over this limit making the facility very crowded,” Du Plessis said.
The event will take place at De Waal Park at 11.30am. Participants should bring their own mats.
“Many people are too scared to visit our organisation as we are based in Khayelitsha. This makes it more difficult for us to find homes for pets. We always encourage people to visit as the experience of driving through the diverse and creative community is one everyone should experience. It also opens one’s eyes to the struggles in Cape Town for both humans and pets,” Du Plessis said.
The cost of the class will be donation-based, and all funds raised will go to the Mdzananda Animal Clinic.
For more information, contact [email protected] or visit website www.mdzananda.co.za