Johannesburg – A Netcare employee accused of dumping her dog on the side of the road will be taking legal action against the individual who “wrongfully maligned” her on social media.
Last week, a Facebook post which has since gone viral was shared of a woman clad in a Netcare uniform, accusing her of dumping her dog on the side of a road in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni.
The writer of the post said she confronted the Netcare staff member, who told her to mind her own business, loaded the dog and then sped off.
The Netcare Group said the employee had come forward “to set the record straight”. Group human resources and transformation director Dr Nceba Ndzwayiba said Netcare had done an investigation into the matter.
According to Ndzwayiba, the passer-by misunderstood what was happening and made “incorrect assumptions” about the situation.
The director said the employee had explained that she was out driving and had one of her dogs with her, as the family recently suffered traumatic criminal incidents and she felt safer with the dog by her side.
“She stated that the dog began whining, so she stopped the car to attend to it.
“It seems the passer-by then pulled over and began to interfere, which our colleague took umbrage to, and she put her pet back in the car and drove home,” he said.
Ndzwayiba added that the passer-by took photographs without permission and posted them online along with her own assumptions. As a result, the Netcare employee was publicly berated.
“Earlier this week, following the incident, our colleague voluntarily approached the SPCA to do an inspection at her home,” Ndzwayiba said.
He added that Netcare had seen the formal letter provided by the SPCA.
“The letter states that an inspection of the dogs belonging to the staff member in question was conducted on October 7, 2021, noting one black, male cross Border collie and one male cross Rottweiler.
“It also states that both dogs appeared to be healthy and had access to food, water and shelter,” Ndzwayiba said.
The Netcare Group said the public outrage about the posts had reached such proportions that the family of the employee are afraid to drive their own vehicle, in fear of being harassed or attacked.
“They have decided to take legal action against the individual who misinterpreted the event and who has caused them a great deal of harm by levelling these false accusations against them on social media,” Ndzwayiba said.
IOL