Saving puppies can help

The Ark Animal Centre in Fourways, Johannesburg, has made it its mission to rescue abandoned and abused dogs and then help find them suitable homes.

The centre offers specialised rescue, rehabilitation, care and re-homing of puppies and pregnant dogs. On average Ark Animal Centre re-homes 50 to 60 dogs a month and takes in thousands more every year. It also assists other shelters in re-homing animals showing just how passionate the team is about man’s best friend.

“I always revert back to the quote by Gandhi,” says Candice Eilertsen, the social media and fundraising manager at the centre. “ ‘The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated.’ I think that as a nation if we make a concerted effort to be kind to those who cannot speak or defend themselves, it will help us to grow in leaps and bounds. If you can respect an animal and its feelings you will by default respect the rest of the human race.”

Ark Animal Centre touches the lives of all who come through its doors, “We help people find a perfect animal for their home, teach them the correct care and watch them fall in love with their new fur child,” Eilertsen says with pride.

Running Ark is no easy task and its monthly costs can run up to R60 000 or more. Red tape on South African sponsorship laws and BEE criteria make securing corporate sponsorship tricky and has forced the centre to approach funding in more creative ways.

“There are many ways the public can get involved,” Eilersten says, “Ark welcomes community students as well as volunteers. We are currently running a buy-a-brick campaign where we aim to sell 40 000 bricks over the next year in order to build our new specialised puppy shelter”.

To read more stories like these visit www.youcanhelp.co.za

This is Ark Animal Centre’s story of help. If you want to help:

Tel: 082 334 7596

Adoptions and volunteering: www.arkanimalcentre.wordpress.com/about

Buy-a-Brick: http://wp.me/p2bmm6-k5