I am appalled and totally disgusted with the service I have received from the SPCA in Springfield Park Durban.
A few weeks ago a stray cat had shown up at my house which was extremely ill. I had called the vet closest to me but due to the fact that it was a Saturday afternoon, they were closed so my only alternative was to call the SPCA on their emergency line. To my knowledge, they were meant to help animals not cause them more harm. When the vet had arrived I had informed her that I would call their offices on Monday as I wanted to adopt the cat and she agreed. I was horrified when I had called on Monday to find out how the cat was doing, only to be told that a stray that is sick, is not treated but put down. According to the lady in the kennels department, it’s no use trying to save the life of a stray.
Last weekend my little puppy was bitten and wounded very badly. I immediately rushed her to the SPCA once again thinking that the SPCA was there to protect these helpless animals that cannot speak for themselves. When I arrived with my bleeding dog in my arms, I was asked by Devika in reception to wait as everyone worked according to appointments (even though this was an extreme emergency). Eventually over an hour later when my dog was finally attended to, she had asked the vet not to treat the dog as I had not paid a deposit!! After I had taken care of the payment, I was told that they would have to keep my dog in their facility for the weekend in order to monitor her recovery. The weekend had passed and I got a call at 9am on Monday morning. Apparently my dog was in a bad condition and the only option was to put her down.
When I had arrived at the SPCA to see her for the last time, I was furious as the dog had not been treated since she was admitted. Her wounds were not treated or stitched and she was not given any sort of medication. Her body was badly decomposing due to her open wounds. I was told by the vet on duty that the SPCA is not a 24 hour icu facility and that they did not have millions of rands to monitor our animals around the clock.
My question is why did they admit her in the first place?? If they could not treat her that very moment, why make me pay to keep her there in the first place. I am convinced that had I had I taken her to another facility; my baby would be with me today.
NEVER again, would I ever consider calling in on the SPCA. From my personal experience with them, I don’t believe that they are protecting our animals. Unfortunately for me, I have learnt a hard and painful lesson that has cost me the life of my little angel Leah