TAKING ON THE TASK
After 20 months of hard graft in Francolin Road (25 months in total as PUPP South), we have to make a new start.  Regrettably PUPP (Project for the Upliftment of Pets and People) has withdrawn our funding and we have a large reorganisation ahead.
During the months we have spent here we have created a good infrastructure for our sterilisation clinic, and the Doctor and all the volunteers agree that the facilities must be used to continue to improve the welfare of our companion animals by continuing with a sterilisation program.
Sadly, the PUPP South staff were retrenched so we are looking for new funding in order to get the unit up to maximum capacity.  Most urgently we need a veterinary nurse, a driver and a field worker.  We intend to continue working in the poorest communities, going from door to door to help educate owners and locate animals that are unsterilised or whose welfare is questionable.
We have registered as a Section 21 Company and should soon have a Non-Profit Organisation number, but until such a time as we can afford to employ paid staff the Doc and helpers will do as much as they can on a voluntary basis.

The team is also investigating the possibility of trying to improve legislation relating to animal welfare in the Western Cape, and indeed throughout South Africa.  One aspiration we are investigating is the compulsory sterilisation of all non-pedigree bitches.  If such a law was introduced it would still need to be enforced but it would be a big step in the right direction.  We would be interested to receive any comments or opinions on this matter and encourage correspondence to post to 59, Francolin Road, Sunnydale 7975. If you can help with any aspect of our new organisation please contact us on 021 785 4748 or 073 680 1175 or by e-mail.  We urgently need fundraisers and we also urgently need more volunteers to help with the work in the poor communities.

Our objectives
As we rely on public support, we would like everyone to know exactly what SASHA’s objectives are – here are our main priorities:
1. Manage the population of domestic animals by sterilisation.
2. Reduce the incidence of cruelty, either deliberate or by neglect, to domestic animals by educating owners and communities.
3. Improve the health of domestic animals by educating owners and by assisting with prevention and treatment of disease.
4. Improve the health of the community by improving the health of the animals.
5. Improve existing legislation relating to domestic animal welfare and promote enforcement of legislation by working with the appropriate authorities.

We feel that these objectives will help to promote responsible pet ownership and we want to try to communicate the value of pets for people – and, of course, of people for pets.  We think that many people may not be aware of the importance of health professionals in the animal world, and the benefits of keeping pets healthy – please read the Doc’s report.

Sterilise - Save Lives
This may sound somewhat oxymoronic as by sterilising our dogs and cats fewer puppies and kittens are born.  However, there is a high death rate in young pups and kittens in disadvantaged communities.
Deaths are most commonly due to disease such as Canine Distemper Virus, and various stomach and intestinal infections (some of which are transmissible to man), and to motor vehicle accidents as many animals are not confined to an owner’s property.  Deliberate acts of cruelty by human beings also account for a number of losses.

By sterilising to reduce population levels there will be far fewer untimely deaths and much less suffering.

SPAYATHON IN MALMESBURY
According to the Humane Society of the United States, in seven years, one female cat and her offspring could produce 420,000 cats.  In six years, one female dog and her offspring could produce 67,000 dogs.  These figures are based on average numbers of pups or kittens per litter and average number of litters per year.  Alarming statistics, but they underline why there are many unwanted dogs and cats and give a very good reason for organising a ‘sterilisation day’.
One such event was held at the beginning of June, in Malmesbury, and a couple of us SASHA folks went along to help.  Many of the pets owners were farm workers, labourers or unemployed people.  The ‘spayathon’ saw 85 dogs and cats being sterilised in the day.  Looking at the numbers above, it doesn’t take much imagination to see what a population explosion there could have been in Malmesbury.
The day was a hustle bustle of activity, with several vets and nurses busy the whole day.  Thanks to the organisers and all the helpers, many of whom sat patiently as the sleepy animals woke up from their anaesthetics.

Doc's report:
I would like to give a brief reminder of a couple of the benefits of controlling pet populations and of attempting to maintain the good health of all pets in an area, not just your own. Keeping the number of pets under control means less strays and therefore less motor vehicle accidents, less dog fights and less feline AIDS. It also means a much reduced incidence of zoonotic diseases. A zoonosis is a disease of animals which can be transmitted to man. An example, which perhaps everyone knows about, is rabies. We are lucky here in Capetown as we have not had to face any outbreaks of this invariably fatal disease yet. However, there are many other zoonoses. For example, toxocariasis. This is caused by the very common roundworm of puppies and kittens: the long spaghetti-like worms which your pups and kittens may pass. The worm goes through various stages in its life, one of which can cause disease in children, including an invasion of the eye causing blindness. Yes, this is rare - but would be very much rarer still if all pets were de-wormed correctly. Merely de-worming your own puppy isn't the answer. All puppies and kittens - and adult dogs and cats - should be de-wormed to reduce the parasite burden in the environment. I finished at Veterinary School over 25 years ago, but I still remember our parasitology lecturer emphasising the importance of the public health implications of this parasite. His quote "We are walking in a sea of Toxocara eggs" has stayed with me for over 25 years. The puppies and kittens that I see from our disadvantaged communities are nearly all infested with a heavy burden of these parasites - which can be effectively controlled with the drugs available today. And I don't have the space here to even begin to tell you about what fleas can carry! Help us curb our pet population. Help us improve the health of our dogs and cats and people. If you wish to help please telephone 785 4748 or 073 680 1175.
Dr Yvonne Robson

School Report:
We were very sorry to hear that Janet Sandell passed away recently. We will greatly miss her enthusiasm and expertise. Her visits to schools throughout the peninsula were always well received by pupils and teachers alike. We will become actively involved in a school's program again as soon as resources permit. In the meantime, we are very grateful to the Grade 3 pupils at Kommetjie Primary School who have adopted us as their charity to support for this year. We look forward to them all visiting our premises in Sunnydale. In the UK each year there is a National Pet Week, which brings awareness to pets and their well-being, so we bring you one of their top tips for anyone thinking of getting a pet, however large or small: think carefully before getting a pet and learn about its special requirements Anyone who thinks they may be able to help with our education program in any way, please contact us on 021 785 4748 or 073 680 1175.

Feral Cat Report
Esme was featured in the April 2006 edition of the PUPP South Newsletter and we are pleased to report that she is happy to continue to assist with our new endeavour. So whilst time and resources are still very limited we will continue to assist with feral cat sterilisation where possible. Here is a little information about feral cats for those of you who have not seen our previous news. A feral cat is a cat that has been lost or abandoned and has reverted to its wild state, or that has been born 'into the wild' by a feral mother. They are found anywhere that there is food and shelter, for example, rubbish dumps and restaurants. Many of them are healthy animals and they can be useful - for example, they will control rat and mice populations. If a colony is destroyed more cats will move into the area unless the reason for them being there in the first place is removed, ie. a source of food and shelter. Therefore, TNR is the preferred option in most cases. This is Trap - Neuter - Release. We trap them and, if they appear healthy, sterilise them and then release them the following day. We are in favour of early neutering (from 6 weeks of age) although very young kittens may be socialised and homed. In the last two years we have sterilised and returned 291 cats, over half of which were female. This has prevented many hundreds of kittens from being born.

Volunteer Variety
A volunteer is defined in the dictionary as 'a person who enters any service of their own free choice'. It is interesting that volunteers come with many different ideas about helping animals and their own possible roles. Some want to work 'hands on' with the animals whilst others are happy to work in the background. Indeed, in the animal welfare world some volunteers prefer not to see the animals that they are helping at all. We can fully understand this as we do see a steady stream of underfed, frightened and parasite-ridden pets. There are many ways in which volunteers can help us, and one of the more unpopular but most necessary areas in which we need assistance is fundraising. This is currently our biggest challenge, but we would like to hear from anybody who can help us in any way.

Website
Anyone out there able to assist us get a new website up and running? Unfortunately we don't have much in the way of funds yet but we would love to hear from anyone who could offer us a little time for this free of charge. We need to find someone to host us as well!

Untill next time.....