ARK ANIMAL SHELTER OUTREACH WITH FNB!
On 19 May a group of 20 FNB Volunteers representatives from CFT, Infrastructure & Operations,
DMT and ISS ventured out to the Ark Animal Shelter based in Fourways, Gauteng. Ark Animal Centre specialise in the rehabilitation and re-homing of puppies, pregnant moms and small breed dogs from all types of backgrounds. Their aim is to change the consciousness in attitude of people toward animals through education.
On our arrival at the shelter, we were met by Tracy Otto, who is the owner of the shelter, and welcomed by a pack of excited resident dogs. She gave a brief introduction of what they do at the shelter and how they re-home puppies and other dogs. The shelter also collects dogs from the nearest informal settlement on a weekly basis to spay them and treat any wounds. Tracy said that they have seen a radical change in the behaviour of the dog owners in the informal settlement after agreeing to help them. Less and less dogs need to be spayed and owners are looking after their animals.
Their biggest expense at the moment is food and vet bills. As a non-profit organisation, their survivability is dependent on the support of the public as well as the donations they receive.
Tracy put our team to work and we were tasked to paint an outbuilding and outdoor kennels. We had to apply various creative painting techniques to fill all the cavities in the walls, however we got the job done and the building looked fantastic.
The lunch team hastily assembled a mountain of boerewors rolls to feed the Ark employees as well as our volunteer team. After a quick lunch break, it was time to exercise the dogs and give (and receive) some puppy love. The team had so much fun walking the dogs through a park located on the property.
Not only did we Volunteer our time, the CFT team also generously donated a “walk-on” scale which will be used in the clinic to weigh the animals for medical purposes. CFT got a Medical Rep on board from Virbac to help with the much needed medical equipment. Virbac donated a box of “Backhome” microchips with 2 “Backhome” microchip readers. The very first puppy was actually “chipped” on the day. They also donated a box of Prazifen dewormers.
We will be supporting the shelter with various initiatives and we are all looking forward to the relationship with them.
Written by Teresa Wessels
31 May 2017
Ark Animal Centre 