A Gordon’s Bay pensioner and her faithful companion are eager to teach children to interact safely with man’s best friend.
Retired paramedic Susan Holdswords and her labrador Marley are on a mission to help children interact with pets safely through her “Prevent That Bite” programme, an educational initiative that teaches children dog safety and animal respect.
“I want to make a big difference. And my pilot project is the Helderberg,” she points out.
The innovative one-hour programme teaches children proper dog interaction, including what to do when a dog chases them, how to approach a new dog and the importance of dogs sleeping inside the house.
Children practise their new skills by getting to know Marley, sitting in a circle as he slowly walks around them. There is also time for grooming as the children brush the pooch’s fur.
After the lesson children receive goody bags containing personalised certificates, paw moulds and multilingual Marley Says colouring books created by local artist Jaco Rheeder, showing the right and wrong ways to treat animals.
‘Born’ in a Kennel
The mission stems from Holdswords’ extraordinary life, which started on a farm in Zimbabwe where her connection with animals was evident from an early age.
“When I was five years old I disappeared and my parents found me in the kennel, cuddled up with the family dogs,” Holdswords recalled.
By age nine she was assisting the local veterinarian with medical procedures. Though she dreamed of becoming a vet, language barriers in South Africa in the 1970s led her to opt to become a paramedic instead, a career she pursued for 30 years.
Even during ambulance duties Holdswords couldn’t ignore the animal suffering she encountered.
The number of times I came out with an animal in my ambulance as well, and my partner was saying, ‘Sue, we’re going to lose our jobs’, and I said, ‘I can’t leave him behind’.
The mission
She also witnessed traumatic dog-bite incidents involving children.
A couple of times I’ve seen a child that was bitten by a dog. [It was] very scary. It is horrible. And, of course, they want to thrash the dog. Meanwhile, it’s not the dog’s fault.
In 2021 Holdswords rescued Marley from euthanisation when his family couldn’t afford to take him overseas. “Marley and I clicked the moment we met,” she said.
“A number of healthy, happy, potentially excellent family pets are sitting in animal shelters. And every Friday afternoon they’re on the death list and being unnecessarily euthanised. I want to prevent that.”
๏ฎ Schools, community groups and parents interested in the “Prevent That Bite” programme is urged to call Holdswords on 078 283 3616 to arrange sessions for their children.
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