HUMANSDORP – St Francis Animal Rescue is pleading for help to find a dog that went missing after escaping from kennels in Humansdorp on Thursday night, 1 October.

Volunteers from the organisation were approached by the dog’s owner on Wednesday evening, 30 September, when they were delivering kennels in Zwelitsha, St Francis Bay. The owner asked them to take his dog because he no longer wanted it.

Susan Rae Fox, the founder and chairperson of St Francis Animal Rescue, said, “Since it was late, the volunteers explained to the owner that they could not take the dog immediately. The owner warned that if they did not return for the dog by 08:00 the following morning he would kill the animal.

The dog was clearly frightened of the owner and tried to hide beneath one of the volunteers’ cars. A volunteer collected the dog promptly at 08:00 [the next day] as agreed and kept him until the organisation’s outreach at 14:00,” said Fox.

According to the rescue organisation, the dog was in relatively good condition apart from being scared. He appeared to be a Coonhound cross, white and tan with freckled legs, and was estimated to be about three years old.

He was bathed and treated for fleas and ticks at the outreach and was also vaccinated and given a deworming tablet. Afterwards, he slept in a volunteer’s car until he was taken to Juadeen Van Rooyen’s kennels where all dogs rescued from cruelty, neglect or surrender are kept.

The dog was placed in a kennel and given food and water. Early on Saturday morning, 3 October, Juadeen Van Rooyen called to report that the dog had climbed to the roof of his kennel and squeezed out through a very small hole.

A dog handler went looking for the dog, but he was nowhere in the vicinity. Search parties were organised on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with volunteers spending considerable time combing the streets. An advertisement published on Facebook, offering a R2,500 reward to anyone who could find the dog, yielded no results, and a further search on Monday morning also proved fruitless.

“This is a very scared dog who does not trust humans after being abused,” said Fox. “It is very unlikely that he will go willingly to anyone looking for him. We are desperately sad for this boy, and so sorry that he escaped, driven by fear, from a place of safety.”

The charity is urging anyone who spots the dog, described as a medium-sized, white and tan Coonhound cross, to contact them on 083 289 1452.

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