GQEBERHA – The Animal Welfare Society PE bravely helped to save their shelter from flames, only to lose a beloved staff member in a house fire hours later.
Caring for abandoned and neglected animals in their care is what staff at the Animal Welfare Society PE in Gqeberha breathe and live for.
So, when a fire jumped from a field behind the property onto a grassy patch, a field away from the kennels, staff jumped into action, carrying buckets of water to douse the flames.
Hearing the urgency in the voices of staff, General Manager Cynthea Van Rhijn ensured that animals in the vicinity were moved away from danger.
“On Thursday, 8 January, I was about to go around the premises to do checks when staff called my name in a panic,” Van Rhijn recalls. “I saw absolute chaos. We just heard a swoosh noise as the fire jumped from the veld over the wall and everyone sprang into action.”
When Van Rhijn called for a fire truck, the call centre operator allegedly sounded alarmed as there were no trucks available due to multiple fires across Nelson Mandela Bay.
“There wasn’t anyone available to assist.” As they waited for a fire truck, staff continued using buckets of water to douse the flames.
“We were happy when the fire department arrived because there was no way that we could have done it without their help.”
Credit: Natasha Bezuidenhout
She shared how a staff member sadly lost her life that same day.
Unathi Mbewu, a staff worker at the shelter since 2012, who just hours earlier assisted with carrying water and buckets to douse flames, tragically died in a house fire that evening.
“She passed away in a house fire at her home in Walmer Township,” Van Rhijn shared.
Mbewu worked at the shelter and was part of the Animal Welfare Society family for 13 years.
Her duties included working in the puppy quarantine area, where she nurtured them and ‘gave them her all.’
“She was always smiling, no matter how tough things would get – she had a compassionate and caring heart,” said Van Rhijn. “We are still in shock.”
The tragedy and multiple close calls have the shelter calling for equipment such as fire beaters that could assist in fighting fires that have become a common occurrence this fire season.
“Litter is a huge issue, so once a fire starts, you will find that while it looks as though you doused the flames, it will smoulder and re-ignite due to plastics and glass bottles,” she added.
“We tried to source fire beaters, but they were out of stock, so we borrowed three fire beaters from Save-A-Pet. We really need our own.”
Questioned on whether there has been an influx of pets surrendered, Van Rhijn shared that there were various factors involved in pet surrenders.
“You will find that sometimes people’s financial situation has changed and they need to downscale. Other times there are strays and because the Municipality’s Animal Control Division is not functioning as it should, we step up in those cases,” she added.
“Just last week, we found a dog tied to a post with a wire at our entrance. Usually, we ask R300 if you want to surrender your pet, but if you don’t have that, we will still take the animal.”
She added that any animal that was previously adopted from the Animal Welfare Society PE shelter can be returned to them if the owner’s circumstances change.
For more than 200 dogs and cats combined at the shelter, and humans alike, it has been a harsh time.
When the PE Express visited the shelter on Wednesday, 14 January, the wailful cry of a newly surrendered Husky echoed across the parking lot.
Pacing back and forth inside her enclosure, blue eyes confused and panicked, she waited in vain for her family.
In a separate enclosure, two dogs wait for the familiar voice and loving hand of their owner who sadly died. Their future is uncertain.
Van Rhijn encouraged residents, who are going through economic hardship, not to abandon their pets.
“Do not give your pet away for free to anyone. Rather give the animals to us.”
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