Of dogs and blogs ....

Today we wake up in Barrydale, its cold and misty outside. I have committed the cardinal sin of not posting my blog the evening before... which explains why I didn’t sleep well very well, woke up at 3am, decided to do some writing, only to fall asleep at 5am and then promptly overslept! Now I have tired prickly-pear eyes, am not feeling at my best and am sitting eating breakfast with Tim and Mark. I am a bit confused at being served a lettuce and tomato salad with my bacon and eggs. Is this normal?

After many stops and starts the morning finally gathers itself into a clear direction. I have managed to speak with Colette Teale of KAPS (Karoo Animal Protection Society). Yes, the farm is now accessible after the floods and we can come around at 10am. No, the workers aren’t available for interviews; we will have to work with what we’ve got.

Heading out of Barrydale, we decide to swing past the local Agri-Mark to buy gumboots.  There’s mud everywhere, bridges have been swept away and the little town is drawing breath trying to recover after the flood damage. Directions in rural areas aren’t always that easy:  “You’ll pass a road called Soutkloofpad, then go on for a bit, after that you’ll see two big gum trees on your left near some blue workers cottages, turn right opposite into a gate with a small yellow sign on it. Drive along for about three km, follow the road around a dam and then take your first left.” Of course, this is compounded by the fact that there is no cell reception as soon as we turn off the tar road. We eventually got there ….

The reason we’re visiting KAPS today is that it’s one of many organizations supported by Old Mutual staff. 

Quick commercial break to explain: Old Mutual staff can choose to make a monthly donation from their salary into the Staff Charity Fund. For every rand that staff donate, the Old Mutual Foundation commits to match rand-for-rand. So a staff donation of R50/month will be matched by a Foundation contribution of R50. Since the Staff Charity Fund began in 2002, Old Mutual staff have donated R6, 5 million which has been matched by the Old Mutual Foundation, so a total of R13 million has been paid out to charities across South Africa. A staff-nominated Board of Trustees approves the selection of charities that work in the selected focus areas of Animal Welfare, the Elderly, Abused and Neglected Children and HIV/Aids Care. These focus areas were chosen by staff when the fund started.



KAPS isn’t a big, well-established organization like the SPCA (which we also support by the way); it’s a small one-woman operation (with some dedicated volunteers) and tries hard to make a difference with limited resources. This year staff donated R30 000 to KAPS to assist with mobile sterilization clinics in the townships and rural areas. Because of the poverty in these areas, Colette is insistent that these services are provided for free. “Sterilisation helps to reduce the number of unwanted pets which leads to domestic neglect and cruelty,” she explains. In 2010, R29 640 was provided to KAPS to assist with the purchase of new donkeys bridles for an outreach project KAPS delivered in Baviaanskloof, Eastern Cape. Many cart-horses are forced to use broken, ill-fitting bridles held together with bits of wire that cause dreadful injuries to their heads and mouths. Colette managed to wangle a deal with the supplier of the bridles and secured 30 new bridles at half price. “I’m afraid I’m a fighter,” she says, “I just can’t sit back and accept something.”

Colette and Percy Teale amidst their most recent rescue dogs.

In specific cases of animal cruelty or neglect, Colette has been granted magisterial authority to conduct inspections, removals and initiate prosecutions.  This means that she’s not always popular or welcome. Currently she has over 20 rescue dogs at her house, which is a bit overwhelming at first. They’re all on the mend, some still nervous or anxious, others eager and excitable. She’s looking to re-locate the rescue dogs into caring homes. Whenever we walk in or out the house, or basically move a muscle, a cacophony of barking erupts, so it’s a fairly hectic morning needless to say.

Hoppy has kind brown eyes and despite his experiences, has wriggly happy energy

I fall in love with Hoppy, a three-legged character who wriggled his way onto my lap. Hoppy was caught in a gin-trap and found days later starving and emaciated. His back leg had to be amputated, but he’s still as sprightly as anything and keeps up with the others whenever they race off to chase down a new scent.

Hoppy, happy and healthy 

Eventually we set off, it’s been a long day and trying to photograph animals takes time. But just as we were bumping off down the road, Colette’s group of 24 rescue donkeys come wandering up for their evening feed of lucerne. And who in the world can resist a donkey muzzle, soft and white, with those quizzical ears?

Tim getting in close for that extra-special angle.

"Come donkeys, come to me," Colette calls...

Mark starts giggling every time he sees this photo. He says that the caption must read: "Lucerne. Lekker!"

Back on the road to Cape Town, we end up laughing in the car on our way back because Tim got nipped by Noodles. "Nipped?" says Tim, "I could feel his teeth through my gumboots!" ...which had left him feeling a tad ill-disposed towards the little Maltese poodle. He muttered darkly about getting himself a new ‘fluffy’ for the sound mike of his camera.

Goodbye to Barrydale. Goodbye to the Langeberg Mountains bathed in golden afternoon sunlight. It’s a long three-hour drive back to Cape Town. The guys have set up a GoPro camera (a tiny high-definition special effects camera) onto the front of the car. We talk about the highlights of the day, toss ideas around for the title of our next blog, or the title that is so definitely not. There are odd moments that I want to capture and add in…

·     Watching Tim get a sms from his daughter, he doesn’t know it but his face changes, softens. He’s going to miss a Dad's and Daughter's event with his youngest daughter. “I get to miss a lot of special moments," he reflects, "it’s just the nature of my work.” He turns and starts getting the camera ready for our next interview.

·     Mark reads the blog every morning. Hey, he says to me, did I know that there’s another Mark Wessels blogging? Mark’s wife had phoned him saying that the comment posted didn’t sound like his writing? “Don’t worry,” I assure Mark Wessels (1), "I happen to know Mark Wessels (2)”. “Do you mean that I’m not unique?” protests Mark Wessels (1) indignantly.

·    I’m discovering that Mark likes to throw out comments, like those shiny lures used in trout-fishing. He turns to me poker-faced and says, “Louise, can we bring two blondes along on this trip?” I can smell something’s afoot. It turns that out that ‘blondes’ and ‘redheads’ are terms used for lighting equipment and that we already have two blondes and a redhead loaded in all our gear. Now that would make a fine blog title I muse, but ‘Two Blondes and a Redhead’ doesn’t quite fit in with our story, Tim pipes up from behind the wheel, “why not make it ‘Two Baldies and a Redhead’ instead?” The boys crack up at their own wittiness. 

The next leg of our trip is going to be a long stretch, taking us up through the Eastern Cape (two projects) and into KZN (two projects). There’s a strong possibility that we’re not going to get internet reception at some remote sites in the Transkei, so wherever possible we’ll post but as I’m learning, not everything goes according to plan. Hakuna matata I guess …

Night, night, sleep tight.





Wessel's Photo Gallery:

Dogs love being loved.

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KAPS has had an in impact in the Barrydale community, with an increased awareness of good pet practice. Now, there're no dogs on chains, animals have water bowls and the growth rate has decreased. Finding good homes for the rescue dogs is an ongoing challenge.