UNREASONABLE GRASSY PARK SPCA

Dear Lizel Your mother-in-law’s dog is suffering from immense pain, which has apparently been the case for over a week now, though he was only brought into our Animal Hospital two days ago. Unfortunately, as a welfare organisation which relies solely on donations, our hospital cannot afford to provide expensive, ongoing diagnostic tests requiring x-rays and lab tests without a financial contribution from the owners. We sympathise with your financial predicament, which is why we reduced our fee deposit, initially quoted at R900, to R400, which you said was still too expensive. When our Chief Inspector phoned your mother-in-law personally this morning to try to work towards a solution with her, she told him that she was too busy shopping to talk to him, threatened us with a lawyer and ended the call abruptly. Clearly, the animal’s welfare is not a priority to her, and the SPCA is being blamed, yet we have worked tirelessly to preserve the animal’s life. We cannot in good conscience allow this poor animal to continue to suffer excruciating pain, but without the funds required to help diagnose and then treat the animal accordingly, there is no other humane solution we can think of other than euthanasia. We have to act in the animal’s best interest – our main priority. Owning an animal is a privilege, not a right, and the owner has to take financial responsibility.  Kind regards  Jaco Pieterse Chief Inspector