Tiger’s mom’s in her seventies, she’s taken great care of him despite limited means, she’s had him sterilised and inoculated at our clinic

In reality: she can’t chase him down and restrain him, she can’t cover the private vet bills to fix his leg

We can already hear the chorus of “why have a pet if you can’t afford it” – which in most countries, we’re sure, is a relevant argument.

In South Africa, however, with our history of segregation and oppression, we find this argument to be in poor taste – we all know why the majority of township residents can’t afford a vet

“Why do they have dogs then?” The same reasons you do.

Did they go to a breeder? No.

Thousands of dogs and cats live alongside humans in townships. If township residents ignored and refused to feed them, they’d be labelled cruel. If the same people take them under their wing and do their best, they get labelled irresponsible for having pets they can’t afford

“But pet’s don’t belong in townships” – indeed and neither do humans.

Sidewalk Specials ethos is ‘helping, not judging’, uplifting township dogs at home through sterilisation and accessible vet care, treating owners with dignity and keeping families together!

Do we think throwing stones at dogs is ok? Absolutely not!

But we do remember that dogs were used by police and military during the apartheid era to spread physical and psychological terror amongst segregated communities. The historical trauma associated with the “apartheid dog” means many adults and children remain terrified of dogs even today. We educate daily to rebuild this broken trust between man and his best friend

We’d love to save Tiger, get him the operation he needs, find a foster for his cage rest, fix his fence to keep him safe and reunite him with his mom…

If you can donate for Tiger’s vet bills please use any donation option below 🐶💕

Sidewalk Specials are PBO approved and can issue Section 18A tax receipts for all donations received!

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