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Disclaimer: Due to descriptions of cruelty
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA seeks witnesses after a deliberate, sustained act of cruelty leaves a mother dog dead in a Brown’s Farm canal. A female dog recovered barely alive from a canal in Brown’s Farm, Philippi, died because someone made a series of deliberate choices: to twist a length of wire around her neck in two places, to carry her to a litter-strewn, filthy canal, throw her in and to leave her there.
SPCA LAUNCHES URGENT APPEAL FOR INFORMATION IN PHILIPPI DOG CRUELTY CASE
Inspector Lwazi Ntungele from the Cape of Good Hope SPCA, responding to a report, found her still breathing. Blood had pooled in her nostrils. She was too weak to stand, too weakened by days of sustained suffering to do more than register the presence of the inspector who waded in to reach her. She tried, nonetheless.
“She tried to come to me,” said Inspector Lwazi Ntungele, who attended the scene. “She knew I was there to help, but she was too weak.”
WIRE. WATER. WAITING TO DIE:
A veterinarian subsequently determined that euthanasia was the only humane course of action. Grace, as she was named, was beyond help and was relieved of her suffering. The person responsible for inflicting it remains unidentified.
KNOW THIS DOG
Grace was a Pitbull-type dog, adult in age, with a brown and white coat. She was medium to large in build, as is typical of the breed type, and her physical condition at the time of recovery, while severely compromised, was consistent with a dog that had been cared for, or at a minimum kept, in a domestic setting. Her teats were elongated, the clearest possible indication that she had recently been nursing a litter of puppies.
Anyone who recognises this description – a brown and white Pitbull-type female, adult, recently lactating, from the Brown’s Farm area or surrounds, is urged to contact the SPCA immediately. She may have been known in the community by a different name. She may have been visible in a yard, on a property, or as part of a breeding arrangement. Any point of recognition is a potential lead.
A MOTHER, DISCARDED
What makes this case particularly disturbing, among details that are already extreme, is what Grace’s body reveals about her recent past. Used for breeding, and then disposed of. That is the conclusion Inspectors are working from. The inference is as blunt as it is damning: once her utility ended, so did any consideration for her life.
“This dog knew the person,” said Inspector Ntungele. “There was trust there. That trust was broken. After being used for breeding, all she was left with was pain and suffering.”
The positioning of the wire and the manner in which it was secured around Grace’s neck are consistent with deliberate application. Inspectors assess that the act required time, proximity, and intent.
“Whoever did this took their time,” Ntungele said. “They took their time.”
AN INSPECTOR’S ACCOUNT
Inspector Ntungele has served in animal welfare enforcement through cases that would test the resolve of the most seasoned professional. He has stated unequivocally that this is the worst he has encountered.
“This is the worst case of cruelty I have ever seen,” he said.
The image of Grace attempting to move toward him, recognising help, unable to reach it, remained with him long after he left the scene.
“I couldn’t sleep that night.”
When a professional who responds to cruelty for a living describes a scene as the worst he has witnessed, the public should understand the significance of that assessment.
THE SPCA’S APPEAL
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA has opened a formal cruelty case and is calling on anyone with information to come forward immediately. Inspectors are working to establish who owned her and who did this to her. None of that is possible without the public’s help.
“Animals cannot tell us who harmed them,” said SPCA Spokesperson Belinda Abraham. “In cases like this, accountability depends on those who know something choosing to come forward.”
Inspectors believe Grace originated from Brown’s Farm or its surrounding areas, and that those who knew her, or knew of her, may be within that community. Someone knows this dog. A person knows where she came from. Someone may know who last had her.
INFORMATION CAN BE PROVIDED IN CONFIDENCE
The SPCA urges members of the public not to assume that someone else will make the call. Every detail matters. Small details have closed serious cases before. It can close this one.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA guarantees that information shared with inspectors will be treated confidentially. No member of the public will be required to identify themselves publicly to assist this investigation.
Contact Details:
To report information, contact the Cape of Good Hope SPCA Inspectorate directly:
0217004158/9 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Email inspectorate@spca-ct.co.za or send a direct message via the organisation’s social media channels @Capespca. Reports can also be made anonymously here: Report Cruelty • Cape of Good Hope SPCA
Grace could not speak for herself. She had no voice and no means of identifying the person responsible. That voice now belongs to anyone in the community who holds even a fragment of information. Use it.
THIS ARTICLE WAS COMPILED BY THE SPCA MEDIA, COMMUNICATION AND PR TEAM.
