Publications
Partners
Durban - A dog which had been dumped in the veld outside Pretoria with a pile of food and discarded will be adopted this week.
An image of Tjokkie sitting next to a dog bed and a pile of pellets had gone viral on social media networks this week.
And as he prepares to go to a new home, his owner, who has been identified, may face criminal charges.
Wollies Animal Project spokesperson Cilla Trexler said that Tjokkie had been brought to them last week after he was found at the roadside by an off-duty policeman.
“We had gotten a call from someone to say that the dog had been dumped next to an isolated road. A policeman had actually heard of it and went to fetch the dog and he was brought to us,” she said.
Owner in tears
She said that to their surprise, the apparently contrite and tearful owner of Tjokkie had visited the private animal sanctuary in the days after he was discovered with a “tall tale” of what had happened.
“The owner actually came to see us and said he was going to tell us what really happened and we haven’t heard anything further. What he did say was he said he gave the dog to an elderly couple and they had dumped him at the roadside but we don’t believe that version.
“He came to us in tears. We wondered why he would own up to it and he said that a lot of people know it is his dog. He has made a lot of trouble for himself. The police said that were going to open a case against the owner but I am not sure of the specifics,” Trexler added.
She said that the sanctuary had had hundreds of offers from people to adopt Tjokkie.
“We have been inundated. He is doing very well and we had a walk-a-dog day yesterday [Saturday] and he was big hit with everyone.”
