Success stories

Surrendered to Vaalpets in January 2019, Bella spent her days at the shelter comfort eating and picking up the kilograms, during this time she also developed a mast cell tumor. We treated the wound superficially for awhile and when lockdown came we decided it was a good time for her to go into foster care and sort out her battle of the bulge and her tumor. Weight-loss in dogs is not so easy, you have to watch what they eat, not cheat on the quantity and feed a premium diet food. Research says that dogs will lose 100g per week. It was going to be a long road. We fed her Eukanuba Weight Control and the beginning was a challenge for her, she was always hungry but after 4 months her appetite is under control and she has trimmed down beautifully. Bella went in for surgery during lockdown once the vets were allowed to deal with day cases. What seemed like a small area above the skin turned out to be far larger beneath and she came home with a long cut.She bounced back relatively quick, within 2 weeks the entire area had healed well, her stitches were removed and the pesky cone came off a few days later after the irritation in the area subsided. Bella is a sweet soulful dog, she is great in a pack and loves to play, chase and wrestle, what she loves most is snuggling up to her human, she is house trained and obedient and a pleasure to have around. Bella is 5 years old and up for adoption from Vaalpets. If you need a dog that stares into the depth of your soul, this is your dog. You may wonder why she is so wonderful, doesn’t she stay in the foster home she is in? Honestly, I would keep her but every dog you keep, you lose space to rehabilitate another one in need. Rescue really requires a capture and release mindset, she is ready, healthy and a fabulous dog and when she finds her forever, the next one comes in and the same process starts all over again. Bella’s operation cost was R 3 500. This was covered by the donations received from our valued supporters and we are grateful for each and every person that deposits into our medical expense accounts.