PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - A dream that's been a decade in the making has finally come true, thanks to animal lovers in Plettenberg Bay.
For Plettenberg Bay Animal Welfare (Paws) chairperson Di Butlin and her team, having a dedicated animal clinic in Plett has been an aspiration since she established Paws 21 years ago.
This became a reality on Friday 26 August when the Diana Butlin Clinic was officially opened on the outskirts of town.
Butlin says this is a major leap since they started their journey looking after down-and-out animals in the area from a container in 2001. Through the assistance of local vets, they managed to make it work for 10 years until they had raised enough funds and received adequate donations to build kennels in 2011.
"It had already been a dream back then to have a dedicated clinic for our animals," Butlin says. However, this idea had to take a back seat as the construction of the kennels set them back about R700 000. As they operate solely on donations, they had to count their pennies to cover monthly costs.
They continued doing vaccinations and other check-ups from the container, using it as a storeroom for supplies as well. Rats however infiltrated the container and destroyed most of their supplies, reigniting the dream of having a clinic with "impenetrable" storage space.
Thanks to donations and the Paws charity shop, an initiative that sees the selling of secondhand donated goods to raise funds for the organisation, this dream has now became a reality. This initiative is run by local resident Roger Davis.
Butlin says they now not only have a clinic to do check-ups and vaccinations (and they look forward to having a surgery in the future), but also a safe place for them to store supplies.
"In the future, we would like to employ a part-time vet to help out at the clinic and equip the clinic for surgery purposes." In the meantime, they continue to work closely with local vets.
"We have a wonderful relationship with our local vets who have all been great in supporting us through the years."
Although it was decided to name the clinic after her, the clinic belongs to Plettenberg Bay and her team. "So many people have played a role in this, every donor, every contributor, every team member...this belongs to them."
She specifically thanks Davis for his efforts. "The charity shop brings in anything from R40 000 to R80 000 a month and that goes a long way toward covering our expenses, which is about R140 000 a month.
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