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KNYSNA NEWS & VIDEO - When a local preschool donated funds and other items to the Knysna Animal Welfare Society (KAWS) recently, they never expected anything in return except to make some tails wag.
The KAWS team thought otherwise, and arranged a fun yet educational puppet show for the little ones of Smart Caterpillar preschool to show the organisation’s appreciation.
According to principal Tanya du Plessis, who took ownership of the school a week before the June 2017 fires destroyed it, the fundraising initiative was born because of the school’s urge to want to help those around them.
Giving back after the fires
“It was due to the charity we received not only from locals but people across the country after the fires that the urge to give back came about,” she said. With their yearly “Pet Week”, the school had the perfect opportunity to do so.
“We sold vetkoek, collected our tuck shop profits from the last two months, and collected cans of food for KAWS. It was our first time doing something like this and we would definitely like to continue doing it,” she added.
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The puppet show, performed by the Garden Route SPCA’s education unit, is aimed at teaching children how to care for their pets from a young age – as soon as they are able to grasp some basic ideas.
Nero the mascot seemed to be having just as much fun.
Watch a video below:
Xhosa show to follow
SPCA inspector Gerda Reynders said the puppet show helps create awareness among the little ones of the five basic needs of their pets – food, water, love, shelter and exercise.
“We do this with puppets as it makes it easier for the little ones to understand. We also have the big mascot dog Nero that helps out. There is an Afrikaans version as well, and we are currently working on a Xhosa version too,” said Reynders.
It was obvious that the puppets helped, as shortly after the show the preschoolers could recite exactly those five points they were taught and seemed to understand them. They were also allowed to visit the cattery, and as a reward, they each received “doggy treats for humans” – a cookie shaped like a bone.
KAWS spokesperson Retha Havenga said the organisation was very happy with and thankful for the donation. “We can use the food on a daily basis and the money will help us buy items we need for the animal hospital,” she added.
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