GABRIEL AND HIS HOST OF ANGELS
Our hearts collectively wept for a shivering , injured little dog left helpless in the freezing cold following a heartless act of cruelty . Our SPCA Education Officers , Junior Komani and Bongani Giyose were flagged down by a group of kind-hearted children who had found Gabriel ( as we named him ) all alone in the rain – the children explained that they had witnessed children stoning him the previous night but were not able to identify them because it was too dark .
A closer inspection of Gabriel ’ s wounds revealed that he had also been the victim of a hit and run motor vehicle accident . He was frozen and shaking , both in terror and as a result of the +/ - 14 hours he had spent exposed to the elements .
Gabriel was admitted to our hospital where he was immediately dried off , given pain medication and covered in blankets to warm him up . X-rays were also done and revealed a badly fractured foreleg that required surgical repair . As soon as Gabriel was stable , our Head Veterinarian Dr Mark Middleton performed an external fixation procedure to repair Gabriel ’ s shattered leg and treated the other wounds on his little body that were the likely result of the alleged stoning incident .
Gabriel was soon bearing weight on his leg and stealing staff ’ s hearts at quite a pace . It was no surprise when he also stole the heart of a very special family who adopted Gabriel and welcomed him into their lives . Gabriel will never experience cold , fear or pain again and for that , we can ’ t thank his angels enough – from the children who flagged our vehicle down , our supporters who keep our vehicles on the road and enable us to employ skilled veterinary staff to the family who gave him more than just a place to call home - they gave him the greatest gift of all , the opportunity to love and be loved in return . Just look at the love in these pictures – it ’ s priceless .
Gabriel being comforted by Field Officer Junior Komani
Warm and dry in our hospital ward
Dr Mark Middleton performs Gabriel ’ s surgery
Gabriel recovering post-surgery
Nothing quite compares to a Mother ’ s love .
Just look at that face ! Gabriel knows he ’ s going home .
FOOTPRINTS 2020 15