{"id":100124,"date":"2015-09-22T08:25:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-22T06:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/100124\/heartless-thieves-leave-spca-stationary\/"},"modified":"2015-09-22T08:58:20","modified_gmt":"2015-09-22T06:58:20","slug":"heartless-thieves-leave-spca-stationary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2015\/09\/22\/heartless-thieves-leave-spca-stationary\/","title":{"rendered":"Heartless thieves leave SPCA stationary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Already battling with a lack of vehicles and funds, the Germiston SPCA has been dealt another blow.<\/p>\n

Late last Thursday morning, one of the society’s bakkies was stolen.<\/p>

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The thieves entered the SPCA\u2019s Driehoek premises and took the vehicle without a care in the world.<\/p>\n

Already being one vehicle down, the SPCA is now two down and this, said manager Burt Coetzee, is a grave concern for them.<\/p>

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\u201cWe are having to prioritise cases, and have to respond to the more urgent cruelty cases first, before being able to respond to anything else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a huge hardship for us, as the care of and assistance to our communities\u2019 animals is our top priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

The incident happened after one of the SPCA\u2019s drivers had just returned from having two new tyres fitted to the vehicle.<\/p>\n

He parked the bakkie at the back of the premises, as usual, and closed the gate.<\/p>\n

\u201cA little while later he asked me if I would like him to fetch the vehicle and bring it to the front, as I was going to use it,\u201d said Coetzee.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, when he got to where he had parked it, it was gone and the back gate was open.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first we thought that maybe one of the other staff members had taken the vehicle, but all the drivers were present and accounted for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coetzee immediately alerted the SPCA\u2019s tracking company and the bakkie was tracked to City Deep, Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, the vehicle was not there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where they must have disconnected the tracking system,\u201d Coetzee said.<\/p>\n

About an hour-an-a-half later, Coetzee received a call to say that the bakkie had been located on the N1 highway, near Naturena.<\/p>\n

Two men were arrested and a third, the driver, managed to escape.<\/p>\n

Although the vehicle was insured, the damage was too great for repair work and it had to be written off.<\/p>\n

Coetzee said the SPCA has to come up with R50 000 to pay the difference between the insured amount and a replacement vehicle.<\/p>\n

Various items of equipment, including a camera, were taken from the bakkie and not recovered, so these will also have to be replaced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would appreciate the community\u2019s help in covering these expenses,\u201d Coetzee said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIdeally, the replacement cost of this vehicle and the donation of a new one would be the dream, as then we can do our jobs effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that luckily no animals were in the vehicle at the time of its theft, so they didn\u2019t have to worry about animals being hurt during the robbery.<\/p>\n

In addition to the vehicle, the SPCA now also has to look at upgrading security at the premises.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work stand-by duties and often come into the kennels after 11pm at night,\u201d Coetzee said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not safe for the staff, as you have to get out of the vehicle, open a gate, drive in, get out and close the gate again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ideally the SPCA would like to install motorised gates, which would be a much safer option for the staff and animals being brought in.<\/p>\n

The SPCA is looking for a donation of palisade gates, as well as motors and cement to do the installation.<\/p>\n

If you can assist in any way call 082 675 0072.<\/p>\n

Coetzee said help in any form would be greatly appreciated.<\/p>\n

Jack Russell Estates has already donated R1 000 towards the cause and is challenging all other businesses to match them.<\/p>\n