By Marilyn Hoole | PROJECT LEADER
GLOBALGIVING REPORT – JUNE 2025
HELP ALLEVIATE MISERY FOR ANIMALS IN CAPE TOWN
Dear TEARS Animal Rescue Supporters on the GlobalGiving Platform
The well-known quote by Helen Keller, referring to partnerships, can certainly be applied to the collaboration between TEARS Animal Rescue and AfriPaw Animal Welfare –
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
Together, TEARS Animal Rescue and AfriPaw are making a significant difference to the welfare of animals and their owners in the low-income communities of the Deep South on the Cape Peninsula, which includes Capricorn (Vrygrond) and surrounding areas. Our programs help to alleviate misery for the animals, provide education and support to the owners, and teach them to care for their companion pets humanely.
In our February 2025 Report, we introduced you to our two new state-of-the-art Mobile Education and Treatment Clinics, which allow us to extend our compassion education, and treatment impact in the areas we serve. These vehicles provide us with an advanced platform for transforming animal welfare and community engagement in the Southern Peninsula and beyond. Each truck is equipped to serve as a “classroom on wheels” and a mobile veterinary clinic. With audio-visual equipment for educational presentations, 26 cages for safe animal transport, and space for limited treatments, including microchipping, vaccinations, and transport for animals needing specialised care at the TEARS Veterinary Hospital.
The TEARS Mobile Education and Treatment Clinics are enabling TEARS to expand its core mission to communities that previously had limited access to primary veterinary care and educational resources. With the capacity to offer medical services and host interactive education sessions in schools, at community centres, and events, TEARS can now better address challenges like pet overpopulation, neglect, and animal welfare at a grassroots level.
The Mobile Education and Treatment Clinics are being used with great success at our monthly Pet Clinics with AfriPaw, in Capricorn (Vrygrond), and an increasing number of pet owners are visiting the Clinics, where, on average, we are treating around 800 pets at each Clinic. To facilitate a coordinated clinic, the treatment area is divided into four sections: veterinary consultations, deworming, vaccinating, and dipping. All pet owners and their pets must be registered with the clinic or be prepared to register, whereupon they receive a Pet Clinic Card and a Veterinary Card, and all pets must be sterilised. AfriPaw Ambassadors work hard “on the ground” in Capricorn (Vrygrond), building relationships with the community and identifying animals needing help and/or sterilisation. AfriPaw has the most effective incentivisation programme, whereby all registered pets and owners attending the Clinic receive a bag of food (sponsored by Battersea), and after six monthly visits to the Clinic, the pet owner receives a free kennel for their dog.
Weekly spay days are held, and animals are transported by the TEARS ambulances from Capricorn to our on-site clinic, where, on average, 50 animals are sterilised each week. The partnership with AfriPaw works so well because AfriPaw Ambassadors recruit the sterilisation sign-ups at the monthly Pet Clinics or during door-to-door home visits. On the morning of the scheduled Spay Day, AfriPaw and TEARS vehicles meet at central pick-up points to collect and transport all the animals to the TEARS on-site clinic. The effective partnership between AfriPaw and TEARS ensures a stronger and more efficient service to help animals and their owners. Between January and April this year, the collaboration produced the following stats:
Dog Spays: 174
Dog Neuters: 178
Cat Spays: 267
Cat Neuters: 185
TOTAL 804
Vaccinations: 804
Tick & Flea Treatments: 804
Deworming: 804
While there is still so much to be done in terms of sterilisation, pet homelessness, and education, we are beginning to observe an encouraging difference through our collaborative efforts, with more and more pet owners wanting to sterilise and provide a better life for their pets. We thank you, our loyal donors, for your support by donating via the GlobalGiving Platform. Every donation helps us to provide life-saving services to companion animals in Vrygrond and surrounding areas.
Thank you for caring.
Warm regards
MARILYN HOOLE
PROJECT LEADER
03.06.25
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