https://rustplaasdogshelter.framer.website/

Rustplaas Dog Shelter NPC, Farm Rustplaas, Portion 27, Piet Retief (2025)

18/04/2025

THE TRUTH ABOUT ANIMAL RESCUE IN PIET RETIEF

As many of you know, Piet Retief faces many challenges in animal rescue and welfare due to a lack of formal facilities, resources, and very little support systems.
There is no SPCA, no municipal pound, and no formal rescue services.

Rustplaas Dog Shelter NPC is a sanctuary for dogs in need, and Kitty Crib is a halfway home that helps cats when they are able to - both do what they can with the help of volunteers and donors, but:
🔴 Rustplaas is currently at full capacity and cannot take in more dogs without more resources.
🔴 There are no holding facilities or kennels in Piet Retief for strays or emergency cases.
🔴 Limited funds, transport, vet access, and volunteers to support make many rescue situations impossible.
🔴 Citizens have also reached out for external assistance, but no nearby organisations are currently able to support our town’s animals and they are turned away.

Despite this, our community still tries to help - but we’re fighting an uphill battle without proper infrastructure or outside assistance. Community members often have nowhere to turn when they find abused, stray, or injured animals.

You may ask why don’t we “JUST OPEN A PROPER SHELTER”, but here’s the reality you might not know of:
⭕️ Zero government funding: Municipalities don’t fund shelters (even SPCAs rely on donations).
🚧️ Zoning/legal barriers: Land permits, noise complaints, and other delays can take years.
💉 Vet capacity: Rural areas like ours have critical vet shortages and our state vets have limited resources.
💸 Money goes to survival: Donations received cover food/vet bills for them - nothing’s left for infrastructure.
🐾 Dumping: One unsterilised pair of pets can produce 67,000 dogs in 6 years. We advocate for sterilisation as much as possible, but many pet owners cannot afford sterilisation at current rates or are against sterilising.
❌ Limited homes available: We try to rescue and rehome when possible, but homes aren't always immediately available.

We need:
⚠️ Volunteers (to help with transport, fundraising, hands-on help).
⚠️ Donations (food, kennels, vet care sponsorships).
⚠️ Collaboration from organisations willing to guide or partner with.

Criticism from those who refuse to help won’t solve this. If you truly want to help animals, then feel free to let us know what your ideas or suggestions are to improve animal rescue. Piet Retief’s animals deserve better than infighting - they need action. Together, we can do better.

We do what we can with what we have.

10/04/2025

WHY I DON'T USE PUNISHMENT (P+) IN DOG TRAINING OR BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION

Punishment-based dog training or behaviour modification often fails because it doesn't teach dogs what to do, instead, it only suppresses unwanted behaviors, leading to fear, anxiety, and potentially aggression, while also damaging the bond between dog and owner.

Some consequences of positive punishment are:

1. Punishment doesn't teach desired behaviors
Punishment focuses on what the dog shouldn't do, not what it should do, leaving the dog confused and unsure of what is expected.

2. Punishment creates fear and anxiety
Punishing a dog can lead to fear and anxiety, as they may associate the punishment with you or the situation, potentially causing them to become fearful or aggressive.

3. Punishment damages relationships
Punishment can damage the bond between you and your dog, as they may begin to distrust or fear you.

4. Punishment doesn't address the root cause of the behaviour
Punishment only addresses the symptom of the problem, not the underlying cause, which can lead to the behaviour resurfacing later.

5. Punishment can backfire
Dogs may learn to avoid situations or people associated with punishment, rather than learning the desired behaviour.

6. Punishment requires constant supervision and consistency
Punishment needs to be immediate, consistent, and severe enough to be effective, which can be difficult to achieve and may lead to unintended consequences.

Punishment can be, inter-alia:
Yanking, pushing or shoving
Corrections
Yelling and scolding
Finger pointing
Spray bottles
Use of choke chains, prong collars, shock collars , head harnesses, no pull harnesses or martingale collars
Withholding food, water or a warm place to rest
Withholding comfort when your dog is scared
Early pinching
Kneeing
Intimidation of any kind
Hitting or smacking
Forcing a dog to confront his fears or to 'get over it'
Saying "No!"
Saying "stop it!"

100% Positive reinforcement and not balanced training, is definitely effective in the long run, so instead of punishing unwanted behaviours, focus on rewarding and reinforcing desired behaviors which is a more effective and humane way to train dogs or modify behaviour.

Find a force-free, positive reinforcement, ethical trainer or behaviour professional to help you understand how to best work with your dog. Be aware of those punting the words 'balanced' and 'corrections' while throwing treats at your dog - they are not ethical professionals.

Note 1 - I am not going to argue with balanced trainers. I'm here to use my knowledge, education, skills and compassion to help my clients and their dogs. You do you and I will do me. Also be assured that I won't come onto your page to argue with you on your philosophies, ethics and knowledge.

Note 2 - this post does not cover emergencies like your dog running into the road or engaged in any dangerous situation. This post is about being proactive as opposed to reactive. It is not about setting your dog up for failure but rather to give them the skills to be successful with your assistance when confronted with a trigger.

Some sources:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817300357

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2053&context=hc_sas_etds

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7743949/ #:~:text=These%20findings%20indicate%20that%20aversive,and%20outside%20the%20training%20context.

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-46333-003

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318577941_Do_aversive-based_training_methods_actually_compromise_dog_welfare_A_literature_review

www.smartpetbehaviour.com
www.coape.org
www.cabti.org

08/04/2025

DOG BEHAVIOUR

A snippet from an online course by the University of Edinburgh called The Truth About Cats and Dogs. You can find it on Coursera and enroll for free. Very insightful and worth a watch for any dog-lover.

28/03/2025

Protecting animals isn’t up for debate.

28/03/2025

Join the Assegaai 4x4x40 Challenge in aid of Rustplaas Dog Shelter and Huis Immergroen. 💪

25/03/2025

Every bit helps! We need dog food and would greatly appreciate any help you can give. 🐶🦴💛

Donations can be made to Rustplaas Dog Shelter:
Absa Savings | Account: 9203150734 | Reference: Your Name + Dog Food

12/03/2025

RUSTPLAAS REACH:
We believe that every dog deserves proper care, whether they live in a home or guard a property.
Today, we visited a local business to check in on their friendly guard dog and offer a helping hand.

We donated a small pet care package containing:
- Dog food
- Dewormer
- Conditioning tablets
- Tick & flea powder
- Doggy treats
- Info pamphlets

We also shared some pet care tips and demonstrated how to apply the treatments and tablets.

A huge thank you to Thelma for your contributions to the package, and Mbali at Doves Funeral Services for welcoming us and letting us help their furry protector.

We're grateful for the opportunity to support pet owners in our community and to create a kinder world for animals.

12/03/2025

Rustplaas Staatsdiens Aankondiging

12 Maart 2025

Staatsdiens aankondiging aan alle Piet Retiewers dat kastrasie d.m.v skaaprekkies onwettig is en dat enige persoon wat weer so iets doen ‘n saak teen oopgemaak sal word.

Gebeurtenis:
• Inwoner (anoniem) van Piet Retief het tussen 2 en 4 Maart sy hond laat kastreer met skaaprekkies.
• Die rede: Hond wil blykbaar nie luister nie en dwaal in die strate rond, klim heeltyd uit by erf uit.
• Inwoner het ‘n vriend vanaf Swaziland wat help die kastrasies doen met skaaprekkies.
• Daar is ook valslik beweer dat die vriend ook vir Louis Fourie van Rustplaas help met kastrasies. *Rustplaas het nog nooit toegelaat dat honde met skaaprekkies kastreer word nie.
• Inwoner is bewus gemaak dat die tipe kastrasie ‘n oortreding is van die Dierebeskermingswet nr. 71 van 1962 en dat dit as dieremishandeling beskou word (net soos wat stert- en oorknip as verminking gesien word en neerkom op wreedheid teenoor diere), voordat dit nog gedoen was.
• Alternatiewe was voorgestel aan die inwoner om die hond binne die erf te hou, asook om die staatsveearts dienste aan te beveel. Reune se kastrasie teen R150.
• Hond (Jack Russell) was Dinsdag, 4 Maart gesien in pyn rondloop met die skaaprekkie aan, en lê en huil by verskeie inwoners se hekke in Burgerstraat.
• Hond is deur Louis Fourie van Rustplaas gevind op 4 Maart en Pets Vet toe geneem vir nood amputasie van die testikels.

Waarom die kastrasie van honde met skaaprekkies teen die Dierebeskermingswet nr. 71 van 1962 gaan:
• Die wet verbied enige optrede wat onnodige lyding vir diere veroorsaak. Kastrasie met skaaprekkies behels dat 'n stywe rekkie om 'n hond se testikels geplaas word om bloedvloei af te sny, dis nie net wreed en verminking nie, maar is ook 'n oortreding van hierdie wet.
• Die prosedure is uiters pynlik en kan lei tot ernstige komplikasies soos infeksie, weefselnekrose (dood van weefsel) en langdurige lyding.

Die skade wat veroorsaak word:
• Pynlik en onmenslik: Dit veroorsaak uiterste pyn vir die dier, aangesien dit bloedvloei na die area stadig afsny, wat lei tot swelling en nekrose.
• Infeksierisiko: Sonder behoorlike mediese sorg kan banding ernstige infeksies veroorsaak wat die hond se lewe in gevaar kan stel.
• Lyding: Hierdie stadige en pynlike proses kan langdurige lyding vir die hond tot gevolg hê, wat ingevolge die Dierebeskermingswet as 'n vorm van dieremishandeling beskou word.

Gaan veearts toe!
Veeartsenykundige sorg is meer menslik en veilig. Die Staatsveearts of 'n gekwalifiseerde veearts kan veilige, pynbeheerde metodes verskaf om diere te steriliseer/kastreer. Dit verseker dat die dier met behoorlike sorg behandel word, wat pyn en lyding tot die minimum beperk. Dit voorkom ook oorbevolking en die verantwoordelikheid van ongewensde werpsels, weghardloop en merking, verminder baklei en aggressie, en lei tot beter gesondheid/laer kankerrisiko vir die dier.

Belike pryse by staatsveearts. Bespreek asb kastrasie vir jul troeteldiere by Mkhondo Staatsveearts.
WhatsApp: 069 118 8567
Mannetjies katte: slegs R100, Reuntjies (honde): slegs R150

As jy dit oorweeg om jou hond te steriliseer of kastreer, raadpleeg asseblief 'n professionele veearts om te verseker dat die prosedure menslik en wettig gedoen word.

10/03/2025

Thank you Frik se Slaghuis 🐶🫶

06/03/2025

Introducing a new WhatsApp channel, Mkhondo Animal Care + Alerts.
Follow here: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb48CaoD8SDvKRJdj722

You will get useful information like:
🐕🐈 Lost & found pets
🏡❤️ Animals needing homes
🩺🐾 Pet care tips & advice
🚑🤒 First aid and home care
🚨📞 Emergency contacts
📍🛎️ Local animal services
🐾💉 Sterilisation & vaccination updates

It’s NOT a group - it’s a dedicated channel only for pet-related info. You’ll find it under the Updates section on WhatsApp. A quiet space for important updates and helpful info, no off-topic messages or noise.

05/03/2025

RUSTPLAAS PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:
Let it be known that the castration of dogs with cattle bands is inhumane and illegal.

He was warned, but he did it anyway. He can’t pretend he didn't know when he was told it’s cruel and illegal. That’s not a mistake - it’s a conscious choice.

If you know better, DO BETTER. If you choose not to, you're hurting not just the animal, but all the progress we've made as a civilised society to improve animal welfare. What example do you set?

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi

If you have any information about who is providing these cattle band castration services to pet owners, you can leave us an anonymous tip here: https://bit.ly/AnimalWelfareAnonymousTip

Rustplaas Dog Shelter NPC

18/04/2025

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