K9 & Bridgers- Rescue

31/07/2024

Outreach 20 July, 2024.

It's not always easy to put into words what we do because it's not just a heroic rescue or an emergency, it's an everyday support and assist for a community of people that don't have much at all.

When we go into our community once a month, it's to provide a food education program that helps make the little they have go a little further, it's to try be the bridge between animals suffering or needing something (kennels, medical assistance, food, blankets etc) but it's also to promote responsible pet ownership.

We are not interested in handing out freebies because they decided to take on these animals, they have a duty to uphold and in times of need, we will do our best to lend a helping hand.

In taking the stance we do, we have seen that in the long run (I'm talking years), we now have a community that's:

💜On a whatsapp group
💜 That report animal abuse and help stand up for animals around them
💜 Committed to helping if they can
💜 Willing to try do better

Here's a success stories for you 👇

We gifted a kennel to a dog called Cassie awhile ago, her owner absolutely adores her pitbull. Cassie is a sterilized female that lives her best life indoors but when the owner goes to work Cassie gets to play outside and be sheltered from the elements. In the terrible weather we've had, I get a picture of Cassie on the couch and a message saying:

"Our neighbors dog is outside in the pouring rain, Cassie and I have gifted your kennel to them as she is safe inside and this dog is wet. I hope that's okay"

When getting a message like this, I cannot tell you the pride and joy our team feel knowing that our fighting for better, our education, our perseverance through the tough days is WORTH IT.

We wanted to say a very special thank you to each person that donated food and money to our outreach. We managed to put R3500 towards our R6236 bill and we are so extremely grateful 💙

Please help us, help this community and allow us to keep fighting for better!

It takes a village and we are proud!

22/05/2024

22/05/2024

I assure you, the silence comes from being slightly overwhelmed but the work has continued ❤️

There are good days, bad days, great days and tough days. The last while has been a struggle; it feels like we have taken a few steps back with our community BUT then you get a day like this one... where 7 more animals are no longer a worry for breeding, being abused, misused and can live an easier life ❤️

Ingamu Foundation you guys are a pivotal part of this rescues success- we cannot thank you enough for trusting us to help our fur-friends and for helping so many organizations out there 💜

Cape of Good Hope SPCA your commitment to helping is revolutionary and absolutely amazing- you guys are true Hero's!

It takes a village!

18/02/2024

It's been an eventful start to the year! 🥳

Introducing our newest member to the K9 team- Connor Gregory Bridger 💜 While Mama Bear has been focused on this little man, the team have carried on with our outreaches and its business as usual!

February outreach was held last weekend and our team were able to list even more steri's 💪

It's been a big push for us to get Tick & flea treatment out and educate the importance of shade, water, the ideal conditions for walking, ticks & fleas this time of year and how they can make their pets more comfortable. We are extremely proud of our progress and we firmly stand by our goal:

🐈 Educate, empower, sterilize, rehabilitate 🐕

We want to build up a community, give them the tools they need to do better for their pets and to give the voiceless a voice.

❗️ This year we are planning an expansion but before that happens, we need to ensure our food supply is covered for our current community- if there is anyone or any company wanting to get involved, please reach out (we can issue section 18a certificates) ❗️

We do our best to limit our requests for help as we know there are so many orgs needing assistance but for us food is vital in our program and without it we are pretty stuck. We sell the food at R10 per kg (we currently buy food for R17.26 per kg), prepack 2kg bags and the money made goes back into sterilizations, medical bills and buying more food.

Our food education program teaches our community that owning a pet comes with great responsibility and it helps them realize that you can't just acquire more and more without consequences. We want to change the cycle not have it be repeated!

Please feel free to DM if you would prefer to buy dog or cat food, we will gladly share the delivery address or we can come and collect 🙏

Name: K9 and Bridgers Rescue
Bank: Standard Bank (Cheque)
Branch code: 051001
Account number: 10175742365

It takes a village and we are beyond grateful for ours 💜

27/12/2023

We cannot thank the Ingamu Foundation enough for all the effort, support and backing they have shown our rescue this year.

Without this team of angels we would not have been able to achieve half of what we did, and I don't think any amount of words will ever be able to express our gratitude 💜

We cannot endorse foundations like this enough. Often people are quick to donate (because of their kind hearts) but the question comes up: where do the funds really go? By backing a foundation like this, you are guaranteed your donation goes towards something specific and it gives you piece of mind that it's being used honestly - it's a win-win.

It takes a village 💜💜

Looking back on the past few months,this year has been quite a journey and fills us with heaps of motivation for the future💪

Super proud of what we could achieve and accomplish and the change and positive impact we were able to make💛💛

Another 10 animals sterilized with K9 & Bridgers- Rescue which brings our total to a whopping 120 sterilizations for 2023🐾🐶🐱

Our path is filled with purpose and immense importance on making a real difference.

Like, share and follow our page and embark on our journey with us and let's be the change we wish to see🌟

27/12/2023

It was such a busy last outreach that the pictures and videos failed us this time 🫢

What a way to end the year off 🥳 Our team braved the heat and wind and made sure our voiceless friends were taken care of. Loads of familiar faces came to check in, we had booster vacs issued, more than 300kgs of food purchased, dozens of leashes and collars gifted, many tins of food handed out (as a Christmas gift) and plenty of tick & flea preventatives bought.

The kids brought in a kitty that did not seem to be doing so well but with the medication + education given by the amazing AWA Tilly- we are hoping for a positive outcome.

Our plea for leashes and collars was so well supported and we just wanted to thank everyone who stepped up to help 💜 A special shout out to Animal Welfare Helderberg who donated 26 brand new leashes and collars, Celeste who rallied food, bowls, leashes, collars and a kennel and Mike who rallied harnesses, leashes, collars and food.

This rescue is NOTHING without the support of our community. Our team is willing to climb any mountain, fight any battle, push for better outcomes but, we can only do this if we have the tools to do it and YOU have enabled us to work for change: thank you, thank you, thank you!

We already have 20 sterilizations listed going into the new year and big plans that we look forward to sharing with you 🥰

I'll never stop saying it- IT TAKES A VILLAGE 🫶

Happy Holidays everyone.

11/12/2023

We need LEASHES, COLLARS, AND HARNESSES DESPERATELY🙏🙏❗️ A good intention gone horribly wrong 💔

Our team have been doing lots of groundwork and keeping our stance clear:

We will help you but, you as a pet owner have a responsibility to uphold, and this commitment is a 50/50. With the continuous management, communication, food education programs and the clinic: we support and enable our community to do what's best for their pets, and it is a full-time job.

Our post comes after an awful situation occurred last week with one of our community members who took their dog to the river for some play time and a swim (how amazing that the owner decided to enrich his dog?). Ashroy did not have a lead but his dog (nearly 11) has been good at following commands, got overly excited, and a car stopped next to her on Victoria Road and deliberately drove over her.

Steffy had stopped next to the pavement (on the road but not in the middle of the road) and realized she needed to wait for her owner and while the owner was running to get her, this son of a bitch stopped just behind her, put his car in 1st and rammed her 💔 I am not going to post the pictures, if you'd like to see it as proof please feel free to contact me, but I'm not going to do that to anyone.

Our community member tried to do the right thing but unfortunately didn't follow all the rules (to use a leash). A ruthless person then committed a crime and sadly Steffy died. We want to try to help prevent this from happening again, and we need your help, community 🙏❗️

We have managed to keep our food education program alive and manage most expenses, but we simply don't have the budget for leashes, collars, and harnesses. PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING YOUR OLD ONES OR NEW IF YOU CAN 🙏

We have more than 100 dogs in our community, and we are hoping to get as many of them kitted so that we can be rest assured there is some safety. Our next outreach is December 23rd, so our deadline is December 20th.

I'll be happy to collect or share my delivery address, please reach out if you can help: 079 629 2830 💜🙏

11/12/2023

We need LEASHES, COLLARS, AND HARNESSES DESPERATELY🙏🙏❗️ A good intention gone horribly wrong 💔

It's been awhile since we posted, but I assure you that the work and effort hasn't slowed down.

Our team have been doing lots of groundwork and keeping our stance clear:

We will help you but, you as a pet owner have a responsibility to uphold, and this commitment is a 50/50. With the continuous management, communication, food education programs and the clinic: we support and enable our community to do what's best for their pets, and it is a full-time job.

Our post comes after an awful situation occurred last week with one of our community members who took their dog to the river for some play time and a swim (how amazing that the owner decided to enrich his dog?). Ashroy did not have a lead but his dog (nearly 11) has been good at following commands, got overly excited, and a car stopped next to her on Victoria Road and deliberately drove over her.

Steffy had stopped next to the pavement (on the road but not in the middle of the road) and realized she needed to wait for her owner and while the owner was running to get her, this son of a bitch stopped just behind her, put his car in 1st and rammed her 💔 I am not going to post the pictures, if you'd like to see it as proof please feel free to contact me, but I'm not going to do that to anyone.

Our community member tried to do the right thing but unfortunately didn't follow all the rules (to use a leash). A ruthless person then committed a crime and sadly Steffy died. We want to try to help prevent this from happening again, and we need your help, community 🙏❗️

We have managed to keep our food education program alive and manage most expenses, but we simply don't have the budget for leashes, collars, and harnesses. PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING YOUR OLD ONES OR NEW IF YOU CAN 🙏

We have more than 100 dogs in our community, and we are hoping to get as many of them kitted so that we can be rest assured there is some safety. Our next outreach is December 23rd, so our deadline is December 20th.

I'll be happy to collect or share my delivery address, please reach out if you can help: 079 629 2830 💜🙏

Inspector Kyle from Animal Welfare Helderberg and the team went above and beyond to help Steffy and I thank them for all their work-you guys are hero's 🦹‍♀️

Please share far and wide!

06/11/2023

Sterilizing your pets means you are NOT contributing to an already VERY over run system.

There are more puppies & kittens and in actual fact animals in general than there are homes and very often homes where animals stay outside with no shelter, have minimal food, live on chains and have no access to medical treatment. It is not fair to expect someone else to save the day if you have a choice to not take on more, breed and add to the cycle. Do the right thing 💜

👇👇👇

Check out K9&Bridgers Rescue's video.

30/10/2023

We are so proud and grateful to be part of the change 😍

This steri runs marks the 100th steri we have been able to do in Lorensia (this year) - the magnitude of this is huge and we look forward to adding a few more before the year draws to a close 🥳😍💪

We owe all the thanks for these 10 steri's to the amazing supporters of Heldervue Kwikspar & Tops! To everyone who has purchased a steri voucher at the tellers- thank you, thank you, thank you! This initiative will continue at the store and your contribution has made the world of difference.

Sterilization is such a vital part of rescue, it's a fight that needs to be fought every.single.day because MANY people believe it's inhumane, it's a danger, it's not God's work, it's their right to breed their animal, that the bylaw is not applicable to them... the list of crap excuses could continue BUT our team persevere and the results are showing ❤️

We stand proud and will continue to fight the good fight and we thank you for fighting with us!

It takes a village 💪

Take a look at our recipients from today's steri run👇👇

Check out K9&Bridgers Rescue's video.

26/10/2023

We are so extremely grateful to the amazing families of Beaumont Primary School and the incredible Justine Frey from Thrifty Paws for all the effort, time and assistance!

We have 31 steri's lined up, 650kgs of food to buy for Saturday and the funds raised from this initiative have all gone straight to pay for all of it❤️❤️

From all the animals in Lorensia Park, our team and the community- THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

It takes a village 🥰

CHARITY

Thrifty Paws would like to thank our Beaumont family for all the bric-a-brac donated during term 3 which helped towards raising funds to help animals.

24/10/2023

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.' -Harriet Tubman

This weekend we head in for our monthly outreach and we cannot wait to share the stories with you ❤️

09/10/2023

There is no better feeling 🥰

Happy Monday everyone!

04/10/2023

It's easy to get lost and "used" in this line of work but it's vital to remember that the responsibility of pet ownership should never fall on a rescue.

Yes, we can assist: be a bridge BUT what are we doing if we are only putting out fires and giving endlessly without any commitment from the owners? You might as well shut down at that point because our job should be to educate, promote responsible behavior and be a voice for the voiceless.

We had to take a step back and do a harsh reality check because our goal is not to be indebted, it's to teach and maintain.

We have listed 31 more sterilizations and we are looking forward to breaking new grounds with this rescue 💜

If you would like to get involved, please DM us! 🙏

14/09/2023

The truth is, we are not here to be the heroic rescuers that are dealing with endless horror cases, we are here to prevent it and empower our community to do better.

This job, these animals, this community, our purpose- it is so much greater than just the here and now.... we will not stop and we will continue to make a difference, one house, one animal at a time.

We are hoping to get a small bakkie so that we can make our job a little easier. We are not looking for anything fancy or lavish, just something to help us transport kennels, pick up donations of wood, collect and move the 350+ kgs of food we pre-pack every two weeks.

Since this rescue started, Shane and I have used our personal vehicle and it's time we reach for more functionality, less stress on moving things and get our system even better than what it is now 💜

Please please share our link, help us- help more! 👇👇👇

https://www.backabuddy.co.za/help-us-get-a-bakkie

It takes a village🫶

11/09/2023

I know it seem's like we have been quiet but I promise you, we have been the furthest thing from it!

The last month has been about listing more steri's, hustling for food, preparing for the most awesome Kennel Painting Day which took place on Saturday and also trying to manage everyday life.

FRIENDS OF RADLOFF PARK thank you for arranging such a special event. Kennels For a Cause thank you and your team for working your asses off to get 53 kennels out- you guys are rockstars!!

Our outreaches are still taking place every two weeks and once a month we extend our area to assist a neighboring community. It has been a slow start with them but we remember how it was when we first started out and with our systems and procedures in place, it is simply about showing up, sticking to our procedures and lending a helping hand. Rome was certainly not built in a day and we will get there

26/07/2023

Outreach Saturday 26 July 🐈🐕💜

The sun was out, the kids were on top form and the Animal Welfare Helderberg clinic was bustling, Tilly was busy from start to finish!

We were able to capture two of our 5 recipients getting their beautiful kennels, a massive thank you to Kennels For a Cause for your amazing work.

We were able to reunite Stoutes with her owner (after 3.5 weeks) and the picture of the owner thanking our team says a million words!!!

Often we think: Is this enough? Should we be doing more? Are we making a difference? On Saturday and this past week, that answer came to us loud and clear…. YES!

We hosted a mass steri day last year for Mandela day and some of those recipients came to get their booster shots for the year, do you know how amazing that is? That means that the owners took the time to set reminders, keep the vet cards and actually followed our advice – we are proud ☺️

On Saturday we met new people, we laughed, we enjoyed checking in on all our fur friends, and you want to know the best part? All of it was but a massive highlight and victory for us was winning over 2 homes we have been struggling with for MONTHS.

Our work is not often “instant gratification”. Our approach is about giving each person the tools, information, and advice to do better and be better (educate) and if after multiple attempts our efforts fall on deaf ears, we take further steps. We had 2 houses that refused to work with us, there were days we cried, shouted, screamed and even begged – nothing came of it. SPCA went out more than once, the next step was law enforcement and through the efforts and perseverance of everyone 5 ANIMALS were sterilized, vaccinated, gifted kennels AND the owners raised the white flag.

When you feel like you are fighting for nothing, hope gets lost, and you could feel it within our team, but all was restored and greatly celebrated this past week, again – WE ARE PROUD.

This community we are supporting really is making great strides to do better, our support is ever-growing, and we have all of you to thank.

We adore this village of people working towards a better future for our fur friends, and we stand tall in our stance-education and sterilization IS KEY!

If you would like to get involved, please DM us

21/07/2023

Take a look 👉👉👉 https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM2qMF7XF/

Proud of our work and grateful beyond to The Ingamu Foundation and Cape of Good Hope SPCA for making this possible!

What a blessing it is to be able to be part of this change and we look forward to helping the voiceless and empowering communities to do better for their pets!

Another 10 animals sterilized in our community, that brings our total to 90 this year! Our goal is 200 💪

If you'd like to get involved, DM us 🥳🥳 It takes a village!!

54 likes, 4 comments. “We are proud! We are grateful! Sterilizing is the way forward and we feel privileged to be able to gift this to our communities pets 💜 We are trying to expand areas, it's just very difficult to navigate but we are doing our best.”

20/07/2023

Check out K9&Bridgers Rescue's video.

12/07/2023

Petworld you are so AWESOME.

Thank you for always helping and for offering a space for people to come and drop off goodies ❤️ I know many things in this donation are from the store and we just want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU 🙏

We cannot do without support like this, we have many mouths to feed and the pressure is immense.

10/07/2023

Pay it forward this and partner with us to make a difference for deserving dogs 🇿🇦💚

We extend a friendly challenge to all local businesses, clubs and organisations in the Helderberg Basin to help us to achieve our goal of 50 sponsored kennels for our 2nd annual initiative. Each kennel is custom built and all orders must be placed by 31 July at the latest.

On Saturday 9 September, bring your team to join us at Radloff Park for a fantastic morning of painting the kennels, against a jovial, market-style backdrop of great food, coffee and wonderful local talents. Afterwards, the beautifully decorated kennels will be donated throughout the community by our selected animal welfares.

The cost per kennel is R765. Please email [email protected] to claim yours 💚

30/06/2023

It's about maintaining, empowering and uplifting your community. It's about giving everything you have so they can live a better life. It's about being their voice because they are voiceless.

👉👉👉

It's about maintaining, empowering and uplifting your community. It's about giving everything you have so they can live a better life. It's about being their voice because they are voiceless.

27/06/2023

Outreach 24 June 2023 💜

The sun was out 🌞and it was such a treat!

As we continue to educate, offer a food education program and maintain our area- we keep seeing new faces, meeting new people in the area and the support of what we are doing is growing.

Sometimes it feels like the words we preach fall on deaf ears but if we take a look at the success of the year- we are indeed making a dent!

We have done almost 90 sterilizations in our area this year and we have 10 more listed that will be going in soon 🤩

🦂We had a lady flag us down asking for assistance on her dog Stoutes who we later found out had been stung by a Scorpion! The little critter traveled in my car and landed in the consulting room 🫣 What touched us about this story was the bond between owner and dog.

When I say this lady has been through cancer, unemployment and living on next to nothing- I am not lying but, we walked into her little home to find a small bag of Karoo Montego on the shelf for her fur child. When you live hand to mouth but make a plan to give your dog the best you can, that is all we can ever ask for ❤️ This poor woman is heart broken without her dog but we are going to make a plan to take her through to welfare this week so the two of them can reunited for a little 🙏

We are hoping Stoutes pulls through, she is in a severe amount of pain but we are hopeful!

A huge shout out to Animal Welfare Helderberg for their continued support and work. Tilly is the AWA who joins our clinic every 2 weeks and she is a vital part of this journey ❤️ A special shoutout to everyone at welfare for all your work, I know it's often unnoticed but, we are grateful 🙏

We also wanted to say thank you to the amazing Cat Box Pet Hyper for our incredible food donation! Many animals have food for the next month - thank you!

Thank you to each and everyone of you for walking this journey with us.

It takes a village and we are so very proud ❤️

17/06/2023

Tonight I sit back and reflect on the last week.

Outreach last Saturday was the apitamy of: one foot in front of the other, and majority of it was positive.

Education, perseverance and a glass half full attitude will be the way we keep making an impact.

We are working on getting Envers yard enclosed so that his one dog is no longer chained, we are in need of building materials if ANYONE can assist.

Brown is doing so well after his surgery 💜

Rex has crossed the rainbow bridge 💔our team held him in his last moments. After bringing him through sterilization, tickbite fever, chronic nose bleeds, Erlicia and poor genetics- he was hit by a car. The scar of his death will remain but we shall keep it as a reminder of why we are working so hard in our community to keep them safe, fed and living better lives.

We then had to part with a very dear soul. Her bright spirit, happy wagging tail and her beautiful nature will never be forgotten. Another scar that won't be healing anytime soon. The harsh reality out there is if we cannot save them in their community, the chances at a second life are very slim. There is a serious breeding issue that needs to be addressed in every area and if we cannot start adopting out adults- the outlook is tough. Adult cats and dogs are last on the list which is why our team have decided to take the hard route to educate, educate, educate.

Fast forward to the floods. Devastation everywhere. I am proud of Animal Welfare Helderberg, the orgs that ventured impossible areas and did what they could to help. It is a day I won't be forgetting anytime soon but, I am proud.

Extra fast forward to today. A silver lining, a breath of fresh air, a true WOW moment. Shane and I got to meet two of the amazing people behind Ingamu Foundation and an absolute power house behind Paws is the Cause. I could not be more grateful to these two causes for all their help, support and love. What these two causes have achieved and the support they have given to dozens of orgs is MIND BLOWING. It is a privilege to watch the magic spread and see all the lives changed because of them. From our team to yours, thank you!

Another special mention goes to our team for their selfless work. No matter how tough the job or how complicated it can get- they are there. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Tonight we think about everyone facing this cold and rain and we hope a break is coming 💜

It takes a village. We love our village and we stand strong to live another day.

14/06/2023

Thank you for this awesome post Pethub.co.za 🤩🫶🫶🫶😍

01/06/2023

This is Freddie ❤️ Freddie is part of the community in blue initiative and he volunteers his time at our clinics to keep us safe. 🤩

Freddie has walked a long journey with us and has been an excellent pet owner. From the moment we met him, trust was built and we are proud!

Thank you for loving your pets, for keeping us safe and for always being such a ray of sunshine 🤩

29/05/2023

Outreach 27 May 2023 💜

Community, we owe you a MASSIVE THANK YOU 😭 We were able to get enough money in to buy the food we needed PLUS an additional 100kgs!

Friends and even people who didn't know us read our post and delivered food, sent money and supported- we are so so grateful 🙏

Crawford Steel made 2 trips to us on Friday, how amazing?

It was a good day on Saturday but hard too. One of our OG's has been surrendered to Animal Welfare and we are gutted. Fiela is in the safest place but man, when a pitty that adores other dogs, children and us is battered and bruised- one cannot help but feel like we have failed her 💔 Tomorrow we are going to share her story and we are hoping to find her a second chance at a happily ever after, one she so badly deserves.

We checked in on everyone, vaccinated plenty, educated the kids and answered many questions.

Simon and Brown are loving their couch, Brown got his surgery (yet another amazing victory) and he is healing well 💜

The mommy cat that ran away from us for months has been sterilized (finally) and she actually comes to us for love now 🐈

Rex is thriving after we thought he was on his last and we believe it's all thanks to 1 tin of cat food. No clue HOW but, no jokes- 2 hours after eating the whole tin, he started to walk again and now he runs down the road to greet us 😭😍

Our food education program is a roaring success and we are proud! Our community is really giving their all to do better for their pets and when they slip up- we are there to lend a hand and support! If they continue to slip up despite our efforts, then next steps get taken.

K9 & Bridgers empowers their community, we utilize every possible resource we can in the field and work hand in hand with them. We want to promote responsibility, not judge, allow them to feel proud of their pets and offer the opportunity to do right. This approach is consuming on every level but, this is what change looks like!

The success of our efforts is thanks to all of you, our incredible, selfless team and without Animal Welfare Helderberg - we would be so behind! Tilly- you are a vital part of this team 💜

Stay tuned for Fielas post tomorrow and if you ever want to join us in the field- DM us!

Stay warm everyone.

It takes a village!