22/09/2026
🚨 IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM STANGER ANIMAL RESCUE🚨
We need to address something that has become increasingly frustrating and unsustainable.
Going forward, Stanger Animal Rescue will no longer be taking responsibility for owned animals simply because their owners no longer want them, don't want to deal with them, or expect the rescue to handle their responsibilities.
We recently received a message saying:
“I no longer need my dog, hope you can come take it.”
An animal is not something you stop needing when it becomes inconvenient.
We have also recently had a situation where an owned dog became seriously ill and required urgent veterinary care. We stepped in because the animal needed help immediately. However, the owner was capable of taking their own dog to the vet and even had their own vehicle.
This is where we need to draw the line.
We absolutely DO help owners who are genuinely struggling.
We assist where we can with things such as food, sterilisation and support for families who are truly in need. We understand that circumstances can be difficult, and our goal is always to keep animals safe and with their families wherever possible.
But there is a difference between genuinely needing help and simply expecting a rescue to take over your responsibilities.
Our resources are extremely limited. We have abandoned animals, strays, emergencies, foster shortages, sterilisation needs and veterinary bills requiring our attention every single day.
Please think carefully before getting an animal.
🐾 Do not get an animal if you cannot afford to care for them.
🐾 Do not get an animal if you are unwilling to sterilise them.
🐾 Do not get an animal if you expect a rescue to take over whenever your pet needs a vet.
🐾 Do not get an animal if you think you can simply hand them over when you no longer want them.
🐾 Do not get an animal if you see them as disposable.
Your animal is your responsibility.
We will continue helping people who genuinely need assistance because that is part of what we believe rescue should be about, supporting responsible owners so they can keep and care for their animals.
But we cannot continue enabling people who are perfectly capable of caring for their animals and simply choose not to.
And please remember that we are not a shelter. We do not have endless kennels or a large team of paid staff.
We also want to make it clear that we do not have a large team of volunteers behind us. The “volunteers” are essentially just a few of us doing everything we can to keep this rescue going.
We rely heavily on donations, and we barely have enough foster homes available for the animals who desperately need somewhere safe to go. When we receive more rescue cases, there often simply isn't anywhere for them to go.
We have also been trying to raise funds to build a shelter, and to put things into perspective, we haven't even managed to raise R2,000 towards that goal.
We are doing what we can with what we have.
So please, before bringing an animal into your life, make sure you are prepared to take responsibility for them for their entire lifetime.
They are not disposable.
They are not a temporary commitment.
And they are not someone else's responsibility when you decide you no longer want them. 🐾❤️
