If ever a dog needed a 'best friend', it was this little Maltese cross.

Trying to survive on her own on the harsh city streets, Fudge was starving, cold and frightened ... her filthy coat matted and infested with fleas.

But a man had noticed the little dog as he went to work in the mornings. He began putting food down for her in the hope that she’d let him get close enough to catch her.

Until one morning, she wasn’t there.

Peter looked for her again the next day, and the one after that. And, as the days turned into weeks, he grew more and more concerned – until eventually he found her safe and sound at the SPCA.

By then, she looked like a completely different animal! After a good wash and tidy up, food in her belly and a clean bill of health from our vet, Fudge was waiting to be adopted.

And who better to offer her a loving new home than her concerned friend, Peter?

Before Fudge could go home, she had to be vaccinated, de-wormed, spayed and microchipped – all of which costs much more than the R630 adoption fee.

But by keeping adoption fees affordable, we can re-home more dogs, cats and horses . . . and that’s what we all want, isn’t it – more happy endings?

Your contribution – made online right now – will help make up the shortfall between the adoption fee and the actual cost of saving and re-homing an animal.

It could pay for a dog like Fudge to be spayed, vaccinated and micro-chipped ... for horse shoes and the farrier’s bill for a rescued horse ... or for essential feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus tests and neutering of a litter of kittens.

Last year, we found new homes for 924 dogs, cats and horses. But re-homing unwanted animals is still our biggest challenge. Your support helps us meet the challenge - and gives more animals a second chance of a happy life. So please will you make your donation now?

Sincerely yours

ALLAN PERRINS
Chief Executive Officer
SPCA