AFTER a dramatic rescue from the freeway after he was hit by a car, Buddy Loadshedding will enjoy Christmas with his new family.
It has been a traumatic six weeks for the young dog, first spotted lying on the M19 freeway on October 26 by Marshall Security community support, Andreas Mathios.
This week, Mathios said: “I was on my way to work on the M19 heading towards Durban when I spotted vehicles ahead of me swerving left and right. It so happened to be a dog sitting in the middle of the road and I knew the dog had been hit already by the position it was in.
“I had very little time to react and came to a screeching halt, ran into the middle of the freeway and lay down next to the dog to prevent it from moving, in case the oncoming traffic hit it.
“It was at this point that a truck, which had been behind me, immediately applied his brakes and shielded me from being hit by other oncoming vehicles. He put his hazards on and positioned his truck so oncoming traffic would have to slow down, stop and go around us. Another motorist, by the name of Ryan, also stopped and came to my assistance,” said Mathios, who managed to put a leash on the frightened dog whose leg was broken. They moved the hurt animal to the side of the road.
“I lay down with the dog to keep him comfortable and also assessed he was in a lot of pain. I was cradling him in my arms and thought he was going to die, the way he was reacting, closing his eyes, he was fading on me. I was very distraught about that,” said Mathios, adding he had called for help from Kloof & Highway SPCA, whose team arrived within 30 minutes.
Mathios also alerted the Here Buddy Community, a dog rescue organisation run by Marshall Security, who also jumped into action to facilitate the rescue.
Kloof & Highway SPCA manager Barbara Patrick said this week that SPCA inspectors Petros Simamane and Petra Abrams attended the accident.
Patrick said: “He was badly injured and transported to the Kloof & Highway SPCA Clinic”, adding that the dog was named Buddy by the rescue team at the accident.
When he was transferred to Westville Veterinary Hospital for further treatment, it was during loadshedding and the hospital staff nicknamed him Loadshedding, so he became known as “Buddy Loadshedding”.
Now six weeks later, his name will change again to Basil, as Westville Veterinary Hospital nurse Talia Stent will take him home for Christmas.
At the hospital on Thursday, Stent said Buddy Loadshedding was admitted with a fractured leg and suffering from erlichia (tick infestation).
“I liked him from the second he arrived, he just spoke to me. He’s affectionate and has such a calm nature,” said Stent, who has already taken him for an initial visit to her home to see if he connected with her husband, baby son and pet cat.
Vet assistant Shumi Mbali, who has also been caring for the injured dog with Stent, said at the beginning of this week, Buddy put his weight on his injured leg for the first time, which was a good sign.
“He’s a very friendly dog,” said Mbali.
Meanwhile Patrick has urged all pet owners to make sure their pets are properly cared for in the upcoming holiday season and to “take special care of their pets as there could be fireworks and bad storms which frighten all animals”. She added that all lost and found pets should be reported to the nearest SPCA.
The Independent on Saturday