Ingrid de Storie with 1 Kennel at a Time feeding one of the hungry dogs in Ocean View.
Animals and their owners in Ocean View are finding hope and relief through the collaboration of two pet-oriented organisations.
Ingrid de Storie, of Ocean View, is the go-to person for 1 Kennel at a Time, an animal-welfare organisation established in 2015 by herself and Corrine Wilson, who is now in the UK. Its aim is to offer respite to animals in poor communities.
Ms De Storie and volunteer Trintjie de Jonge are hands-on, feeding the pets of owners whose incomes have been destroyed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The two women seek out dogs and cats that need food, and they inform the community about pet care. They also de-flea the animals and refer those that need to be sterilised.
“They can't talk; I am here for them, and I love what I do,” said Ms De Storie. “I help the community, and I want to see that all the dogs - I mean all the dogs - get a kennel because there are lots on the waiting list, and it's not nice to see how these poor dogs are sleeping in the rain.”
Ms De Storie also helps Ms De Jonge at a dog grooming parlour in Kommetjie. The dogs she rescues she sends to The Emma Animal Rescue Society (TEARS).
“Thanks to Mandy Store at Tears for always helping me with all the animals," said Ms De Storie, who has four dogs and four cats or her own, all rescues.
Young boys in her community helped her to find dogs or cats in need, she said.
Through 1 Kennel at a Time, Ms De Storie is collaborating with To the Bone, an online store that sells second-hand books among other things, by finding dogs for the kennels that To the Bone builds.
Maryke van Rensburg, director of To the Bone said: "We found a way to incorporate our passion for animals and people into a worthwhile platform: when you shop on our online store, a portion of every sale goes towards a worthy project, and every few months, that project will change, but it will always be something animal-welfare related.“
Since their launch in November 2020, they have completed three outreach projects and are busy with their fourth, the kennel building drive in Ocean View.
"Our intention is to upskill the youth from Ocean View by teaching them how to build kennels and at the same time educate them about pet care," Ms Van Rensburg.