Animal Anti-Cruelty League Bellville


We are a group of volunteers who are working at an animal shelter in Bellville, South Africa – called Animal Anti Cruelty League (AACL). Because the shelter is not subsidized by our government, they solely rely on the generosity of the public for donations. We started a little volunteers club for fundraisings to buy or build things required by the shelter and our shelter animals. 

All funds raised are applied to better the life of the animals at our shelter. For instance, our shelter doesn't always have Parvo and Distemper test kits in stock. When they get a litter of puppies in – at least one pup has to be tested. This is crucial as Parvo and Distemper are diseases that kill dogs. Both Parvo and Distemper are also extremely contagious. Our volunteers club often pays for these test kits.

Our shelter's hospital required an operation item to assist in operating on broken legs. Previously certain bone fractures could not be operated on and in these cases the dog’s broken leg had to be amputated. Our volunteers club was able to buy this item and within a week the first dog’s leg was saved! Many more of our dogs are now still walking on all 4 legs thanks to this item!

Why we don’t give the money cash to the shelter?
Then nobody knows what has been done with their money. Now we can inform you exactly what has been done with your money.

Every weekend, holiday and during the festive season we work at the shelter. Mom with the small dogs and I just love the big dogs. The work is great! Very emotional some times, but still great. The dogs love the attention, are glad to spend time with us, and that is what it is all about. We do a bit of everything, play with the dogs, give them medicine, get some abused souls used to humans again, comfort them, dip them for mange and ticks, and we do what ever our hands can find. Sometimes I take a day's leave and go with the AACL team into a squatter camp to dip and deworm the dogs. You learn a lot about dogs and life at the shelter.

Our dogs come from everywhere.
Picked up in the streets, strays, unwanted by their owners, confiscated by our inspectors for being abused, etc. Sometimes they are just found the next day on our premises – thrown over the walls or tied to our main gate.

With our news letters we don’t only want to keep you up to date with what we are doing, but we also would like to introduce you to some of our dogs. Every dog has a story to tell. Whether they get a second change being adopted, or whether they go to doggy heaven, they all have the right to their story – or at least to be mentioned and thought of. It sounds bad, but do not forget – dog heaven is also a rescue! Stopping an animal's pain or abuse, no matter by what means, it is a rescue!

We have lots of stories to tell.
Why we have 4 big dogs at home. What it looks like in a South African squatter camp. How it feels to have mange yourself. How unbelievably cruel people can be. About a beautiful dog that had to wait 13 months in our shelter to get a new home and what happened with him on his first weekend with his new parents (they went for a hike up Table Mountain)! As you can see it is not always a sad or a hopeless situation - there are still great people out there that adopt our wonderful dogs.

Our committee
Oh yes, our committee consists out of Renny (my mom), Celeste (a volunteer with a big love for Boerboels and Rottweilers and who has too many cats), Karin (our hobby photographer with an eye for beautiful dog pictures and a heart for small dogs), and then myself (Tinky). There are more volunteers but you will meet them via our news letters. You will also hear about Helen, our adoption manager and also my mentor (who has more dogs than kids!). We will also be setting up a wish list for the AACL. Things needed at the shelter- things that need to be repaired or build, etc. We will regularly update the wish list. Donations can be made via PayPal, and if you want to donate for a specific item, you put that as your reference. We will keep you updated with what we do with your donated money.

This is our history – or part of it.
If you want to know more about us feel free to mail us. We will always answer as soon as we can. We’d like to share our stories and experiences with you all.