‘Protecting Animals; Healing Their Sickness; Fighting Ignorance; Empowering Others to do the Same.' Only by visiting The Society for Animals in Distress (SAID) is one able to appreciate the uniqueness of this dynamic Non-Profit Organisation. Since 1958, SAID has been providing professional veterinary care to animals in an ever-growing number of townships and informal settlements. Based in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Protecting Animals

SAID is not involved in the rescue and homing of animals; rather we are the single largest welfare provider of professional veterinary care in South Africa. Through our extensive education of low- and no-income earners, we constantly strive to create responsible animal ownership, and the sustainable health and well-being of all animals in areas where veterinary care is generally inaccessible. Due to the expansiveness of its work, SAID’s financial requirements are quite different to those of many other animal welfare organizations. To consistently attain exceptionally high running costs, our fundraising activities are exhaustive. SAID’s ongoing education of animal owners on how to care for and protect their animals, as well as informing them of the costs involved, has led to an ever-increasing willingness to pay for the subsidised services rendered by The Society.

Healing Their Sickness

Our trained Fieldworkers are responsible for treating animals on-site from Mobile Clinics equipped with veterinary supplies. The sterilization of domestic pets is strongly promoted by The Society, and we pride ourselves on our continuous education of owners. Thanks to the trust relationships we have established, the need for sterilization is understood, accepted and frequently requested. Animals requiring intensive care or surgery are transported from the townships to our headquarters, where they are attended to by qualified veterinarians and support staff in a caring environment. Our small-animal hospital comprises a fully-equipped theatre and X-Ray facilities. In addition, we have large-scale stabling and paddocks for the working horses and donkeys that are brought to our facility for gelding, foaling and the treatment of injuries and sickness. We are encouraged by the significant decrease in the latter. This can be attributed to the early detection of symptoms by large-animal owners who were previously unable to identify curable conditions such as colic. The otherwise consistently good health and well-being of these animals is of great value to their owners who make their living out of the delivery of coal.

Fighting Ignorance

Tens of thousands of children, from every primary school in our areas of operation, benefit from our education initiative each year. Our multi-module curriculum is approved by the Gauteng Education Department, but to complement this formal platform, every available opportunity to educate animal owners is seized by our staff. In our quest to elevate awareness and combat ignorance, animal-owners are becoming more and more aware of the role of primary veterinary care in the prevention of illness. They are taught to recognize and identify symptoms, and contact us for intervention, thus significantly reducing the incidence of death and euthanasia.

Empowering Others To Do The Same

In our efforts to raise the standard of animal care in South Africa, we make our expertise available to other animal welfare organizations, acting in an advisory capacity. We also host a variety of students who gain valuable practical experience at our farm where a broad spectrum of cases are attended to on a daily basis. Free training in equine care is also offered to coal-yard employees. Our vision is to develop the capacity for the establishment of independent, private veterinary practices in areas where historically they have been unavailable. We empower township residents through our Education, Skills’ Development and Economic Empowerment initiatives, and envision a future that holds sustainable and responsible animal care within educated and prosperous communities.

• TEL: (011) 466-0261
• FAX: (011) 466-0262
• FAX-TO-E-MAIL: 086 626 5441
• Website: Click to visit The Society For Animals In Distress
• E-MAIL: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Snail Mail: P.O Box 391164, Bramley, 2018
• Address: The Paddocks, PLOT 20, Moerdyk Street, Vorna Valley, Midrand
• Banking: FIRST NATIONAL BANK Branch Code: BRAMLEY 252105 Account No: 5147 0054 747
• Fundraising No: 01 100326 0001
• Non-Profit Organisation No: 001-249 NPO PBO 930012662