Over the past 10 years, Janette and Brian Wood have dedicated their lives to helping poor residents of Wells Estate sterilise their dogs and cats.
Operating as a non-profit making organisation, Izinja, the couple have assisted with the sterilisation of nearly 1.6k domestic animals.
Yesterday was just another day – or so they thought! They had collected a dog that was due for spaying at 08h00. As they finished loading the animal into their bus, they were approached by two men. One of them was brandishing a handgun.
The men demanded the keys to their bus and the moon bag that Janette wore around her waist.
“Oh, come on man, seriously???” asked Janette as she handed over the moon bag. “Why are you doing this? Don’t you know we help the people and their animals in Wells Estate and have been helping for 10 years. If you do this. we won’t come back, and the people won’t get help anymore.”
The robbers appeared to ignore Janette. One rifled through her moon bag that contained a cell phone, camera and cash, The other searched the bus. But suddenly, they handed the bag back to Janette and said they won’t take anything!
Janette politely thanked them.
Had her words struck their conscience? Had Izinja helped either of them before – or family and friends?
“I really don’t know,” says Janette.
She admits that she and Brian always thought they would face this situation one day. They are always aware of people and their surroundings. This was the first incident they have experienced in 10 years.
Despite the ordeal, Janette and Brian continued to collect another dog and took the two animals to the Westering vet.
When they arrived home, Janette and Brian were greeted by a venomous boomslang (green mamba snake) draped over their garden gate! The snake quickly slithered into a nearby hawthorn bush.
A little shaken, they were back on the road in the early afternoon to collect another two dogs to take to the Animal Anti Cruelty League for sterilisation. From there it was back to Westering to collect the two dogs taken in for treatment that morning.
As they arrived at the vet, the gearbox of their bus packed up! Undaunted, they loaded up the morning patients and headed back to Wells Estate with the bus stuck in third gear the whole way.
Janette admits that she and Brian arrived back home worn out, mentally and physically.
