A Netcare staff member came forward earlier this week to set the record straight about misinformation and photographs circulating on social media regarding the alleged abandonment of her dog on the side of a road in the Boksburg area.
According to Dr Nceba Ndzwayiba, Netcare’s Group Human Resources and Transformation Director, Netcare has been conducting an investigation into the matter, with full cooperation by the staff member. The investigation concluded that the passer-by who stopped and confronted the staff member misunderstood what was happening and made incorrect assumptions about the situation.
“Earlier this week, following the incident, our colleague voluntarily approached the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to do an inspection at her home. Netcare has had sight of the formal letter provided by the SPCA upon conclusion of their investigation. The letter states that an inspection of the dogs belonging to the staff member in question was conducted on 7 October 2021, noting one black, male cross Border Collie and one male cross Rottweiler. It also states that both dogs appeared to be healthy and had access to food, water and shelter.
“Our colleague’s report of the incident indicates that she was out driving and had one of her dogs with her, as the family has recently suffered some traumatic criminal incidents and she feels safer with the dog by her side. She stated that on this particular occasion the dog began whining, so she stopped the car to attend to it. It seems the passer-by then pulled over and began to interfere, which our colleague took umbrage to, and she put her pet back in the car and drove home.
“The passer-by took photographs of this event, without permission, and posted them online along with her own assumptions that this was an attempt to abandon the dog. As a result, our colleague has been publicly berated and maligned.
“Public outrage about the unfounded post has reached such proportions that the family are now afraid to drive their own vehicle, for fear of being harassed or attacked. They have decided to take legal action against the individual who misinterpreted the event and who has caused them a great deal of harm by levelling these false accusations against them on social media.
“This has truly been a terrible ordeal for our colleague and her family, for whom Netcare is arranging counselling to assist them in overcoming this traumatic experience. We trust that the information provided in this statement brings some much needed clarity to the situation and that the family will now be left in peace to recover,” concludes Dr Ndzwayiba.
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Notes to editor
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For more information on this media release, contact MNA at the contact details listed below.
Issued by: MNA on behalf of Netcare
Contact: Martina Nicholson, Meggan Saville, Estene Lotriet-Vorster or Clemmy Forsthofer
Telephone: (011) 469 3016
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]