A recent storm brought disaster to The Pit Bull Sanctuary, flooding the dog enclosures with water and ice. Just when all hope seemed lost, a glimmer of light arrived in the form of a late-night call and a hero who braved the freezing ice sludge in flip-flops!
Benoni, South Africa (03 December 2025) – When animal rescuer and The Pit Bull Sanctuary founder, Chantelle Van Zyl, was left with nowhere to turn when the dog enclosures flooded with water and ice from a storm on Sunday night, a glimmer of hope came from strangers. A couple with the biggest hearts for doggos.
Chantelle had six dogs that needed to be removed from the drenched enclosures and kept somewhere safe and dry for the night. When she called all her friends to help her out, none of them answered – (They later apologised and confessed they were on sleeping pills).
At the time of her dilemma, Chantelle received a call from a sweet woman who offered to take in two dogs for the night. Though she didn’t know the woman, Chantelle was all out of options and agreed, but insisted on following the woman’s husband, who would pick up one of the dogs, Joker.
“A few minutes later and Dylan Catto arrives, sent by his beautiful wife, Amelia Catto,” explains Chantelle.
The first thing she noticed when Dylan hopped out of the car was that he was wearing flip-flops, which immediately made Chantelle worry about how he would navigate the icy terrain.
She didn’t say anything, just silently felt sorry for the kind human who braved the cold to help. When they eventually got Joker, Dylan quietly manoeuvred his way through thick ice sludge and, once finally through it, calmly and humorously told Chantelle that she’d likely find his now lost ‘plakkies’ (flip-flops) lying around somewhere once all the ice had cleared.
Realising the poor choice in footwear for the dog collecting mission, he admitted:
“I thought it felt strange because my feet were just so cold. But then I saw the strap was still between the toes of my one foot, but I didn’t know where the rest of it was.”
Chantelle, both amused and deeply touched, found the broken flip-flops the next morning – the evidence left behind of a man who quietly risked frostbite for animals in need of a warm shelter for the night.
She thanked the kind couple, Amelia and Dylan, who cuddled with Joker and Dixie all night, keeping them warm and calm.
“Thank you, Dylan, for nearly losing toes to frostbite, yet quietly suffering through it all. Sorry, your one plakkie broke. But at least we managed to find them. You two are amazing people. Bless your hearts,” said a grateful Chantelle.
Sources: The Pit Bull Sanctuary
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