Paws R Us put out a mayday when it ran out of running water, and support came pouring in from all angles (read: angels).
Johannesburg, South Africa (10 September 2026) – Paws R Us has been without a working water supply at its Fourways shelter since 20 August after an electrical issue left the team unable to pump from the property’s borehole.
This quickly became a very big problem. The team uses around 2500 to 3000 litres of water a day to fill drinking bowls and keep kennels clean.
Neighbours at 4Paws had already helped where they could, but by the beginning of September, Paws R Us was looking at enough water to last them one more day.
They put the word out on their socials. Did anyone know somebody with a water tanker? A local CPF? A security company? Anyone who could help.
They had a reason to find a temporary fix rather than a permanent one. Paws R Us is moving to new premises on 26 and 27 September after its current property was sold. They needed to keep the taps, bowls and cleaning buckets going, just until moving weekend.
Joburg saw the call for help and stepped in like Oprah with a hosepipe.
A group – Thea, Varun, Lisa, Steve, Gary, Nick and Tulika – arranged two tanker deliveries to the shelter. The group covered one of them themselves, and Water Solutions in Roodepoort paid for the other.
But where to actually put all the water that came pouring in?
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And the angels took over properly. Colleen and Rob from the Duxberry community brought another 500 litres of borehole water, along with several 20- and 25-litre bottles. Duxberry Eco Gardens helped get the borehole water into the JoJo tank.
A different Rob helped pay for the water and Colleen’s diesel. He also thought about the humans. Along with the water help came coldrink, bread, biscuits, margarine and soup for the shelter’s carers, who have been trying to keep everything running through the disruption.
Paws R Us has been rescuing and caring for dogs since 2011. The game plan for its last few weeks at its current home did not include a water emergency. Thanks to its angels, shelter pups are squeaky clean and happily hydrated before the big move!
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