These dogs have survived more than most of us could imagine… yet at The Pit Bull Sanctuary, they’re proving just how powerful healing can be.
Johannesburg, South Africa (19 November 2025) – There’s a place just outside the noise of everyday life where broken dogs learn to be brave again. I visited that place and had a conversation that left me humbled, inspired, and honestly, a little bit changed.
This week on “Good Things Come to Good South Africans”, I get to chat to the incredible humans behind The Pit Bull Sanctuary South Africa… a haven built for the dogs who didn’t get a fair shot the first time around.
The sanctuary is currently home to 48 Pit Bulls and one tiny, ridiculously adored Yorkie, who seems to have unofficial CEO status. Every dog there has a past marked by pain. Abuse, neglect, abandonment, chains, backyards, fights they never asked to be part of.
But every dog also has something else: a chance.
That chance exists because of Chantelle Van Zyl, animal rescuer, photographer and the woman who lovingly calls herself “the mother of the dogs.”
In our candid chat, Chantelle explained the harrowing level of abuse many of these pups have endured. Some of the stories feel almost impossible to imagine. They literally made me take a breath, look down and shake my head. It’s tough to hear. It should be tough to hear. But, and this is where the heart of the story lives, Chantelle and her team are changing that trajectory. They are rewriting endings. They are creating a place where fear becomes trust, where trembling bodies become tail wags and where hopelessness turns into the softest kind of healing.
These dogs are getting a second chance at life.
You can watch the full podcast below, and I hope you do. It’s honest, emotional, raw at times but filled with an incredible amount of light.
This episode forms part of our Budget Insurance x Good Things Guy partnership, where we shine a spotlight on the unsung heroes you nominate. The people, the shelters, the grassroots organisations doing life-changing work without ever asking for applause.
Budget Insurance believes in backing the helpers. Known for offering simple, affordable cover that protects what matters, they’ve teamed up with us because they understand something important: with Budget, good things come to good South Africans.
And that’s why we do this.
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🌍 Powered by Budget Insurance. Filmed at The Pitbull Sanctuary South Africa.
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