The Midrand SPCA shared the harrowing tale of how Inspector Jerry Seemise raced to the highway’s fast lane to rescue a terrified dog.
Midrand, South Africa (15 November 2021) – Midrand SPCA got a distressing call from a member of the public who notified them that there was a dog trapped on the fast lane of the highway. The off-ramp closest to the dog was a 15-minute drive away.
Inspector Jerry Seemise threw on his reflective vest and jumped in his SPCA marked van. He ran into trouble almost immediately when the general traffic wouldn’t move for him to rush to the scene.
“Inspector Jerry Seemise switched on his hazards, but his heart is sitting in his throat as he tries his best to dash through traffic. Many traffic lights on route are not working and construction work is also taking place on the corner of Dale Road.
He has no emergency lights and despite his hazards being on, vehicles still don’t give way. All the while, he is envisioning this poor dog on the highway and hoping that they will make it in time… He has no idea at this stage if the dog has already been injured and is suffering from broken bones or bleeding to death…. He can only hope as he leans on his hooter that people will recognize the logo on his vehicle and move so that he can get to the scene.”
Thankfully, when Inspector Seemie and kennel assistant Sam Thobejane arrived, the terrified dog was still sitting against the centre divider, watching the cars fly past.
“Your heart is pumping out of your chest because now you need to worry about your own safety as vehicles come flying by and that of the dog. Kennel Assistant, Sam tries to slow down traffic as Inspector Seemise slowly makes his way closer to the terrified dog – still worried that if he makes any sudden movements, the dog will dash straight into oncoming vehicles.
A kind Samaritan pulls over as well to ward off the oncoming traffic and it helps to just calm the nerves a bit knowing that someone stopped to try and help.
He reaches the petrified dog that looks up at him with the kindest face and jumps up into his rescuer’s arms as if relieved that someone came to get him!”
Inspector Seemise secured the dog and made his way back to his vehicle. He and Sam had parked in the fast lane and were worried a car would hit them. They needed to get themselves and the dog on the move and safely off the highway.
The entire team back at headquarters were waiting for the call from Inspector Seemise. Everyone was biting their nails, waiting for a call. They breathed a sigh of relief when the brave rescuers arrived back safely with the dog in hand.
“The dog is safely in our care, fortunately, it sustained no visibly injuries from this ordeal, but after a health check by the team, it was noted that it had some other visible injuries and old scarring (not related to being hit by a vehicle). We suspect that the dog may have been used for hunting. He is now on treatment in our care and is such a happy boy.”
The team has been campaigning to have their van fitted with a strobe light to help alert the traffic of an emergency situation, but sadly, they have not had success to date. They hope the story of this dog rescue will help them achieve their goal this festive season.
“The situation has once again highlighted the need for our society to obtain emergency strobe lights for our vehicles. Our team needs to respond to situations where animals are severely compromised and having to battle to get to them can make the difference between life and death.
We have previously highlighted the need for these lights but unfortunately, no funding was obtained. Just imagine if it were one of your animals that were in a life and death situation and you needed us to get there quickly?
Please help us by considering a donation towards these lights and the treatment of animals such as these. It is a costly expense for us to treat animals, but we will never fail them when they need us most”
The team has provided their banking details so that if anyone wants to help them raise the funds needed, they can do so.
Midrand SPCA
Nedbank Cheque Account
Acc no 1686012799
Branch code 198765
Reference: Vehicle Lights
“We wish to thank Captain Fourie from Sedibeng Tactical Security Services in Vereeniging for taking the risk of stopping to help our team. When we thanked him, he wasn’t sure why we were so grateful for his help. A random, small act of kindness of just stopping to create visibility and slow down the vehicles that were flying past, made a huge difference for our team! Thank you Captain Fourie, you were our hero of the day!
Last, but never least, to Inspector Jerry Seemise and Sam, thank you for risking your lives to serve and protect innocent animals no matter the circumstances!”
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