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namib times SERVING THE COASTAL COMMUNITY SINCE 1958 NO 6716 TUESDAY 9 JANUARY 2018 Tel: +264 64 - 205854 / +264 64 - 461866 /Fax: +264 64 - 204813 / 064 - 461824 / Website: www.namibtimes.net
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Drone used to locate missing dog Historic Brandin the desert Erwin Leuschner
An aged, blind Yorkshire terrier which went missing in the desert east of the Swakop River smallholdings recently was found by mere chance.
Namibia. The only other S.P.C.A. in Namibia regisered as a welfare organisation with the relevant Ministry is the Swakopmund kennel: The “Tierschutzverein Swakopmund (S.P.C.A.)” received its Welfare Number 438. The NSPCA wishes to unify all smaller S.P.C.A. kennels in Namibia. These organisations will all benefit from the experience, knowledge and the network of the NSPCA. Currently, the S.P.C.A. in Windhoek, Walvis Bay, Oshana, Lüderitz, Keemanshoop, Otjiwarongo, Grootfontein
Avid drone flyer Bernt Bruns was contacted to see if he could locate the missing dog using his drone and the plan worked. He located the dehydrated dog spotting it from the air and this could very well be Namibia's first aerial rescue by drone. Bruns is known in the coastal region for his aerial drone flying skills and aerial photography. After hearing that a small dog went missing in the desert, he decided to attempt the impossible and search for the animal by drone. “I visited the owner and she pointed me in the direction they though the dog walked off”, Bruns said to namib times. The dog, 15-year-old Sonnet, is a small Yorkshire terrier weighing a mere 2.4 kilogram. She is blind and on top of that has diabetes which made her chance of surviving in the desert almost impossible. She went missing on the afternoon of 1 January 2018 from one of the smallholdings. “The wind was blowing strong that afternoon, and I think she must have lost her orientation entirely”, explained the owner Maureen van Rensburg. After an unsuccessful search for the dog by the owner which lasted late into the night, Bruns stepped in on the morning of the next day. “I was very skeptic. Especially since the dog's color blends in with the colour of the desert and rocks. I nonetheless decided to give it a try”, Bruns explained. He launched his DJI Inspire 2 drone and flew into a Northeastern direction. “Spotting a small dog on the small screen at that stage seemed the impossible.” After flying for quite some time, he heard a faint bark, which must have been picked up
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Swakopmund S.P.C.A. won't join the new National S.P.C.A. Erwin Leuschner
The Swakopmund Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (S.P.C.A.) will not join the newly established “National S.P.C.A.” based in Windhoek. Instead it will remain independent and continue operating as it has in the past. Since the announcement of the founding of the national S.P.C.A. in November last year, there was confusion over the future position of the Tierschutzverein Swakopmund. namib times spoke to the Chairperson Peter Witt who explained the situation. The S.P.C.A. in Windhoek founded the National S.P.C.A. Namibia (NSPCA) which is based in Windhoek. This process was “easy” as the S.P.C.A. in Windhoek had been registered as an animal welfare organisation decades ago: “National SPCA - W.O. Nr. 6“. It was one of the first Welfare No.'s assigned to
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