An Ottery-based animal rescue organisation is appealing for funds to help cover their costs to build another clinic.
Animal Rescue Organisation (ARO) recently launched a fundraising drive to help fund a brand-new ARO Mobile Vet Clinic, their third one so far.
ARO, originally known as the Voluntary Animal Rescue Organisation (VAR), was established in 1986 to combat the neglect and abuse of animals in the Old Crossroads area.
Founder Lindsey Concer hopes the new clinic can expand their services and allow them to support more communities where animals need vaccinations and sterilisations.
“A third clinic is an urgent need that we identified during our recent outreach efforts in communities like Jim se Bos, Lekkerwater, Egoli, Phumlani, Siqalo, and most recently, Smallville,” said Concer.
The animal rescue organisation recently welcomed a new veterinarian as the new leader of the hospital team, Dr Esté Spies.
So far they have received some donations from some loyal supporters, but their financial target goal they hope to reach is around R1 million.
“With the cost of the vehicle, the conversion into a working mobile clinic, as well as medications and running costs our budget sits well over R1 million,” Concer said.
The new mobile clinic will offer various services or sickly animals which include: vaccinations, parasite treatment, basic consultations, and sterilisation referrals.
“The animals are collected by the mobile clinic and brought back to our hospital for sterilisation or any further treatment that may need to be performed by a vet. Mobile Clinics are run by Animal Welfare Assistants (AWA’s). Our goal is to bring essential veterinary care directly to under-resourced communities—many of which have no access to vet services at all,” she explained.
When asked why she thought the third clinic was a critical need for ARO, Concer said: “We’ve found that many pet owners in nearby informal settlements struggle to reach us—or don’t even know we exist.
“The response during our sterilisation drives has been overwhelming, proving there’s an enormous need. The new unit will allow us to expand our reach, respond faster to urgent cases, and prevent suffering.”
“Demand often outweighs our resources. Many of the animals we see are in need of urgent care, and while we do everything we can, resources and manpower are always stretched.
Ideally, we would love to have the clinic active in August, so we can have the clinic operational before the end of the year.
“However, the running costs will continue, so we ask the public to continue to support,” she said.
. For more information about ARO, visit their website at https://www.animalrescue.org.za
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