Read what irresistible Wafi from Lunchbox Theatre has to say about how you can help stop animal abuse by supporting A Dog’s Life which educates the youth of South Africa about how to care for our innocent animals.

You been probably been shocked and disgusted by photos of domestic animals that have been abused?  Maybe you feel pretty helpless to save these innocent creatures? You may find the extent of the problem upsetting especially as the victims are defenseless and have no voice?  Is there anything you, as a caring individual, can do to save at least ONE animal?

With 9 million dogs in South Africa you may feel overwhelmed when you hear stories of how they are being maimed, tortured, raped, burnt, beaten, shot, denied treatment, not given shelter or water, kicked, chained, starved, forced into fighting, burnt, scalded and skinned alive by humans?

A Dog’s Life Show can unmask the truth and give you the power to make a positive difference, in a very easy way.

Hi, my name is Wafi.  As far as adults are concerned I am not a real, live dog.  I am a life-sized dog puppet.  However, to all children who meet me through A Dog’s Life Show, I am as real as any dog.

The important thing is that, unlike my four-footed counterparts, I have a VOICE …  so please take a little time to listen to  my plea on behalf of all domestic animals … and help humans at the same time.

As you know and will see in A Dog’s Life Show the bond between a dog and a human can be stronger than any human-to-human bond.  A pet gives you love and undying loyalty, makes you laugh and can keep you fit.  For many their dog or cat is considered to be a family member with needs equal to the rest of the family.  So why are people … and surprisingly, children … cruel to animals?

There are basically 3 reasons.

Young, developmentally delayed or poorly supervised children are often ignorant about the physical care and humane treatment of animals.  They sometimes hurt animals out of curiosity or because they copy adults.  A remedy lies in the Lunchbox Theatre show, A Dog’s Life which teaches children to become kind, caring and nurturing towards animals.

Pathological animal abuse is often carried out by older children who may suffer from psychological disturbances caused by histories of physical and/or sexual abuse and exposure to domestic violence. They probably need professional help and what better way for this to be highlighted than by the testimony of their peers who have seen A Dog’s Life and are sensitised to the plight of voiceless animals? Once they have seen the show they will speak up and something can be done.

Animals are sometimes abused by adolescents as one of many antisocial or gang/cult-related activities, such as initiation rites, or group violence and destructiveness. The use of alcohol and other substances plays a role and they need judicial and clinical interventions. Once again, these inhumane practices can be brought into the light by peers educated by A Dog’s Life and this can go a long way to help overcome intentional cruelty towards animals that is repeated, severe and without remorse.

What is very important is that animal abuse is often the first sign of serious emotional instability that may escalate into extreme violence. Animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people.

In an assessment of 1 433 abused children ages 6 to 12, research found that 60% had abused animals.  Almost all perpetrators of violent crime, including Jeffrey Dahmer, Albert DeSalvo (the Boston Strangler), David Berkowitz (The Son of Sam) and the Columbine Shooters had a history of animal cruelty.  71% of women who have suffered from domestic violence have reported that their batterer had killed; maimed or abused family pets as revenge or a way to torture and psychologically control their victims.

By contributing to stopping animal abuse you can benefit society enormously especially where a culture of brutality causes people to become immune to the suffering of other people, let alone animals.

Staff and volunteers at shelters work extremely hard to attend to and care for the animals but it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so. Resources are always desperately needed, and the risk of welfare organizations closing down due to inadequate resources is at an all-time high!

Many kind-hearted animal lovers contribute to animal welfare organisations, who apparently receive no financial support whatsoever from Government, and this helps a great deal. Yet due to the enormity of the problem, a good way to solve this inhumane behavior is at grass roots level.  By educating as many children as possible, who then influence their peers and families, a donation (no matter how small) on a regular monthly basis can help us to teach the future generation to treat animals in a compassionate, humane way. Doing nothing changes nothing.

At least 60 dogs in distress are being put down daily in Garden Route alone. There are over 9 million dogs and 7 million cats in South Africa.  In 7 years one female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats in 7 years* and one female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 dogs in 6 years* which is why A Dog’s Life also emphasies the importance of sterilizing dogs and cats!  (*Source: HSUS)

If the facts that Wafi has highlighted have stirred your conscious even slightly; please do your bit to help us stop South Africa’s shame.

By supporting the staging of A Dog’s Life educational show you can not only save animals from a cruel, silent fate but human-on-human cruelty for a happier world.  Live theatre educates like no other medium and we need to halt the cause urgently.

For R200 per month, 400 children can be educated through A Dog’s Life every year for as long as your donation continues. For R1000 per month over 1000 children will be educated on how to care for animals and with a once off payment of R5000 we can educate 500 kids with one show. This is great value for money, so visit Lunchbox website now.