Yaeesh Collins|Published 21 minutes agoThe Cape of Good Hope SPCA's operation in Dunoon resulted in the rescue of 24 dogs from what inspectors described as a backyard breeding property operating under severely neglectful conditions on Tuesday.The same team later stopped on the M5 to assist a schoolboy who was found convulsing on the side of the highway. SPCA inspectors executed a warrant at the Dunoon property after previous warnings relating to the animals’ welfare were allegedly ignored.Inspectors found adult dogs crammed into makeshift cages made of corrugated sheeting, broken plastic, and bent wire. Several animals appeared emaciated and were living among faeces and stagnant water.Inspectors stated that the animals were believed to have been repeatedly bred for the purpose of selling puppies.“Adult dogs were crammed into makeshift cages of corrugated sheeting, broken plastic, and bent wire. Emaciated. Untreated. Living in filth while producing litter after litter for sale,” the SPCA said.“These were breeding animals producing litter after litter of puppies for sale while living in neglect behind the scenes,” the organisation said.Inspectors said several dogs appeared severely underweight and showed signs of untreated medical conditions that would now require ongoing veterinary treatment and rehabilitation after being removed from the property.During the operation, inspectors discovered a critically ill puppy actively convulsing and rushed the animal to a nearby veterinary practice for emergency treatment."Despite every effort, she couldn’t be saved,” the organisation said,The remaining 24 dogs were removed from the property and transported to the SPCA for veterinary treatment, monitoring, and rehabilitation.“The puppy you buy funds the suffering of many more,” the SPCA said, urging residents to photograph the sellers if safe to do so, note the location, and contact either the SPCA or law enforcement.Hours after the rescue operation concluded, the convoy was travelling back along the M5 with the rescued animals secured in transport crates when inspectors spotted a schoolboy in medical need near the roadside.Inspector Rudi Philander, a qualified paramedic, stopped and began treating the child while emergency medical services were contacted and the boy’s school was identified through the crest on his uniform.“Compassion doesn’t distinguish between animal and human suffering before deciding whether to care. It sees vulnerability and responds,” the SPCA said.As traffic continued moving along the highway, inspectors and law enforcement officials remained beside the child, attempting to comfort him while waiting for emergency responders to arrive.He was not on our warrant, nor was he anyone’s responsibility that day," the SPCA said. "A child by the roadside simply needed someone to stop."By the end of the shift, the same inspectors who had spent the day removing neglected animals from flooded breeding enclosures had also responded to a roadside medical emergency involving a stranger on one of Cape Town’s busiest highways.“Our team held a dying puppy. Lifted neglected dogs from filth. Knelt beside a stranger’s child on a highway. All on the same shift. "And tomorrow, they'll do it all again," said Inspector Philander.IOLRelated Topics: