Caring for our animals' caregivers

GEORGE NEWS - Treating sick and injured animals takes a toll on the strongest souls.

This is why the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) in Conville is standing up for its staff and had its first wellness day on Friday 19 June.

"Trauma builds up," says psychological counsellor Carin Olwagen. "It's not just one incident."

This is especially true for people working with the sick, the neglected and the abused - human or animal.

Through the doors of the PDSA every day come animals that have been hit by cars, struck with disease, starved of food and, in the worst cases, burnt with boiling water or attacked with pangas.

"I sometimes go home crying," admits PDSA administrator Esther van der Merwe. "The heartsore cases, the grief - it all affects you."

The same is true for her team, so Van der Merwe chose to establish a wellness day.

Olwagen, investment specialist Leon Marais, attorney Sam Alberts and fitness guru Herschelle Joshua Jantjies all spent time with the staff members during the wellness day at the PDSA, sharing their expertise and offering support on emotional well-being, financial planning, legal matters and physical health.

"We carry invisible emotional burdens," Olwagen says. "Counselling isn't a luxury - it's a necessity."

Committed to making support more accessible to lower-income households and to breaking down the stigma attached to admitting that you need help, she's a natural fit at the PDSA. "The PDSA make such a difference in our community," says Marais. "This was an opportunity to help them in a small way."

Alberts, who has rescued a dog herself, agrees.

"The staff are unsung heroes. The commitment to their cause and what they manage to do - usually with little resources and often in gut-wrenching circumstances - are humbling, but inspiring. If there was ever an organisation to support, the PDSA is definitely the one for me."

"It was great to be part of the wellness day," says Jantjies.

"I was happy to be involved because of my love of animals. I encourage everyone to start their fitness journey - no matter how unfit you may think you are. Just start, and everything will get better!"The PDSA team with Carin Olwagen (standing, left), Herschelle Joshua Jantjies (crouching, left) and Sam Alberts (standing, right).