"Aggressive" dog was living tied up outside without food or water — wait till you see her two weeks after her rescue. We talked to Sidewalk Specials about their ongoing initiative to save as many dogs in South Africa as they can!
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00She was tied up on a very short chain. She had no access to water, she had no shelter.
00:06She did appear to be quite aggressive because we were strangers coming into her yard.
00:12Hey, sweetie bear. Hi, pretty.
00:15She was in the direct sunlight, but when we threw some food for her and spoke softly to her and sat down, she immediately calmed down.
00:24Nice. Thanks, sweetie.
00:34We were actually asked to come by the original owner. Her owner just said that all of their dogs were fighting, so they had to separate them.
00:42When we offered to take her somewhere where she would be wanted and would be loved, he wanted her to have a better life.
00:49She was very grateful for us to do that.
00:52Hi, how are you?
00:54And so I immediately thought, Mary.
00:57Hi, Leila.
00:59I knew she had a lot of love to give.
01:02This one is very nice.
01:04And because Mary was so confident, you know, Leila was also like, I'm not scared of you, you're not scared of me.
01:10So this is the first time for her in the world.
01:13All right.
01:14So you're the first new people she's ever met.
01:16All right.
01:17So for her, she's like, it's like you've just come today.
01:19All right.
01:20I like the feets.
01:23They are big.
01:25We'd spend a few hours sort of just letting them settle together, showing the kids how to feed them, be calm and be patient, making sure the cats were safe.
01:33I really appreciate you brought my happiness back.
01:38And then we drove away. We were very like, oh my God, have we done the right thing?
01:43I do think...
01:48We are best of friends now.
01:50Even if I go to the toilet, she's always with me.
01:54I see the wrists have closed now.
01:56Even the wounds, they've dried up.
01:58She loves you.
01:59Very much.
02:02They're living in conditions that humans shouldn't live in.
02:05No one should be living there.
02:06It's the reality of South Africa right now.
02:08So it's like, so what can we do to help?
02:10Leila!
02:11So what we do is we ask vets from Cape Town and all of South Africa, like, will you volunteer your time?
02:16And we provide the medication and everything the vets need to sterilize, inoculate and deworm, give them tick and flea treatment and whatever other emergency care they need.
02:25And those animals will just double check that they have things like shelter, that their owners understand how to give tick and flea treatment.
02:31It's just an ongoing initiative to help the animals in that township.
02:35And the people in that township look after their animals.
02:38That for me is like charity at its best.
02:40It's like you've uplifted someone and you've let them be the best pet owner they can be.
02:46Let the dog be the best dog she can be.
02:49And it's like, it's a match made in heaven.
02:51It's that power of belonging.
02:53It's like Leila belongs to Mary.
02:56It's like there's an invisible force field between the two of them.
02:58Like it really is a sort of proof that it's kind of like, it's the love.
03:02I just feel like I'm almost like a matchmaker.
03:04And like, you know, I'm like Bumble.
03:06I did good.
03:10I did good.