Educate :: Esme in Namibia

Those of you who have been following Azzan's story will know Esme.  She saw our plea for help and decided to take it upon herself to drive all the way from Windhoek to Ruacana to find him eventhough she didn't know us and only had a pretty vague photo of Azzan.  If it wasn't for her, we might possibly never have rescued or even seen Azzan again!  Well, this was no once-off and Esme is always actively helping animals in and around Windhoek.

Just this last week, she was telling me about a gorgeous dog she saw tied up in a yard on a very short rope.  Naturally, she decided to approach the owners and just chat to them about some basic pet care.  She explained that the dog is supposed to have fresh water at all times and offered to come back with an extension for his chain to allow him more room to move about.  They were really friendly and receptive to her advice and when she returned the next day with some food and a bowl for him, they had put a water bowl out for him.  

As you can see from the photos, he looked very happy with the dry food and gulped down the pellets when she put the bowl out for him.  Esme noticed a bowl standing in the sun with pumpkin in it.  Sadly, many dog owners think it is enough to feed their pets their leftovers but they have specific nutritional needs and it is best to provide them with proper dog food.

What I liked about her story was that she cared enough to do something when she saw a dog in need. So many people would just keep walking or feel too afraid to offend someone by trying to teach them about the basics of caring for a pet.  Esme said she felt so happy because they immediately acted upon her advice and were clearly just not aware of what the dog needed; not out of neglect but rather out of lack of knowledge.  I particularly enjoyed the fact that their kids will now learn about how to properly care for an animal as well, and so it goes on.  

Talk about leading by example!