A Rehoboth resident has been left shocked after discovering her missing family dog was allegedly stolen and slaughtered by three strangers.
Mavourneen Busch reported her dog, Dalton, missing last week and posted this on social media in an effort to find him.
She went from door to door looking for Dalton, only to be confronted by the remains of her dog on a kapana braai stand on Saturday evening.
“He was my baby. He was a part of our family. He would have been eight years with us this month,” Busch says.
“We raised Dalton from a six-week-old puppy. He slept in our bed. He was happy, trusting, friendly, loving and so much more,” Busch says.
Dalton went missing last week Thursday between 11h00 and 12h00 while Busch and her husband were at work.
Her children were at home, but did not hear the thieves that took Dalton.
At around 19h00 on Friday, Busch received a text message saying her dog was spotted walking on a leash alongside three men behind a cemetery at a nearby settlement.
She immediately drove to the area where her dog was last seen.
“We kept calling his name, but to no response,” she says.
That is when she and her husband drove to a popular place at Rehoboth where dogs are slaughtered for their meat. However, they did not find Dalton there.
While at the same place, a boy asked the couple if they were looking for a dog, because he had seen a dog being killed.
The boy then took them to a house where Dalton’s head was found in a bag.
Busch and her husband contacted the police, and two suspects, Ricardo Kastoor and Teodor Itembu, were arrested and charged with theft and animal cruelty.
Two more suspects are still to be apprehended.
Kastoor and Itembu appeared in the Rehoboth Magistrate’s Court this week and were denied bail.
Their case has been postponed to 31 July.
Busch says she is devastated.
“My torn and ripped apart heart will fight for the rights and protection of all pets out there, and our family will do whatever we can to change the laws, rights and protection of our animals.
“Thank you to each and every person who gave their heartfelt support to us,” Busch says.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Sylvia Breitenstein from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has condemned the act and called on Namibians to ensure the safety of their pets.
She called on people who find missing pets not to sell them or take them home, but rather to contact the authorities or take the animals to the nearest SPCA.
