A female Greyhound dog, which seemed to have been badly neglected, was rescued from the roof of the Stellenbosch University’s Engineering Faculty building on Monday 3 January.
It is believed that the dog, now fondly known as Skywalker, was on the roof for several days before she was rescued. It is still unclear how she managed to get onto the roof.
She was first spotted by Campus Security the previous Friday who called the Stellenbosch Animal Welfare Society (AWS) for assistance on Monday morning.
Lorna Hughes of the AWS says it took her a while to calm Skywalker down as she was afraid of humans. “This was an indicator that she might have been abused. We have a problem in Stellenbosch, especially the Khayamandi area, where these dogs are used for illegal hunting on farms nearby. All indicators show that Skywalker could have been part of a pack we found hunting on a farm near Stellenbosch a week prior to her rescue.”
Hughes says Skywalker was severely underweight when they rescued her. “She was also not sterilized or microchipped. How she got onto the roof no one knows, but our inspector says there were stairs and she could have gone up that way. There was also a lot of pigeon feathers on the roof, indicating she could have eaten them to survive. She was on the roof for at least nine days without any water.”
Skywalker was transferred to Sighthound Rescue SA, where she gets help from Greyhound specialists who now takes care of her. “She has bonded with another dog and has turned into the most loving, friendly and playful girl and feels very secure. We have received many calls for adoption, but at this moment we just want Skywalker to get better,” Hughes added.
