Namibia: Angolan Dog Rescue Saves 15
BY TANJA BAUSE, 29 AUGUST 2012

NAMIBIAN and South African volunteers have succeeded in rescuing 15 dogs from the Angolan side of the border and they have been returned to South Africa via Namibia.

The dogs, all purebred and large breeds, were allegedly stolen in South Africa and transported through Namibia to Angola, where they are said to fetch high prices.

Maghitta Visser noticed a vehicle packed full of dogs at Oshikango on the Namibian-Angolan border and alerted the police on August 19.

The dogs were allowed to cross the border into Angola but were kept there in cages, as a frantic rescue operation was launched to get them back and return them to their owners.

After much drama, which reportedly included diplomatic intervention and the involvement of Interpol, the dogs were finally allowed to cross the border back into Namibia on Sunday.

Members of the Tsumeb SPCA drove to Oshikango with a Land Cruiser and a horse trailer to fetch the dogs, while Visser and a veterinarian from Otjiwarongo were waiting with the dogs at the Oshikango police station.

The dogs were loaded into the vehicle and driven to Tsumeb under police escort. "The Namibian Police escorted us and they were really helpful," said Junior Bruwer, a member of the Tsumeb SPCA. The horse box was then hooked onto another car and driven to Otjiwarongo, from where the dogs were returned to South Africa.

Bruwer said there were still many other dogs at the border post in Angola which presumably had been transported through Namibia to be sold in Angola.