HAWS receives no government funding or assistance. Our operations are funded entirely by membership fees, voluntary donations and fund-raising activities. In 2006 we received a grant from the National Lottery Fund which funded the purchase of a vehicle as well as some of the operating expenses.

The lease on our present premesis was due to have expired in 2˝ years time, however, in February we were given six months notice to vacate. Whilst our landlady has assured us that we will not be put out on the street, we need to secure new premesis to relocate to as soon as possible. We have approached the Madibeng Council on a number of occasions and, more recently, in May this year for a land grant on the basis that we have been acting as the local pound due to there being no official municipal pound in Madibeng. To date, nothing has been forthcoming from the council.

HAWS is under severe and constant pressure to maintain and improve our service to the community with the result that our financial resources are always stretched to the limit. The rapid development of the area has accounted for the growing number of abandoned and abused animals that HAWS attends to. Although we operate an efficient and cost-effective service we could do so much more if we had our own premises where we could erect neat and decent kennels and catteries as well as desperately needed isolation facilities for sick dogs and cats. We would also be able to install income generating ventures such as boarding kennels, a tea garden and a shop for books, jumble etc.

HAWS has initiated a building fund for this purpose. The funds collected will not be absorbed into HAWS everyday running costs, but will be put into a call account to be utilised solely for the purpose of building a structure for the society.

If you feel that you or your organisation would care to make a contribution we request that you kindly deposit donations directly into the HAWS bank account:

Standard Bank Brits, branch code 052546, account no. 033183074, account holder HAWS

Please use the words “build + your/your company’s name” as the reference and send a payment confirmation to the person who has send you this mail so that we may be able to thank you for your kind contribution.

We have been offered the use of a piece of land for a limited period where we would need to erect portable structures that would be able to be removed and relocated elsewhere when the time comes. Unfortunately this will be a costly exercise to setup as we will need to install electrical and water connections as well as an effluent disposal system. Some of this infrastructure would not be able to be removed and HAWS would therefore lose this outlay of funds.

For this reason we ideally need to obtain our own property where a permanent facility can be built so that all expenditure on infrastructure would become an asset of the Society and not just a temporary solution. We have architect-drawn plans for a new state of the art facility, with the kennels positioned in such a way as to reduce the incidence of dogs barking. The plan also includes an isolation unit, a unit for newly admitted dogs and cats, storage and office space and a landscaped garden.

It is with all this in mind that we appeal to any interested parties to consider the possibilty of assisting us in our quest for affordable, long term lease or, hope-above-all hopes: gratuitous land. We would very much appreciate and welcome the opportunity to meet with any interested parties to discuss our future plans.

We look very much forward to your kind response.

We are raffling this small wood sculpture, entitled 'Cat Talk' (37 x 17 x 2.5 cms) of Norman's for the building fund for our local Hartbeespoort Animal Welfare Society. The tickets are R100 each. The draw will be made by our local newspaper, the Kormorant once we have sold enough tickets (minimum 100 and maximum 200).