‘At the end of a hungry dog’s leash is an even hungrier person

After more than 27 years in animal welfare, Cora Bailey is handing over the leash at Claw (Community Led Animal Welfare). She has decided to take a well-deserved break and let the young guard take over the organisation for which she was the inspiration in its early years.

“I’m extremely tired, I really am. The organisation has always been a team effort and has never relied on only one person being the leader. Without the good people working with us it would have been impossible to carry on,” she said.

The organisation, which has grown to become successful in its own right, has helped not only animals in impoverished areas but those holding the leash who might be worse off as well.

“Claw has never been just an animal welfare project but we also care about our communities. It’s been impossible to just go somewhere and look after the dogs. We work in communities where the people are getting poorer by the year. We see not only malnourished animals but children too. We see a lot of children suffering and we try to combine primarily animal welfare and distributing food with the help of donors who provide us with food parcels,” said Cora.

Although the organisation has never depended on a leader, Cora has entrusted Taren Welthagen to take on the role of director.

“Taren has the same vision I have and I want to start taking a back seat. I will still be involved but the big responsibilities of running a large organisation that’s growing even bigger should be with a younger person. It’s also not fair on a project to make it look like it relies on just one person,” said Cora.

Taren has been a volunteer at Claw for more than four years and vows to continue the work her predecessor has done.

“When Cora asked me to take over there was no doubt to continue with the project and expand to the point where we have more people and animals to take care of and get more donors. I get inspiration from the staff and community, and from the dogs we’ve helped and rehabilitated. Every day is an inspiration. People should support animal welfare organisations – not just Claw, but all the others who do a wonderful job. Be aware that adopting an animal is for life. People can not just discard their animals the way they discard their cellphones. Don’t buy from pet shops as you’re encouraging people not to sterilise their pets. Be aware of the incredible overpopulation.

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