Setting the record straight on Angel’s ‘death’ and the existence of the second puppy
The Northsider uncovers the puzzling story surrounding the existence of two identical puppies, one of them being Angel, whom everyone was led to believe had died.
Twisted and deeply puzzling reports about the life of Angel (the rescued emaciated puppy) and the second puppy similar to Angel emerged this week.
The 9th Day Animal Rescue Centre led the community to believe that Angel succumbed to the Parvo virus by posting a saddening report which saw social media followers pouring out their hearts and criticising the dog’s owner. The post has since been deleted.
The report was subsequently used in a verified story which was published both online and in two editions of the Roodepoort Northsider.
Read the initial article here: Starving puppy found
This week, a major twist of events occurred, when Gary Jordaan, Angel’s caretaker, published a detailed report about how he was allegedly deceived about Angel’s death. The report stated that Angel, a pit bull terrier puppy, was not dead and that the existence of two puppies was in fact a false story.
“BCI Security has been inundated with messages and calls from community members and animal lovers throughout the country since we published the story of Angel, the emaciated puppy picked up by one of our officers on a street in Wilgeheuwel just over a week ago.
“We then sadly reported on the death of Angel last week Wednesday, but while investigating the matter, we uncovered a web of lies and deceit,” a BCI Security post read.
It continued, “Angel was collected by The 9th Day Animal Rescue Centre on Saturday, 24 March to be taken to their vet for treatment after our PRO, who has been a 9th Day supporter for over three years, was contacted by Charmaine Booysens, the founder of The 9th Day.
“On Sunday we checked on Angel’s progress, but despite several requests, we received no information. On Monday, 26 March we again asked for an update and were told by The 9th Day that Angel is ‘not doing great’ and that tests were being carried out.
“On Tuesday, 27 March we received a message from The 9th Day that Angel was in a critical condition, and that we needed to pray for her. In the same message, we received information that another puppy, ‘almost identical’ to Angel, had been found in Oortjie Street in Wilgeheuwel.
“Then the dreaded news came by text message at 9.32pm on Tuesday that Angel had died. No information on the cause of death was given.
“Our PRO then requested information about the vet who had administered treatment to Angel and what the cause of her death was, as this was going to be the basis of charges brought against the owner for neglect. He asked for this information several times.
Also Read: Angel lived and died a painful death
“Information received from The 9th Day was that Angel was taken to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute. When our PRO phoned Onderstepoort, they told him that they’d never heard of The 9th Day or Angel. He started to get suspicious.
“He challenged The 9th Day and was subsequently told that Angel was in fact not taken to Onderstepoort but to the State Vet in Randfontein.
“A visit to the State Vet in Randfontein resulted in even more questions as when he got to the address he had been given, he was shocked to find that it was the Government Office of the State Vet. Upon investigation and questioning an employee, he was told that no animals are treated there as it’s an administrative office and no facilities for the treatment of animals exist there, apart from a mobile clinic used for outreach programmes.
“A phone call to the State Veterinarian confirmed that Angel was never taken there and was never treated by her. By this time, he [Jordaan] knew that there was something wrong and was wanting answers.”
“Booysens responded to the post on the organisation’s Facebook page, giving her version of events. In her in-depth post, she shared her reasons for her actions, saying, ‘I didn’t want the pup to be returned to her rightful owner, a dog having worms is not seen as a criminal or prosecutable offence. The owner would have been issued with a warning and the pup would have been returned. If there were any other dogs on the property, the owner could have moved the pups and just said he got her from someone – this is in fact exactly what he did’.
Booysens touched on Jordaan’s support to the animal rescue centre, agreeing that Jordaan had adopted two dogs previously and that she wouldn’t let him take Angel because of ‘What transpired before and when collecting Angel.’
Booysens continued, saying, “They considered keeping her, but decided that they couldn’t afford to take on another dog right now. They were willing to foster the pup in the meantime. When collecting the pup, they offered to pay the vet’s bill, but at the same time said they would do it through us, because we get rescue rates. So, they wanted to keep a pup, couldn’t afford private vet fees to get her treated, but were willing to pay rescue rates (the 50 per cent discount rate that we get from our vets). If this is not exploitation at its best, I don’t know [what it is]”.
Booysens also mentioned that Jordaan had plans to relocate to another country. “What would happen if Gary was to leave BCI for whatever reason and decided to emigrate? We would be left trying to re-home an adult pit bull terrier, which is not an easy task.”
These claims were rubbished by Jordaan in a further statement, in which he stated that he was willing to pay the vet’s fees and take custody of the little puppy. “I said to Charmaine that I would pay the vet’s bill. She was the one that mentioned that she would pay rescue rates to the vet. Regardless of the costs to be incurred, I said we would cover the vet bills in full. Her allegation that we are not in a financial position to look after a dog is false,” Jordaan argued.
He admitted to the emigration issue, and further clarified that it wasn’t true that he was unfit to take care of Angel.
“It is true that in 2017 we were due to emigrate to the UK but a job offer from BCI Security and the death of my father resulted in us cancelling those plans and continuing to stay in South Africa. The allegation that I am unfit to look after a dog is a complete fabrication and an attempt by Charmaine to try and discredit me as a result of her deceit relating to the death of Angel and the subsequent cover-up by her,” Jordaan said.
Booysens continued to state her reasons for disallowing Jordaan to take ownership of Angel. “They thought the pup was a chihuahua x pit bull terrier pup, when in fact she is a pure-bred pit bull. Taking on a breed thinking it’s another might have disastrous effects.”
She was also unhappy about the security gate on Jordaan’s property. “The front gate is a palisade gate, with about 40cm of mesh welded to it, to keep his Yorkies inside. This pup [Angel], if left alone, will easily climb the mesh and get out – I would have asked that the welded mesh be extended.”
“Homing a female pit bull terrier in a home with other female dogs, especially Yorkies [is something] I wouldn’t approve; the risk is just too high. I’ve experienced this myself,” said Booysens when asked what she thought the risks were. However, according to Jordaan, his vet stated that Angel is in fact not a pure-bred pit bull terrier. “My vet is positive that Angel is a mixed breed,” he said.
Apart from all the lengthy reasons Booysens gave us, she admitted to the Northsider’s journalist that she had lied about the second dog – there was in fact, no second puppy. She apologised for being dishonest to BCI Security and requested that the money raised by BCI at their Charity Golf Day for The 9th Day be donated to another charity. She said she had done what she had done to protect Angel. “An email was sent to the directors of BCI on Friday, giving them the facts, apologising for not being honest and requesting that the money raised from the Golf Day be donated to another charity.”
“I will not let my homing standards drop because corporate companies or individuals feel that having made a donation to us, we need to do as we are told,” she continued. “We would have received a generous donation from BCI from the Golf Day’s proceeds, and I could have just let Gary take Angel and accepted the donation, but instead I chose to put Angel’s interests first,” she stated.
“The people who know me and are actively involved in the work that we do can testify that we always act in the best interest of any animals crossing our path. Based on BCI’s post it is evident that Angel is healthy – this because we took immediate action, giving her what she needed,” she said.
Jordaan, who is saddened by the lies, accused Booysens of using the puppy for self-promotion and to elicit donations from supporters for a dog that was never treated by a veterinary surgeon.
Jordaan said further that rumours are being spread that he took Angel without permission, when, in fact, he has evidence to prove that Booysens gave the dog to the Jordaan family.
Angel is now in the hands of the Jordaan family and according to them, “She is progressing well and is happy in a loving family and has befriended the family’s other dog, which was also a rescue from The 9th Day.”
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at northsider@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
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