Tebogo Maredi was determined to reunite Haiku the dog (who went missing when her owner’s car was taken) with her 94-year-old owner. Spoiler alert: the story has a happy ending!
Pretoria, South Africa (06 October 2023) — If you encountered the story of Haiku the missing elderly Border Collie who was taken along for an unfortunate ride after her owner’s vehicle went missing, we’re happy to report that the story has a very happy ending.
However, Dr. Selma van Schouwenburg’s reunion with her Haiku wouldn’t have been possible without members of the animal-loving community, especially that of unsung hero Tebogo Maredi, whose unwavering commitment paved the reunion’s path.
In late September, Haiku had gone missing after her owner’s car had been taken from a shopping centre. The 11-year-old dog had been in the car.
Despite the car being found, Haiku was not recovered with it, which signalled the call for the Pretoria community to keep their eyes peeled.
“Community members, different shelters and rescue organisations were involved in the search but Haiku ran away, being so scared,” a follower of Haiku’s story (who wished to remain anonymous) informed Good Things Guy.
However, Tebogo did a lot more than keep his eyes peeled.
As the founder of Soshanguve Animal Shelter and Educentre where helping distressed animals is Tebogo’s daily calling, he was touched by Haiku’s story and wanted to ensure it had a happy ending.
“[Haiku] had a surgery and was in an unfamiliar environment,” he explains to Good Things Guy, expressing his points of concern. He adds that Haiku’s owner is 94 years old and that her dog was all she had, which further fuelled his motivation to reunite them.
Tebogo tirelessly followed up on clues about the dog’s whereabouts. When leads indicated Haiku could be in Mamelodi, Tebogo created a communication network with the security guards to help with the search.
With the help of others and updates on community forums, Tebogo made sure that hopeful indications of Haiku were followed up on. In addition, he put his own boots on the ground to lure her to safety.
“I was heading Haiku’s search as I went there day and night, set traps, created feeding routines and went around the area seeking any information that might lead us to finding Haiku,” he shared.
Then, after days of determined searching, Friday morning promised hope. Tebogo managed to spot the dog in the cemetery bushes before she disappeared again.
Saturday rolled around and Tebogo received a call that led him to search in the Derdepoort area where more people were rallied to keep an eye out.
By Monday, a resident named Elaine had found Haiku in her garden and soon Tebogo and other searchers were able to reunite the dog with her owner!
“It was through Tebogo never giving up and organising and liaising help that Haiku was found,” adds the anonymous observer.
Tebogo’s role in Haiku’s story is far from the only time he puts on his animal hero cape. Through running the shelter in Onderstepoort, Tebogo helps facilitate animal rescues, attends to animal-related emergencies and alongside the team, nurses sick animals back to health as well as sterilising them.
“We also run an animal welfare education centre, which provides education about how to properly take care of their animals, how to care and create bonds between children and animals, we have 180 underprivileged children attending our programs everyday at 4pm at the informal settlement,” he shares.
As for his future, Tebogo is studying to become an inspector to further his impact and grant him more authority to handle more cases. A financially strenuous but all-important journey, and those who admire his dedication are hoping that support for his studies will find him as he helps find better chapters for many animals.
You can keep up with Soshanguve Animal Shelter here.
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Fabulous..such precise carrier.” Thank you… I even have by no means had such precise carrier.