Gender: Male
Age: January 2019
Size: Medium
Breed: Africanis

Takkies

My name is Takkies. And for six years, I was nobody’s dog. Now I hope, one day soon, I will be somebody’s everything.

For as long as I can remember, I lived in the same place, in the same community. Everyone knew my name, but no one claimed me. I slept outside. Sometimes I got food, sometimes I didn’t. I existed, but I never really belonged to anyone.

Then one day, I got sick. Too weak to stand, too exhausted to try. I don’t know how I ended up trapped inside that cold, hollow pillar, surrounded by dust and concrete. Maybe I was running from something. Maybe I was just looking for a place to disappear. For two days, I lay there – waiting.

But then, someone came for me.

A child in the community saw me suffering and asked for help. That’s how I was found. Carried over a fence and into safety for the first time in my life. I was covered in ticks, barely clinging on. The vet said my blood was so diluted from disease that even their tests struggled to confirm just how sick I was. But they fought for me. And I fought, too.

At first, I was terrified. I didn’t know kindness. I didn’t trust hands reaching toward me or voices calling my name. I hid. I shook. I didn’t dare eat when people were watching. I was so afraid of doing something wrong that I tried to bury my mess inside the house, scratching desperately at the tiles, terrified of punishment.

But something changed.

Little by little, I realised that this time, no one was going to hurt me. Gentle words replaced shouting. Hands reached out not to hit, but to comfort. And slowly, I let my guard down.

And then, I found something I never knew I needed; love.

Now I can’t get enough of it! I live for affection, for belly rubs, for the feeling of someone choosing me every day. I am proof that even the most forgotten souls, the ones left behind and unseen, can learn to shine when given the chance.

I am looking for a home with older children who understand that I wasn’t always this brave and trusting. A calm, kind family that will cherish me the way I’ve always dreamed of being cherished. I’d love a laid-back, preferably female dog companion, but no cats, please.

For six years, I was nobody’s dog. But I know, deep in my heart, that there is someone out there who will make me theirs.

Maybe that person is you?