Written by Charnelle de Beer – SPCA Rustenburg Committee Member
Professional photography by Lizelle Kerry Photography
“They’re making trouble,” was the reason given when the Boerboel brothers were surrendered to us.
Now, we’re so used to people NOT telling the truth and we could see that what was said about these two brothers was simply untrue. Poncho’s brother was a laid-back guy who loved everyone – even lovable towards other animals – and always full of life; Poncho was the broken boy.
Poncho gave up…
Poncho and his brother didn’t cope the first few days in the kennels. Poncho, in particular, clearly felt abandoned and he retreated into sleep the whole time. You could see that this lovely dog had given up. We even took him to the vet for a check-up, thinking that perhaps this boy might not be well, but everything was good. Poncho was just giving up because his heart and soul were broken.
Poncho’s brother immediately got adopted because he was so full of life and with a happy spirit. But people walking past Poncho didn’t look twice: they thought that this lad would forever just lie down in a corner.
But we knew there was more hidden in this big boy’s little heart. We knew he had so much potential and love to offer... we just needed to heal his broken heart.
…but we didn’t
We never gave up on Poncho. We went in every single day to spend time with him, showing him that we do love and adore him just the way he is. He started to warm up towards us. He began to get life back in his eyes and soon was happy to see us. Like a light dawning, we saw his hope coming back, slowly but surely!
We then started to take him out of his kennel and took him for walks in our playpen. We noticed that, when Poncho saw other dogs, his tail was always wagging; he was so gentle towards all big or small animals. So, where was this “trouble-making” animal we’d been told about? Clearly, this was a dog without a bad bone in his body.
Poncho found love
Finally, having crept out of his dejected shell, Poncho stole the heart of Marietjie Trevorrow. When she saw him she immediately said that Poncho needed to be part of her family.
We met the family and Poncho’s new sister, and what awesome people they are. Poncho was made for them, and we knew he’d finally see what love is all about with his new family.
With pride and joy, we were so happy to see Poncho leaving with a happy wagging tail. He stole so many hearts and he deserves all the love and care he’s getting.
Marietjie Trevorrow, Poncho’s new owner, shares...
I belong to the SPCA Rustenburg Facebook group and, on a regular basis, I check in on the site to see where I can make a difference. My heart went out to all the doggies on the site and the videos so well put together by the people in direct contact with them just knowing what they need to survive.
On this particular day, Poncho’s video came up and I felt my heart stop.
As a previous Boerboel mommy, I know what awesome dogs they are. I also know how much love and attention they require. I just cried then and there for this big guy. I was deeply upset and, having lost a beloved doggie in January, I unfollowed the page to spare myself more heartache.
Then I started thinking about Poncho and thought to myself: how can this be? All our previous dogs had alcoholic beverage-inspired names, Chivas the Labrador, Gin the Toy Pomeranian cross, Tequila (rescued from the golf club six years ago), and now here was Poncho. What does that mean, I thought... He obviously has to be part of our family.
I dreamt of this boy non-stop and, the following Monday morning, I was back on the SPCA Rustenburg’s page. The notification and plea popped up that Poncho was still not adopted. The next day, I asked my husband: “Can I please go and meet this dog?” – he knows me so well and of course said yes. On Wednesday, I met Poncho in person and, as they say in Afrikaans: “die koel was deur die kerk” (the die was cast). I wanted to take him home the very same day but followed protocol and, on Saturday the 11th of June, Poncho came home!
Poncho was quiet when we brought him home as he’d had an operation on his eye and been sterilised and microchipped. Saturday was rugby and he soon realised that, when Province WP is playing, you wear your rugby jersey and, somewhat reluctantly, allowed us to put his on.
Within no time at all, Poncho has really adapted well; he’s almost completely made the house his own. Sleeping next to dad’s side of the bed, the two of them have a snoring competition (much to my and Tequila’s disadvantage). Sleeping in front of the heater watching TV and watching me making food (while taking over all of the kitchen space right behind me).
He loves the walks daily in the neighbourhood and is just so good on his leash; he’s very obedient. We have a new shadow in the house and he follows us around the whole day.
We hope that he’ll be as happy until the end of time as he makes us!
