Kimberley - A pastor who has come forward, saying he is the rightful owner of the dog that survived after falling an estimated 160 metres down the Kimberley Big Hole, is currently seeking legal advice in order to reclaim her.
This comes at the same time that Warrant Officer John Seeley from the police’s search and rescue unit, has decided to give the dog a new home after consulting with his family.
Seeley, who rescued the dog during a daring mission has decided to name her “Kimberley” and is intent on keeping her.
Pastor Chris Baadjies has photographs of Gigi when she was a puppy with the same identifiable beauty spot on her right cheek and distinct white markings on her chest, paws, back of her head and tail.
He said the dog had wagged her tail and ran forward to greet him from inside the cage when he went to visit her at the SPCA on Monday afternoon.
“I know that Seeley is the hero for rescuing her but I cannot give her away to anyone else.”
Pastor Chris Baadjies has photographs of Gigi when she was a puppy with the same identifiable beauty spot on her right cheek and distinct white markings on her chest, paws, back of her head and tail. Photo: Soraya Crowie
He said that she was about four years old and that he reared her since she was a puppy after purchasing her in Johannesburg.
“Gigi is a Boerboel crossed with a pitbull terrier. We sold her litter of puppies that she had four months ago.”
Baadjies said that his dog went missing on November 15, along with his neighbour’s dog that often crawled under the fence to play with her.
“The Chihuahua that went missing with her has not returned yet. It is the first time that she wandered away from home. My house is situated about 300 metres from the Big Hole.”
De Beers officials recalled seeing a Jack Russell and another dog scrambling back up through the fence when visitors to the Big Hole had spotted the dog that was trapped inside for eight days.
“I contacted the SPCA and the officials told me that they had picked up a dog in the same area where I stay. I did not check to see if it was her when they informed me that the dog had to be put down. I was sitting with my wife on the porch over the weekend, missing Gigi but I told her that there was nothing we could do to bring her back.”
Baadjies was brushing his teeth on Monday morning when his wife called him to say that Gigi was featured on a television show on SABC 3.
“We didn’t know about the rescue mission until we read about it in the newspapers on Monday. At first I couldn’t believe my eyes but then I saw that it was her.”
Baadjies said he would meet with his lawyer on Tuesday to obtain legal advice regarding the ownership of the dog.
Up until on Monday, no one had emerged as the legal owner of the dog.
SPCA inspector, Mario van der Westhuizen, said that offers to adopt the dog were still streaming in.
“I had already received requests from 100 callers from Kimberley, Australia and Canada as well as a cash offer of R20 000 from people who were interested in the dog.
“We want to keep the dog in Kimberley and also gave first preference to any member of the rescue team, to adopt her. She has a loving nature and will be good with children.”
He added that the dog would be kept at the SPCA for a few days because she was still on medication.
“Members of the public can come to come and visit her while she is still here.”
Van der Westhuizen pointed out that despite everyone wanting to adopt the dog, there could only be one owner.
“We request the community to adopt any of the other dogs at the SPCA in her honour.”
Local businesses on Monday brought bags of food to the SPCA for the dog while Eukanuba and Bob Martin are also sponsoring her food supply.
De Beers announced that it will have to review its safety plans and entry points around the Kimberley Big Hole after it became apparent that to rescue the life of a person or animal, is not an easy task.
De Beers spokesman, Abel Madonsela, said that a meeting was held on Monday after the rescue mission succeeded in saving “Underdog” as she has become famously known around the world.
“We discussed the adequacy of the fencing because holes are sometimes made through the wire. It was a massive learning curve for us as well as all emergency rescue services, as well as in terms of the equipment needed.
“The quickest and easiest route has also been identified in order to get down. It is not as easy as it looks, especially with the terrain around the Big Hole that is unpredictable. The role of De Beers was to ensure that all emergency services were given access to the property.”
Madonsela added that the movement of the soil surrounding the Big Hole was monitored on a 24-hour basis. He pointed out that this was the first time that any living being had ventured so deep into the largest man made hole and survived after such a steep fall.
“So much effort was put into the rescue of the dog because it was also a test run to determine what is needed for future rescue operations.”
Two people have already attempted to commit suicide by jumping down the Big Hole, although their fall was broken by trees and bushes on the way down.
He added that security personnel regularly patrolled the area to repair and ensure that there were no holes in the fences.
“We are speculating that the dog could have entered the fence through the side of the museum.”
