CVC Clinics

Sedgefield CVC

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Knysna Veterinary Clinic is proud to have opened their second CVC clinic to offer services to our local Sedgefield communities, mainly the Smutsville area. We have partnered with Sedgefield Animal Matters, a non-profit in the area to provide care in the form of vaccinations, ecto- and endo- parasitic treatments and any basic veterinary healthcare needed.
Every Friday is spay day at the clinic, and together with a volunteer team which includes Dr Frank De Groot and Sr Jean De Groot we sterilise a number of cats and dogs. Being the only providers of this service in the area, the need is great and hard work is given to try and control the population, educate owners and look after unwanted or uncared for animals. Thankfully we encounter many loving owners who try and provide the best for their pets.

Steynsburg CVC

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Steynsburg Animal Hospital is a rural practice specialising in Small Ruminant herd health. However, we serve all clients and deal with all species. Our team have ties with livestock and pet owners in the local community and serve them on a no-fee basis. We also support a few village farmers in Idutywa. We excel in caring and compassion, not only towards our patients
but also for our community and our team.

The Big and Small Animal CVC

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This CVC is based in Rispark, South of Johannesburg and is operated by Dr Caryn Rademeyer

The Big: working with local equine welfare organisations, a comprehensive equine veterinary service is rendered to the hard working township horses and donkeys. A wide variety of cases are seen and treated such as: harness wounds, abscesses, plastic ingested colics, potato skin poisoning and traumatic wounds often as a result of being hit by a car. Donkey gelding outreach clinics are regularly done in far outlying rural regions where there is no veterinary assistance to the local communities.

The Small: assisting two different local organisations with weekly outreach sterilisation days, many owners are able to get their pet sterilised. A much needed and appreciated dental clinic has also been added to the outreach services.

Education days: regular, practical equine orientated education days are run at the local welfare organisations.

Day courses offered:
● Owner Equine First Aid course;
● UNISA Animal Welfare Assistant practical equine course;
● High School Equine Value Added days – for scholars wishing to apply to Onderstepoort
● Final Year Equine Welfare practical day – for fourth and final year vet students to get practical hands on exposure to equine welfare work.

Waterval Boven CVC

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If you have never visited the stunningly beautiful town of Waterval Boven in Mpumalanga, we highly, recommend it! The scenic mountains, epic waterfall, internationally acclaimed rock climbing, hiking, fishing and overall tranquility were enough good reasons why Principal vet, Dr Bronwyn Thomen and her partner, Kent Jennings, decided to make the move away from the city and settle in this small town in 2022.

The other reason was that the Emakhazeni Local Municipality areas - namely Waterval Boven (Emgwenya), Machadodorp (eNtokozweni), Belfast (eMakhazeni) and Dullstroom (Emnothweni) – did not have access to any veterinary services until they started the Waterval Boven Veterinary Clinic and CVC. Aided by the Emgwenya Animal Welfare Organisation (EAWO) NPC (2021/114168/08), these organisations bring affordable, quality veterinary care to those in need.

Regular vaccination drives (to prevent the spread of diseases), outreach campaigns (to deliver donations and engage with the people we serve) and sterilization clinics (to prevent overpopulation) are planned in advance of each year, with the hopes of visiting each area at least once a month. The EAWO is currently hard at work fundraising to obtain a dog trailer to be used as an Animal Ambulance that will enable further access to hospital and surgical services for locals. The Ambulance will also help create a greater visibility and awareness within the communities.

Both the Waterval Boven CVC and the EAWO promote a One Health approach to animal welfare, and aim to be actively involved with educating and uplifting the local communities by assisting with community food gardens, recycling projects and awareness campaigns.

West Coast CVC

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West Coast CVC was started 3 years ago with the support of the CCS mentor, Dr Derette Kotze, when the new program of sending out veterinary new grads as CCS veterinarians was started. Our first CCS vet was Dr Andries Lesch, who contributed a great deal to forming the basis of this clinic, followed by Dr Bianca van Wyk the following year and myself this year for building on this foundation and reaching point of serving ten different communities reaching from Hopefield all along the West Coast up to Lambertsbaai. Yet still we are receiving requests from more communities to come and help them. In each of these communities we work together closely with their respective welfare organizations.

Every morning the CCS vet ventures out with their valued assistant, Mrs. Allen Gericke to a different community, where a day comprises of sterilisations and consultations, with the occasional emergency. Our focus is on primary animal health care and sterilizations of dogs and cats, but we extend our skills to treatment of any other medical or surgical condition as far as our resources allow us to do so. We also make use of every opportunity to educate the adults and children during the course of the day concerning primary animal health care and as to why it is important to sterilize your animal.

Although we have made a big difference in the communities so far, there are yet still so many animals that cannot be helped due to their owners’ lack of financial resources. Any funding or donations will thus be utilized for dewormers, vaccinations, ectoparasite control, pain medication, antibiotics (especially doxycycline) and of course sterilizations.

We are a much loved CVC by our communities, and they are greatly thankful for all the help that we have been giving them over the past 2 and a half years. Many of these communities previously relied on fishing as their main source of income, but this is not the case anymore due to major restriction of fishing quotas, resulting in large scale unemployment and all the unhealthy consequences thereof.