Mrs Lynn Holdt receiving the cheque from Mrs Dallis Graham
The Aberdeen Kennels, originally built by the local residents according to reports in 1988/89, are about to be restored and hopefully financially assisted on a monthly basis.
The kennels originally had a committee which was formed in the 1980’s with a lease drawn up by the local municipality to hire ground. The cost of hiring the ground was R1.00 per year. Over the years those in Aberdeen respectful of the lives and conditions of the local animals, assisted in the running of these kennels. People such as Mr Gary & Mrs Marie Grey, Mrs Myrna Pocock and her husband, a Mr & Mrs Scholtz who owned the local pharmacy, a Mrs Margaret Exall, Gill Lundin, Mr Prins Heyns and now our present day ‘animal protector of note’, Mrs Lynn Holdt.
Before Mrs Lynn Holdt came to live in Aberdeen, Mrs Maureen Mac Andrew was the Animal Protection Society representative here. Maureen worked with K.A.P.S., a Barrydale based non-profit organization covering the Little Karoo, in establishing control of animal challenges and problems, and Veterinarians from the Western Cape came on a purely voluntary basis, to sterilize, neuter and assist in animal dipping. Maureen Mac Andrew must be acknowledged for the wonderful work that she did as the K.A.P.S. representative during this time.
Mr Ray & Mrs Lynn Holdt, who were living in Calitzdorp and doing sterling work there on behalf of K.A.P.S., decided to move to Aberdeen and continued with this selfless work. Over the years Lynn has run the animal protection project here in Aberdeen with her helpers, doing work which was over and above the call of duty.
The Aberdeen Kennels at this stage was being funded by the S.P.C.A. and being run by Mr Prins Heyns with minimum finance. This finance only provided for the cost of the food, for although it was also a boarding kennel, strays and abused animal were also housed there. When Mr Heyns stopped working at the kennels, there was literally no one to care for these animals or to run the kennels.
Then the S.P.C.A. decided to relinquish its interest in the Aberdeen Kennels and Lynn Holdt - at her own expense - kept the strays housed and fed whilst a solution to this problem was found. This also involved the Municipality, as the ground belonged to them. Mr Clive Kombani, the Aberdeen Municipal Manager, was extremely helpful in assisting this project and generous Aberdeen residents gave Lynn much needed finance from time to time. This became a financial burden for her, as help was not always forthcoming.
A year ago a new Aberdeen resident Mr Colin Kraut, observed a very expressive plaque on the famous ‘Cat’ in the garden of the Aberdeen Heritage Archive and Tourism Bureau. It was explicit in its condemnation of the company who had renovated an Aberdeen building in 1988 and had destroyed swallows nests in the process. Knowing a director of this company who is an animal lover, Colin advised him of this bad publicity about his company. A representative of the company was duly sent to Aberdeen to view this plaque and had a meeting with Mrs Dallis Graham at the Bureau. The representative requested that the plaque be removed. Mrs Graham advised him that this was impossible but said that another plaque could be placed at the foot of the statue thanking the company for a donation to resurrect the poor condition of the Aberdeen Kennels and she specified the exact amount needed. After a board meeting, the finance was agreed upon, and on Monday 15 March, Mrs Graham was pleased to hand over the cheque from Gordon Verhoef & Krause to the value of R14 240.00 to Mr and Mrs Holdt to begin repair work on the existing kennels. Mrs Graham has also achieved firm commitments from friends in Aberdeen, Durban and Cape Town to fund by means of monthly debit orders, partial finance to help pay for food. This will be a totally non-profit venture by Lynn and Ray Holdt. It is people like these mentioned in the article - the ones who actively get involved and achieve results or effect change - who are valued in Aberdeen.
The kennels originally had a committee which was formed in the 1980’s with a lease drawn up by the local municipality to hire ground. The cost of hiring the ground was R1.00 per year. Over the years those in Aberdeen respectful of the lives and conditions of the local animals, assisted in the running of these kennels. People such as Mr Gary & Mrs Marie Grey, Mrs Myrna Pocock and her husband, a Mr & Mrs Scholtz who owned the local pharmacy, a Mrs Margaret Exall, Gill Lundin, Mr Prins Heyns and now our present day ‘animal protector of note’, Mrs Lynn Holdt.
Before Mrs Lynn Holdt came to live in Aberdeen, Mrs Maureen Mac Andrew was the Animal Protection Society representative here. Maureen worked with K.A.P.S., a Barrydale based non-profit organization covering the Little Karoo, in establishing control of animal challenges and problems, and Veterinarians from the Western Cape came on a purely voluntary basis, to sterilize, neuter and assist in animal dipping. Maureen Mac Andrew must be acknowledged for the wonderful work that she did as the K.A.P.S. representative during this time.
Mr Ray & Mrs Lynn Holdt, who were living in Calitzdorp and doing sterling work there on behalf of K.A.P.S., decided to move to Aberdeen and continued with this selfless work. Over the years Lynn has run the animal protection project here in Aberdeen with her helpers, doing work which was over and above the call of duty.
The Aberdeen Kennels at this stage was being funded by the S.P.C.A. and being run by Mr Prins Heyns with minimum finance. This finance only provided for the cost of the food, for although it was also a boarding kennel, strays and abused animal were also housed there. When Mr Heyns stopped working at the kennels, there was literally no one to care for these animals or to run the kennels.
Then the S.P.C.A. decided to relinquish its interest in the Aberdeen Kennels and Lynn Holdt - at her own expense - kept the strays housed and fed whilst a solution to this problem was found. This also involved the Municipality, as the ground belonged to them. Mr Clive Kombani, the Aberdeen Municipal Manager, was extremely helpful in assisting this project and generous Aberdeen residents gave Lynn much needed finance from time to time. This became a financial burden for her, as help was not always forthcoming.
A year ago a new Aberdeen resident Mr Colin Kraut, observed a very expressive plaque on the famous ‘Cat’ in the garden of the Aberdeen Heritage Archive and Tourism Bureau. It was explicit in its condemnation of the company who had renovated an Aberdeen building in 1988 and had destroyed swallows nests in the process. Knowing a director of this company who is an animal lover, Colin advised him of this bad publicity about his company. A representative of the company was duly sent to Aberdeen to view this plaque and had a meeting with Mrs Dallis Graham at the Bureau. The representative requested that the plaque be removed. Mrs Graham advised him that this was impossible but said that another plaque could be placed at the foot of the statue thanking the company for a donation to resurrect the poor condition of the Aberdeen Kennels and she specified the exact amount needed. After a board meeting, the finance was agreed upon, and on Monday 15 March, Mrs Graham was pleased to hand over the cheque from Gordon Verhoef & Krause to the value of R14 240.00 to Mr and Mrs Holdt to begin repair work on the existing kennels. Mrs Graham has also achieved firm commitments from friends in Aberdeen, Durban and Cape Town to fund by means of monthly debit orders, partial finance to help pay for food. This will be a totally non-profit venture by Lynn and Ray Holdt. It is people like these mentioned in the article - the ones who actively get involved and achieve results or effect change - who are valued in Aberdeen.
Article By: Joan Tinker