Articles

About Us

FORA (FRIENDS OF RESCUED ANIMAL) was founded in August 2003 by the late Marlene De Beer.

FORA is a Pro-Life Animal haven for dogs and cats and has been officially registered as a non profit organization (NPO 029775).

There was an urgent need on the West Rand to provide a safe and caring environment for animals until they were either reclaimed by its owners, placed in a new home or provided with lifelong shelter for the rest of their days.  FORA has a Pro-life policy - animals are only euthanized  if they are in distress due to age or illness.

FORA operated for 6 years on a small piece of land, situated below Westgate Shopping Centre through a private donor lease. However, the property was sold and we were given notice on the 17th September 2009 and had 3 months to move 650 dogs and 250 cats in our care.

It was remarkable, that this was the exact date 5 years ago since our founder, Marlene De Beer passed away due to cancer.

On the 3rd October 2009, Breggie De Beer, Shelter Manager at FORA, called on the West Rand community and all animal lovers to join in a massive prayer to save the pro-life animal shelter, and help us to find a new home for all our animals . At a function at the old shelter, we released 1 000 helium balloons that included messages of hope and faith for the future of the shelter.

Soon after this amazing day, our prayers' were answered, and we discovered the perfect property, namely 1a Winsor Road, Luipaardsvlei, Krugersdorp, which we are presently renting.

On the 24th December 2009 all the dogs and cats were safely moved to the new premises.

The new facility consists of 100 runs with 400 sleeping quarters for the dogs.

The cats have 18 cat villas as well as a very large open cattery.

The newly built old age home for dogs provides shelter for 60 retired dogs.

We are presently in the process of negotiating with the owners to purchase the property that we presently occupy. A subdivision application was submitted to the town council during September 2010 and if all goes according to plan, and we continue obtaining donations from all these special people that are supporting our cause, FORA will be celebrating the successful conclusion of an agreement to purchase the property in the very near future.

Our staff consists of qualified and kennel staff members.