All in a day’s work

Working in the SPCA inspectorate department, you expect to have to climb trees or crawl into drains to rescue cats and puppies, and to dodge feisty animals’ teeth and claws.

But rescuing a goat from the edge of a cliff while braving a giant snake?

Field Officer Nathi responded to a call for help from the goat’s owner and found the animal trapped on a narrow ledge, bleating piteously. Probably because it knew there was a hungry python headed its way.

Nathi, blissfully unaware, set off through the thick bush with his ropes and catchpole. He was calling for back-up as he climbed over a big rock … and there it was. A snake the size of a train, doing a U-turn back towards him. Its head disappeared under the rock Nathi was standing on and he didn’t know which way to jump.

His phone flew one way, and he flew the other. He looked around for the snake but it had disappeared. All around, the grass rustled and swayed as if there were snakes everywhere. Leaping from rock to rock like a springbok, Nathi back- tracked frantically.

When he finally made it back to his van, he told the goat’s owner. “I’ll come back a bit later. There’s a big snake up there.” “Oh ja,” the owner replied nonchalantly. “I heard about it.” “Why didn’t he tell me?” poor Nathi wondered.

In the end, it all worked out. The snake, probably just as freaked out by the encounter, slithered off to find some peace and quiet. The goat climbed down from the ledge on its own. And back at the SPCA Nathi had us all in stitches as he described his ordeal.