Focus On Pekingese Haven

Life gives us two choices – to live oblivious or removed from the plight of others, or to get involved and help where possible. We chose to look into the eyes of souls who need rescue, protection, and safe haven, and we committed ourselves to doing all we can to make a difference. Our passion is focused on the unique needs of a very misunderstood breed – the Pekingese. We’ve come to understand that, despite their undeniable cuteness and appeal as a fluffy addition to a family, not everyone is meant to be an owner of a Pekingese.

- Pekingese Haven

Parents too often fall for the cries of their children wanting the cute “gremlin”-looking puppy (a first mistake); and backyard breeders want to make a “quick buck” and use the breed as an income stream despite no experience or knowledge at all. As a result, inbreeding-related disorders and medical conditions are on the rise – these include IVDD (Intervertebral disc disease), Entropion (an eye disorder), general deformities and other generic medical problems.

At the outset, we helped by accommodating a few Pekes at our home office in order to offer them a temporary safe haven and the chance to find a new home. However, this soon escalated, and it became vital for us to create a fully-fledged sanctuary for the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of the breed.

We were blessed to purchase a lovely smallholding in Brentwood Park agricultural holdings – here we provide a crucial bridge between the past, present and future as we help rescued Pekes in their quest to find good humans, loving families and secure homes.

THE BIRTH OF PEKINGESE HAVEN

We realised that we needed both a variety of skills sets, networks and funding streams and that it was important for us to build a team that could share a passion for the cause. As such, like-minded individuals came together and “Pekingese Haven” was born. Ouma Lin Diffenthal donated a significant amount of funds in memory of her husband, Theo Diffenthal (a passionate Pekingese owner himself), and we refer to her as our Haven Angel. This generous donation enabled us to build a beautiful frail-care section for our older, and more frail, rescued dogs.