It’s been a wild ride and because we value you and your furry friends, we’ve been very busy putting pets and people first.

Before 2020 arrives, let’s take a look back at the inspiration and opportunity this year offered.

Take a gallop through dotsure.co.za's 2019 calendar to see how much we’ve achieved with your help. This is not something we could do without you, and we hope you’ll be (even) more involved next year…

 

Bringing business and people together for good

 

The annual Polar Bear Plunge is our flagship public participation event and an institution on the dotsure.co.za calendar. Each year, the entire company braves icy waves in the middle of winter to support animal and human welfare. As dotsure.co.za grows, we’re encouraged to see that the gathering is inspiring more and more citizens and businesses to make a splash for good.  In 2019, we invited the Garden Route to participate with an entry ‘fee’ of one blanket. This unusual approach, coupled with the ceaseless efforts of key dotsure.co.za employees and the goodwill of the general public, saw a whopping 2,000 blankets donated to keep humans and animals warmer. It was double the target and is symbolic of South Africa’s growing support for pets and people from all walks of life. A further R40 000 was also donated to Oudtshoorn Dogs in Need and The George Night Shelter. David Roache, Managing Director and visionary at dotsure.co.za, extended “a massive thanks to all who came out and supported the event by donating a blanket. Together, we have made a difference to 2,000 lives this winter. A special thanks to local businesses for joining forces with us, and to all of our partners – we could not have done this without you!”

 

Read more about this year’s Polar Bear Plunge here

 

Encouraging empathy through action

 

What’s life like for a stray dog or cat awaiting a fur-ever home in an animal shelter? A few compassionate humans found out first-hand in August 2019. Kirsten McCarthy is a Business Development Representative from dotsure.co.za who believes in being the change we need to see. In August, she bravely led a pack of humans who stayed a night the way a dog awaiting adoption might. Bearing in mind that people are used to a lot more comfort, this bold move in the bare, but hygienic and safe, shelter spaces highlighted the plight of the thousands of homeless hounds across the country. It emphasises a deep dotsure.co.za ethos of empathy and encourages the movement to highlight the needs of shelter pets. Have a look at what Kirsten had to say at the outset:

 

Read more about her ‘ruff’ night here

 

Promoting pet positivity with reality TV

 

In February 2019, we were the main sponsor for The Bachelor South Africa reality TV show and created a variety of related campaigns to actively care for pets.  These included:

  • full tummies for every policy sold online. We ran a meal campaign alongside the popular show. Any pet policy bought online that started during the time the show aired automatically fed a pet awaiting adoption for a month on behalf of - but at no extra cost to - the policy holder. Yay, you!
  • an adoption drive. We increased awareness of the plight of homeless pups with a dedicated adoption drive, endorsed and encouraged by the show’s gorgeous participants. Several deserving pets were adopted into happy homes with loving humans with the support of the Animal Anti-Cruelty League (AACL).
  • the launch of the dotsure.co.za R1-million charity challenge alongside the Bachelor South Africa, because the love doesn’t stop once the show is over. We’ve taken this whopper of a challenge very seriously and have so far contributed over R790,000 through various ventures.

 

Feeding furry friends 10,000 (more) meals

 

Inspired by feeding the hungry with your help and policy sign-ups during the Bachelor SA screenings, we launched an internal food drive in celebration of International Pet Week, 6 to 12 May.  In 2019, we gathered and sponsored 1.1 tonnes of healthy food to needy pets at The Garden Route SPCA and Oudtshoorn Dogs in Need (ODIN). That’s 10,000 meals in all!

 

Read more about the mighty meal drive here. 

 

Giving R50,000 for animal welfare for your clicks – what’s not to like?

 

Since we live in a social world, every time you click, we count. Especially if it’s the ‘like’ button on our Facebook page for pets and people. The R1 million challenge is allocating R50k of its donations to your social activity. If you haven’t already liked the page, pop over to it, click ‘like’ and we’ll make a contribution to that R50k on your behalf.

 

Read more about how your clicks contribute here

 

It’s not us, it’s you - we are proud to be part of a family of generous pet lovers

 

The truth is that we take our inspiration from the animals and individuals that our cover helps every day and we’ve been immeasurably motivated by our extended family. Take Melissa Abrahams, for example. She’s a dotsure.co.za pet policy holder and dog mom to two Jack Russels, Kodi and Kali (crossbreed). Melissa launched a Back-a-Buddy campaign in honour of Kali’s third birthday in October. Kali’s birthday wish was to raise money for the AACL and that is how one doggie birthday bash gathered R2,856.22 for other furry friends. Way to go, Melissa, Kody, Kali and sponsors!

 

Read more about Kali’s birthday gesture here.

 

Our very own employees uplifting the local community.

 

Beard Club, our internal band of brothers, were not afraid to get their hands dirty and to donate their time to shelter pets in need. The group assisted with all around maintenance, cleaning, kennel renovations and wall building. They managed to collect 1.2 tonnes of dog food and to raise R18,000 for ODIN (Oudtshoorn Dogs in Need) during the month of November. We’re proud to call these guys family.

 

Honouring the memory of pets that are gone, but not forgotten.

 

In honour of our four-legged family members who sadly passed away during the course of this year, we’ve decided to establish an initiative whereby we make contributions towards the feeding of shelter pets. So far, a tail-wagging R50,000 has been donated to this worthy cause, which offers a bit of consolation in sadness and continues to remind us of the beloved furry friends who, even though they’re no longer with us, have left deep forever-pawprints in our hearts.

 

What’s next?

 

2020 holds a huge array of initiatives, most of which are still under wraps and will be announced in the New Year so watch this space…

Here’s to a new year filled with love, feathers, fur and fun 😉

 

Happy holidays!

 

Curious about our range of cover options? Contact us at 0861 368 7873 or visit our home page and get a no-strings-attached insurance quote online any time of day.