Yoga fans adopt wet nose pose as dogs join fun in Cape Town park

An outdoor yoga class in Cape Town on Saturday brought a whole new meaning to “downward-facing dog”.

Scores of people who spent an hour in De Waal Park, in Gardens, were accompanied on their mats by homeless hounds looking for new homes.

The event was held to raise money for Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha, which experienced an influx of unwanted pets over the festive season.

“We usually cater for 10 dogs and 10 cats in our small stray unit and currently have 30 of each,” said fundraising and communications manager Marcelle du Plessis.

“Being an animal hospital, our focus is medical treatment for pets of the Khayelitsha community. We do, however, not turn pets away and have found ourselves with a stray unit that is currently filled over capacity.

“We had numerous pets handed over to us during the festive season, some even tied to our gates or thrown over the walls at night.”

Du Plessis said the yoga class, given by instructor Lee-Ann Elliott with live music by Tombstone Pete, was an opportunity to bring dogs needing homes to an easily accessible location.

“Many people are too scared to visit our organisation as we are based in Khayelitsha. This makes it more difficult for us to find homes for pets,” she said.

“We always encourage people to visit, as the experience of driving through the diverse and creative community is one everyone should experience. It also opens one’s eyes to the struggles in Cape Town for both humans and pets.”

Mdzananda serves an average of 700 animals per month through consultations, hospitalisation, general and orthopaedic surgeries, sterilisations, mobile clinics and an animal ambulance.