Sbonelo Ngubane and sweet Socksie have been attending the Friday afternoon classes at Funda Nenja since 2017. Socksie is one of the few older dogs that attends our programme. Sbonelo says that Socksie “is too old… she has always been here… I can't remember being alive in the world when she wasn’t alive with me” Although Socksie is not as old as twelve year old Sbonelo, she is definitely a golden oldie.
Sbonelo says that Socksie was given her name because “she has brown socks on her legs”. He says that “my mother calls her Socks but I call her Socksie because it is a better name and she loves it more”. Indeed, Socksie definitely knows her name and is totally devoted to Sbonelo. Each time he mentions her name, she cocks her head to the side and stares up adoringly at him.
Sbonelo lives with his mother, maternal grandparents and younger brother. He says that his mother “loves Funda Nenja and says that I must come to Funda Nenja always so that I can spend time with the dogs and the good children”. Sbonelo started attending Funda Nenja after his father died because “my mother said that I must come here so that I keep out of trouble and away from the bad children on the street”.
Sbonelo says that “I love Funda Nenja because I can come here to learn how to look after Socksie... and also get help for her when she is sick… and I can learn to be good”. Sbonelo is a very responsible, gentle and kind young man, who is very sweet and patient with his older dog, walking slowly with her to and from school and always touching and reassuring her during class. Sbonelo says that the thing he most loves about Socksie is that “she loves me”. She does indeed!
When he grows up, Sbonelo would like to be a “soldier with a dog… my father was a soldier, but he died because he didn’t have a dog to care for him”.
Pictured above Sbonelo Ngubane and Socksie.
News supplied by Funda Nenja.