Welcome to the world of the Mdzananda Animal Clinic, the only permanent animal welfare support in Khayalitsha, a “township” area just outside Cape Town, South Africa.

Mdzananda means distemper in the local isiXhosa dialect, and the clinic provides primary veterinary healthcare services – spay/neuter, dipping, deworming and vaccination for dogs and cats in this sprawling area that is home to more than a million people. Mdzananda runs from six recycled shipping containers and seven of our nine loyal staff are Khayalitsha residents.

Pronunciations of those hard-to-get-your-tongue-around-names:

Khayalitsha – Kya-leet-sha
Mdzananda - Mmm-za-nan-da