Option and her owner, Sello Mabote, before the infection that led to her leg being amputated.

• Sello Mabote walked 15km carrying his injured dog, Option, to the Virginia SPCA after a hit-and-run on 22 October.
• Moved by his devotion, the SPCA offered him a three-month fixed-term contract as a kennel assistant.
• SPCA chairperson Thea Smit said Mabote’s deep understanding of animal welfare and compassion, as well as his prior K9 kennel experience, made him a perfect fit.

What began as a desperate 15km rescue walk to save his injured dog has now turned into a meaningful opportunity for Sello Mabote – a job, stability and a renewed sense of purpose at the SPCA that helped her.

Option’s story made the news last month when Mabote decided to walk 15km to get help for his best friend after her leg was broken in a hit-and-run accident.

READ | ‘I had to save my dog’: Man carries injured best friend 15km after hit-and-run

Moved by his unwavering devotion to his dog, Option, the Virginia SPCA in the Free State offered Mabote a fixed-term contract for three months, allowing him to earn an income for his family and remain close to his best friend.

SPCA chairperson Thea Smit said Mabote had worked at K9 kennels before, and for that reason, they decided to give him the opportunity.

Smit said:

Mabote himself has been moved by the care being shown to him and his dog.

He is now a kennel assistant, performing daily routines with the dogs.

“My life has changed in a way that I never expected. When I walked the 15km with Option, I wasn’t thinking about anything else besides saving her. I never thought there would be people who would care about us like this, or that I would ever get a job from the SPCA,” Mabote told News24.

He added:

“I am very grateful to the SPCA for giving me this opportunity to be this close to my dog. They saw something in me, and I don’t want to disappoint them.”

A heartbreaking amputation

Option, who was struck by a car in a hit-and-run accident on 22 October, underwent weeks of treatment for her broken front leg.

For a while, her recovery seemed promising. Bandages were changed, and the fracture was monitored.

Mabote visited her every chance he could.

According to Smit, after her four-week bandage change, a foot infection set in – “a relentless, stubborn bacterial assault that tore away the progress she had made, compromising both her recovery and the long-term healing of her fracture”.

“Despite every effort, every prayer, every intervention, the infection would not relent,” she said.

Smit said to free Option from pain and to give her a genuine chance at life, her leg had to be amputated – “a devastating decision, a devastating outcome, and our hearts broke with Sello’s”.

Option still has stitches but is adapting very well to her new life, and as soon as she receives the green light from the vet, she will be ready to go home.

Festive blessings

When South Africans first read Mabote and Option’s story, they rallied to donate money to Mabote so that he would not have to walk the same, long distance to visit Option and pay for her medical treatment.

Mabote received more than R10 000 in donations directly into his sister’s account, and the SPCA received more than R6 000.

Mabote said the donations help him travel to work and ensure that Option has everything she needs.

He doesn’t want anything extravagant this festive season.

“For Christmas, I just want peace – time with my family, and Option when she comes home. Maybe cook something nice, sit outside, laugh – small things. That’s all I need.”

READ | Readers rally to help Sello who carried his dog ‘Option’ 15km after hit-and-run

Despite Option’s amputation and the hardship of the past two months, Mabote believes this Christmas will be his most meaningful yet.

“These few months were hard. But they also showed me that good people still exist. I feel blessed. And Option has a chance at life. That’s all that matters.”

If you have a great festive story to tell, email [email protected].