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Employee at Woodrock Tell All

This is a tell all, which Woodrock will reply to as being "false", but I will leave you to make up your own mind. Firstly, I would like to say that SARS really needs to start doing a thorough audit of this "Animal Welfare Organization" speak to any employee in confidence, and they will tell you their suspicions of Woodrock being a front for money laundering, I will get into that a bit later. Additionally, I would like to mention the conditions of being an employee. Never in my life have I worked at a place that is so toxic. And this toxicity is caused by Estelle, the co-founder. She has zero respect for any of the employees, no, for any human being to be honest. Regardless of being an employee or visitor to Woodrock, you can expect to be treated as someone who is beneath her as she sees herself as a celebrity. Most employees at Woodrock are African immigrants, who have no unions to fall back on for support, so they are treated like the lowest of the low, working long hours, earning the bare minimum, barely surviving and accused of theft and treated like ********s on a daily basis. Knowing full well that Woodrock will never face any repercussions from Government organizations, because of their "take it or leave it" attitude towards the staff. White staff are not treated much better, mental and verbal abuse from Estelle on a daily basis is the norm, the way she treats and talks to people is honestly disgusting. Telling you to your face that you are a failure is just one of many examples. The Adoptions team are very biased. If you are african (black) your chances of adopting decrease by half just by walking through the gate, you are profiled upon entry. Almost every employee will tell you in confidence that Woodrock is a boutique rescue, if it's a medium sized brown dog that you found on the side of the road and need help with, Estelle and Jacqui will tell you there is no space and refer you to other rescues if they even give you the time of day. But call in with a small fluffy dog, i.e. a Yorkie. And they will instantly take it, and they will even ask you "don't you have more?" The reason for this is that small cute dogs get adopted quickly, meaning they can find the dog a home quickly, and get the adoption fee of R1600. Medium sized brown dogs don't find homes as quickly, and they don't want to have dogs that are going to sit around for a few months, so they are very selective with what animals they take in as Woodrock is run like a financial institution, and it's all about the number of adoptions, not the rehabilitation and rehoming of animals that truly need it. The reason for saying that SARS should audit Woodrock, is not something I say out of spite, it's something I truly feel is necessary especially seeing as the one co-founder is a chartered accountant... Nick & Estelle, the co-founders of Woodrock have set up a very well executed operation, in which they benefit from almost all aspects of the Rescue. Woodrock is an NPO, meaning it's not owned by a specific person, but run through a board which consists of 5 people. Nick, Estelle & their son are on this board, so as a family, they have the majority of the votes. Now because Woodrock is an NPO, the Rescue does not belong to Nick & Estelle, but they do own the land on which the rescue is built, which they lease out to Woodrock. Numerous posts were put onto social media asking their followers to help secure the property by building a wall around this property at a cost of R3.5 million. Meaning that money donated to Woodrock, was used to build a wall around Nick & Estelle's propery, pushing the value of this privately owned piece of land up, which does not belong to Woodrock, but to Nick & Estelle. Nick and Estelle are also the owners of African Experience, which is a Doggie Hotel located on the property. This is a service aimed at people going on holiday and not wanting to leave their pets at home. You can book your pet into this hotel at a cost of between R250-R350 per day. This sounds normal right? Here is where it gets interesting... Not all the dogs at this hotel are privately owned, around 50% of these dogs are Woodrock dogs which are moved from the main kennels, into the hotel (for months, years and for some, indefinitely). What does this mean? This means that Nick and Estelle's company (AER) can bill Woodrock for every day the animal is in the hotel. Conflict of interest? You decide. Where it gets really ugly. Woodrock (Jacqui) started a new campaign called "Paws @ Work". This campaign is portrayed as a "mental wellness" programme, how it works is as follows: They have a contract with copprates, to take 10 - 15 dogs (small cute dogs) on a weekly basis to a conference room. Employees can go to this conference room on their break, and spend time with these dogs. Which is said to cost some corporates R15 000 a month each. Sounds great right? Not so much, especially if you are one of these dogs used for the program. This means that these animals have officially become circus performers. They are not up for adoption, they never have a chance at finding a forever home, they are now condemned to being performers. And where do these performers stay, you might ask? At the pet hotel, which Nick and Estelle owns. Meaning that they earn money every single day these dogs stay there. Another interesting fact, for a rescue who is against back yard breeding and so vocal about sterilisation, most of these dogs are sourced from breeders... Recently the same creator of the "Paws @ Work" program, created the "Cat Cafe" located at Kayalami Corner. Again, the most homable and lovable cats are condemned to living in a store front, forced to interact with customers paying R120 7 days a week. How is this different from a petting zoo? Another issue with this is that cats are very sensitive, on a weekly basis cats return to Woodrock having become sick at the cafe, but like a conveyor, a new fluffy cat is sent to replace the sick one. Visit Woodrock and you will be blown away, but work there and you will be broken down into nothing. Try mentioning "Mental health" to Estelle, and her words will be "We don't give a F*** about mental health". Which is funny given the "Paws @ Work" initiative. The adoption process is extremely biased, if you're african (black) you are profiled on entry. It's as if the adoption team look for reasons to deny applications. Unless you are one of Estelles or Jacquis friends, then you can adopt even if the dog is going to sleep outside. Extremely toxic work environment, constant verbal and mental abuse from Estelle, followed by stories of their extravagant holidays and purchases, was a normal conversation with her. Where it also gets interesting is Nick & Estelle's son (Dean). He owns the company that harvests all your info once you have adopted a pet from Woodrock. When adopting, you fill in an application. If your application is approved, a few days after you have picked up the animal, you will receive a call from Dean's call centre, guilting you into signing up for a monthly debit order. Try saying no, then you will be harassed until you eventually just give in. These debit orders are huge for Woodrock. They sign on average 300 people per month, at an average of R300 per person. This is an annual agreement, meaning you will be debited R3600 throughout the year. R3600 x 300 people = R1 080 000 for one months sales. The next month an average of 300 people will be signed up again, repeating the cycle every month. And please try canceling this debit order or even getting your 18A tax certificate from them, I wish you luck. Not to even mention large corporate donations, food donations, sellable goods and cash donations from the public. There is always a plea for more food, but on multiple occasions food goes off because of the surplus being stored in various containers on the property. All the 5 star reviews on Hellopeter were left on the same day and were done by staff. Estelle prides herself in letting you know she owns you because she pays your salary. Your social media, your private time, your off days, nothing is off limits to her. You are labelled as a traitor shoud you support any other animal welfare organisation, because, she owns you. She makes a point of harassing staff especially on their days off. Not to even mention trying to request leave. You will be labelled as someone that does not have integrity, a failure, disappointment etc. I'm sure Woodrock was started with good intentions, unfortunately it has turned into a money making machine, preying on peoples emotions and benefiting the co-founders, their children and their grandchildren, who own numerous properties in the most expensive suburbs in Johannesburg and Cape-Town. How does an ex teacher, who now runs an animal rescue, own numerous multi-million rand properties? You do the math. In conclusion, this review is not a biased or a bitter one, but rather a first hand account of the behind the scenes happenings at Woodrock Animal Rescue.