hopeA Chapter by Mandy Flisher
Dedicated to All the animals suffering by misguided hands & to the unselfish love of those that give them a
voice!
We will keep up the fight ‘until every cage is empty’
A portion of the books sales will be
donated to Unite to care So that more animals can be free!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are so many people to thank for the inspiration
of this book. First and foremost Vicky Fraser founder of Unite to
care. Without the tireless and constant work, love and compassion of Vicky and
the Unite to Care team, Hope and the 10 foals rescued all in the same year from
research institutions Would be dead now! Acknowledgement must be given to the unnamed female
technician where Hope was Held for six years. Without her pleading hope’s future
would not be what it is now Linda who has a heart as big as a mountain who takes
in and heals, loves and nurtures lost and forgotten dogs who have been cast out
in some shape or form. Sammy my beautiful daughter who gets dragged out on
daily dog runs. To my beautiful loved ones who love me for who am. To Gemmy our resident love pup who
unselfishly allowed hope in. Hope for letting me in bit, by bit and has shown
immense bravery and forgiveness!
HOPE Introduction
This is not a tale of fiction
and is not pure imagination. Hope is real and her story is certainly not an
isolated one. Each year thousands of
animals such as Hope are picked up from shelters and bred all in the name of
animal research. An Outdated method which serves no concrete purpose in the
welfare of human kind!
Once these animals have been
used and have served their purpose they are mainly destroyed after suffering
extremely painful existences. Unfortunately
there is still ignorance in the scientific industry and amongst the public who
feel that animals serve their purpose for our common good. The animals used
never see daylight or are permitted to go outside because of potential
contamination. Neither do they experience joy or a touch of love. Their lives
are abused in the apparent name of science.
Hope once only a number is a
sweet and gentle soul. Her beginning is an elusive one and little is known
about how her first year of life contained, the only thing we know is that she
was a year old when picked up off the streets in Albania by the research institute.
She was cheap and treated as such. A
tool to exploit and cause unnecessary suffering.
Although
some of the characters such as Nanny are fictional the institute and characters
preceding her early years are real life characters. Institutional names have
not been mentioned due to ongoing hopes that research animals such as Hope will
be allowed to retire to loving homes rather than being put to sleep. They are
just a mere number, therefore not living feeling beings but a test tube to
research on, the researches become immune to the plights and suffering of these
animals to a great extent, to further their need of interpreting data, which
remains inconclusive to human wellbeing.
Hope was incarcerated within
the institute! She entered as a sweet and placid soul and remained there for
six years. It was near the end of her six years that she started to protest
against the constant poking prodding and tubes forcibly shoved down her throat
that she warned the clinician (male) away from her. She started to growl and
bared her teeth at him out of fear. She had given six years of her life to him
and his painful and constant tests, all in the name of science? The doctor
decided that she no longer served a purpose, so she was muzzled and put on the
destroy list. Fact!
It was the female technician
who begged and pleaded with the doctor that a home should be found. It was the
female technician that stood there crying and had grown to love her, it was this
same female that gave her the name Mary. She then reached out to Unite to care
and its founder Victoria Fraser that gave Mary that chance. This is when her life truly begins. The work
of Unite to care is always ongoing and has already in one short year saved the
lives of 11 animals used in research. They aim to ensure there is a fine day
where…
‘ every cage is empty’
We changed her name to Hope
because she needed to start again, so what better name and advocate. She now
represents her fellow research buddies and hopes one day they too will have the
hope that she now has.
Animal research is not the
saviour of the human race, it actually provides inaccurate data. The human DNA
is more likely linked to a banana. If our DNA was as accurate to a dog or rat,
then pray tell me why we have vets and doctors! Why separate?
The simple truth is a harsh
reality and simply that animals are voiceless, they are unable to protest, they
are not able to site their rights. They are easy to handle and control, they
are also too easy to dispose of. It is time man realized that animals whatever
the species are here on this earth to walk beside us not for mans desire to
take advantage. We need to be the voice for those without and we need to be
their advocates. Animal abuse in all its forms needs to STOP!
Once your eyes are opened, they will never again be
averted!
Hope
My earliest feeling was the warmth of my mother, the garbled sounds
around me, my brothers and sister close by to me. I only knew this warmth and
felt nothing but being at peace, safe and protected. I could feel the beating
of our hearts as though there was one…strong! Sometimes, I would hear sounds
within my mother, funny sounds like air. It would be later I would truly know
what these sounds were.
On the day I was born, I lost
a brother. He did not make it into the cool night air that hung all around us
in the Albanian suburbs. My mother frantically licked us all, especially my
lost brother in the hope that breath would bring him back to us. It was not to
be. His time although short will be with me forever and help give me strength
in later years.
My mother , left us for a
very brief moment carrying the lifeless little body of my brother, her head low. On her return my
remaining two brothers, sister and I moved
into the shadowed existence of an underpass. The sounds of drunken men and
noisy cars were at first very frightening. We learnt to live with it. We lived
among the lost and disregarded. Broken
bottles lay everywhere shattered glass showing the reality of shattered lives
and dreams. I had my family at least which was all that mattered. The sharp
cool wind lashing at our family circle all close and enveloped around each
other as though a protective shield covered us from outside harm and kept us
sheltered.
Even though my mother was weak
she was able to nurse us the best she could but too afraid to leave us meant
that food eluded her and had become a distance remembrance, day by day she went
without so we may be safe but the lack of nourishment for her meant that she
was unable to contain her milk flow, she became so weak from hunger that one
day she had hardly any milk at all. We pawed so hard to get our milk that it
made her sore, But try as we might milk was becoming scarce and that was the first time I felt air in my
tummy and the sounds I had once heard in my mothers womb were now my own. It
echoed all around me. It is as though my little lost brother had given up his
life so we had more of my mother to share, but she had given all she had to
give.
By chance a woman approached us one very cold
night. I clung to my mother who’s breath was weak and shallow, the heartbeat
that had once thundered all around me and I had stayed close too on nights such
as these was slow and I could hardly
hear or feel it at all. The woman seemed calm and kind but I wanted my mother
to protect us from the stranger and I started to cry. My mother unable to stir
was being comforted by the stranger and she sat stroking my mothers head.
The woman and now a companion
were talking.
‘Hello…is this the animal shelter?’ ‘I have found a dog and her puppies…she is in pretty
bad shape and barely alive…can I bring them in?’
The next moment we were all
taken to a local animal shelter. The lights were bright and hurt my eyes. I was
not used to such brightness. They took my mother into a room where a man with
gloves and a mask on, stood in wait. My two remaining brothers and my sister
were taken to another room with me where a woman waited. She spoke softly to us
and picked each of us up in turn.
She listened to our hearts.
Looked at our teeth and looked at every part of us. Then she gave us all an
injection. I cried for my mother. I was so afraid.
After this frightening
experience we were bathed and dried. Then best of all we were given food which
we gulped down. Mother had so little milk to feed us all that it felt like we
had not eaten for all of our lives. We were then taken to a quiet room with
bedding, my mother was there looking a little brighter for now she had eaten
too and embraced us and licked us with all her might. This is what happiness
is…safe and together!
For two years we all lived in
the shelter. The barking of other dogs was suffocating. Pleas from them begging
to be taken out of the camp to be free and to have a family!
When we first came here is was a safe haven, a
place to become nourished but then we were not able to leave. The once kind
strangers had become complacent we were just more unwanted ones with nowhere to
go and there were so many of us. We were allowed to have a companion walk with
us twice a week but it was not enough. Hours listening to the saddened howls,
having to be housed in small enclosures where our own excrement and food were
common friends.
I needed to run and be free.
I remember when my two
brothers and sister were adopted and I also remember my mother being taken away
crying. My siblings walked out with companions happy with tails wagging while
my mother was taken by a worker at the shelter down a corridor and into the
same room she was taken two years ago.
The fear and sadness in my mothers eyes made me cry, her tail between her legs
in fear. Everything I had ever known and loved was gone and I lay in the corner
of my enclosure hoping that they would come back…but they never did.
I was broken! I had nowhere
and no one to turn to.
You may wonder why no one
wanted to adopt me! Well I was always very protective of my loved ones and my
duty was to lay low , while my siblings yapped all excited to see potential
families I would stay close to mother and resume my place in the background, so
I guess I became unnoticeable? I wish
they would understand that I wanted to be loved and love in return but I was so
afraid.
In desperation and nothing
left to loose I took the opportunity one day while on my walk with the
companion. I had no reason to stay here
at the shelter any longer and I did not want to walk as mother had down to the
room at the end of the corridor. So knowing he was a good person who came to
the shelter on a weekly basis to help walk us forgotten ones. I took my chance!
He attempted to give affection in the short time we shared together . It was
his kindness that set me free.
As he removed my leash the
kennel door was slightly ajar , as I was so reclusive and unlikely to run, I
bounded as fast as I could much to their surprise, I ran this way and that
petrified they would catch me again. Slipping and sliding all around the floor
panicked workers trying to catch me. I was so afraid, but finally I bounded out
to the yard and jumped with all my might over the fence and just kept running
until I felt enough distance was between me and the camp!
Exhausted I slowed down and
almost collapsed. I looked back to check I was not followed. I had been confined for two long years and
now I was without my family. No mother or siblings to cling to in this big
world out here.
I saw an underpass in the
distance which brought back memories of earlier days when we were all together
and I remembered my little brother who
had left us too soon. I thought of him and it made me feel stronger, for he was
at rainbow bridge with my mother now, This gave me hope that one day we would
all once again be together at rainbow bridge. It was knowing this that gave me
the will to carry on. After all he had sacrificed his life so that I could live.
I made it to the underpass
where the same disregarded rubbish lay scattered, only I was lucky this time as
an old chicken carcass was laying there in used wrapping. I looked around and
devoured it completely gagging on the bones as they caught my throat. I needed
to survive. That same lashing wind was all around me pulling at my coat but I
nestled into myself and thought of my family. I thought of my siblings in their
new homes and wished we could still be together.
Nightmares flashed in my
dreams, mother being taken away, constant aching in my body hoping that one day
I would have a family to call my own. Suddenly an awful noise awoke me,
snarling and eyes beaming. I had a dog standing over me. I did not know what to
do. So I did what I could only do! I remained submissive. Still the dog kept on
with the snarling, I thought it would rip me apart. Then suddenly as if by a
miracle another dog came bounding from nowhere and took the dog on. There were
bared teeth, heinous blood curdling screams. The dog that had intimidated me
ran like the wind still screaming. The dog that had attacked it stood there
eyeing me then she sat by me. Could I have made a friend? Or was I about to be
ripped apart?
She was a collie who had
lived as she had for a very long time. I saw patches of baldness and scars on
her body. She was a fighter and survivor and at least 8 years old.
I am not sure why she decided
to stay with me or why she protected me but she did. Afraid and unsure I
remained there too tired to move and too afraid to fight if I needed to! The
old girl laid beside me as though she knew
my fear, she licked my nose to tell me it was ok and her body protected
me from the wind and warmed me.
Finally almost comfortable I
closed my eyes and slept.
My ears were on stand by at
all times. I do not remember a day other than in my mother’s embrace where I
could ever completely relax. Although there was sense of comfort in being
sheltered by the dog who seemed to be very street wise and dare I say reminded
me just a little of my mother. She had that protective element about her.
I awoke once again, only this
time it was by the sharp sunlight shining onto my face. For a moment I had
forgotten all that had happened. At that moment on waking I could have been
like my siblings and waking up by the bed of my human companion with a food
bowl filled with food and a soft pet on the head telling me how loved I am.
But then the stark reality
hit me once again.
I looked around me ears alert
in case of threats and the need to defend myself. I then remembered the old
collie who sheltered me from harm and realized she was nowhere to be seen. I
felt a little sad. What do I do now, where can I find food; the old chicken
carcass was all I had eaten yesterday. I also realized that I may have made a
big mistake for at least at the shelter I had food and water. Out here I was on
my own and food was scarce.
As I looked out across this
bleak landscape I heard the footprints of a dog approaching from behind me. I
knew I had to toughen up if I was to survive and have a shot at life albeit on
the streets.
I got ready to defend myself
then saw the old collie standing there wagging her tail. She had something in
her mouth. I think it was an old burger or something. She dropped it on the
floor and smiled at me. She then nudged me to encourage me to eat it. I
submissively started to nibble then realized how hungry I was and it was gone
in a flash. She barked at me and beckoned me to follow her.
So looking back and around me
I knew I had nowhere else and followed her carefully. I wonder what her story
is.
I guess like me my new friend
had experienced much sadness and hardship but she certainly knew how to survive
and adapt. All dogs deserve to be loved I know this; I also know that if
someone loved me I could with time and trust be their best and most loyal
companion. At this point in my life that is something I have not and will not
ever have. Not at the moment at least. It is hard for me to see past each day.
I only know that I have to
make it each day and survive everything. I do not like being so stressed out,
everywhere around me is a threat to me and to my new friend, how she manages to
reach out to me is warming, I could not have done that, what it is about me
that has earned her time and loyalty.
We looked at each other my
ears and stance a little more relaxed and I followed her. We walked a while
then came to a home with a pretty fence around it. Children were playing with
two young dogs, the resemblance to my new friend was remarkable. Were these
young ones her litter? If so then why was she not with them? My friend just
watched them and cried. She looked at me as if to say ‘they are happy and safe’
then we turned tail and wandered to nowhere.
I could tell my friend was
sad and I could not think why her litter was there and here she was roaming the
streets. It appears that the home we visited was once her home until she had
her last litter. She was used to produce litters to make her companions money.
And as she was now older and unable to manage yet another litter she had been
dumped never allowed to return. So my friend had survived that heartbreak of
human rejection to become rather streetwise in a much shorter time than I had
first thought.
I guess her need to see her
litter was what kept her going and she looked upon me as a daughter. She missed
them and saw the need in me for help from an elder. It also appears that she
needed me as much as I needed her. We visited her litter every day. We survived
on scraps where we could find them. We dodged cars and angry people who cursed
at us and threw things at us.
I soon learned quickly from
my friend and soaked up her warmth and companionship. It was not so bad being
out here with her by my side. It was as though I had a mother and a friend again.
We maintained our freedom for
three more months and then a dark cloud once again beckoned to me.
While resting my friend and I
were cornered by a group of uniformed
people, A van lay in wait with other barking dogs inside. The humans approached
us with caution. I started to back away and
looked to my friend who had become submissive. I noticed that as she did
this the humans were not so heavy handed or angry so that is when I realized
that to gain human gentleness I would follow my friends lead and perform the
submissive stance.
It worked, a leash was put
upon me, my friend and I were ten lifted into back of the van. I looked around
me and saw the unhappiness in the others around me total Confusion and
desperation, Dogs who would have given
their lives for just one gentle word or touch! Many were cast out like my
friend, I was lucky really because I have never had a human home nor will I
ever.
We stopped another time after
our pick up and another very frightened dog was bundled into an already cramped
van. Where were we going? I had an awful feeling that I would not like it
wherever it was. Something felt so wrong. I looked upon my collie friend who
looked as though she had given up. She would never be able to check on her
litter again and it looked as though her heart was broken. She just remained
quiet and lay down in complete hopelessness. This made me sad too!
We arrived at another animal
shelter, I am happy to say it was not the one I had run from but it was still a
shelter all the same. Same confined walls, same insane unhappiness. I guess
this is it now.
My friend and I were in pens
beside each other and each day with the sad panicked barking I would see
her become more and more listless. She
refused to eat and drink. The shelter companions were very kind and made sure
we were kept an eye on but my friend longed for her litter and home. By not
being able to return she felt she had no reason to live. The companions would
sit with her and try and encourage her each day without any response.
I saw her fading more and
tried to comfort her but it did not make her feel better. I pawed and licked
her through the wire but I could not reach her it just made my tongue and paw
saw. So I just lay there crying for her.
Then something wonderful
happened! In the doorway of the shelter, staff were making a fuss and the
sounds of crying babies could be heard, even over the din of the insane
barking. My friend’s ears pricked up at once, then she lifted her head, but
best of all she got up and started wagging her tail looking into the direction
of the babies. The companion who often checked on my friend noticed this
miracle and saw how my friend reacted to the babies. The babies mother had been
hit and killed outright by a car while she searched for food. Leaving her
babies in an abandoned bus depot, by pure luck a passer by had heard their
cries wondering where their mother was.
So now these little babies
were alone in this world, a feeling I had felt so often. The companion walked
up to the shelter workers holding the babies and spoke with them a moment. She
then came walking back holding one in her arm and showed my friend. I was
amazed like the companion at how my friend reacted. She seemed her happy self
again. So carefully the companion and the baby, as well as a growing audience
of shelter workers stopped and watched in amazement at how my friend accepted
the baby as her own.
So my friend who had lost all
hope now had her reason for living again. Even though she would never see her
own litter again she now had adoptive babies to live and care for. This is
where it gets even better. She was such an amazing mother, like she had been to
her babies and to me that she had a full time nanny position at the shelter. So
you could say she worked there. Every little pup or frightened and forlorn dog
was mothered by my friend. The shelter staff named her Nanny!
She was moved out of the
enclosures and given her own important space to do her valuable and important
role.
Although I was happy for my
friend I was once again alone. I ate when I needed to I walked when I needed
to. I did everything expected of me. I remained
submissive because I could not see the point in putting up a fight
anymore. I conformed and accepted the fact that I was now institutionalized.
I remained in the shelter for
a few weeks and then it appears that my luck was about to change. A man came to
the shelter looking for a dog without attitude. So all of my submissive
behaviour could possibly pay off now I saw the companion walk towards me with
the man…this is it I could be going home with him? He wore spectacles and
seemed very friendly. He came to me and checked me over, teeth tail and all
just like I remember from long ago. Could this really be my chance to have a
happy life?
Yes!yes! It is papers were
signed and oh how happy I was jumping up at my human, going home like others had
done. I am worthy of love after all. I could not contain my excitement and the
man laughed. I could not wait to jump into his car. I love him already and I
promise to be loyal and love him all of my life.
We drove off together and I
was smiling looking out of the car window, I saw the underpass where I lived
with Nanny and felt my heart bounce. I knew she was safe and happy and my dream
had come true I have a human. I can learn how to play fetch like other
domestic and loved dogs do, I could even
try and fetch his newspaper or slippers perhaps. Oh I was giddy, my happy ever
after. For So long I had never thought this day would come.
We continued down the road until
we came to a very big building, it did not look like the house Nanny and I had
visited when we saw her litter. There were no children playing no white fence.
Not at all, this was a big building with a high metal fence and barbed wire all
around it. There were trees around and I saw a sign which read ‘veterinary
hospital’. I did not understand where were the happy children?
We drove up to a barrier
where men in caps and radios let the man and me in. The large barrier arms rose
high in the air, I watched not knowing
what it meant. This is a very strange home.
Somehow although confused I
looked at my male companion and trusted him. I wanted to be his loyal friend
and be what he wanted me to be. He would keep me safe wouldn’t he? He would not
hurt me?
We continued to drive for a
few moments more and then pulled up and stopped. I was full of wonder and
looked all around me and started jumping up at my
companion. He did not seem to mind and made a fuss of me. We walked to a pair
of large doors and I watched every move he made, I saw him press some buttons
then a buzzing sound, which startled me a little but it allowed him to open the
doors.
What place is this I thought.
I kept looking at my companion and had a good look and sniff. The smell was
very familiar and reminded me of the room I had once been it as a young dog. I
cannot really describe it really…it was such a sharp scent. It was also very
bare and full of corridors. I saw some people walking around wearing white
coats and they looked very important.
My companion led me through
the maze of corridors and I am certain that I heard a dog crying in the
distance. I found this rather sad as it was a cry unlike any other I have heard
before. It was a weak but loud cry. I shrugged it off and continued to sniff as
we walked wondering what this place and surroundings was all about. We came to a door and we then
stopped, I saw my companion press more buttons and we entered a room. The room
had no windows and there was a crate in the corner. My companion removed my leash and I scurried
around sniffing and investigating my new surroundings. My companion made a fuss
of me and opened the crate. I went over and sniffed inside. There was a water
bowl and a food bowl with some dried food in it. I sniffed it and tried a
nibble. It tasted very bland but I was hungry so ate what was in the bowl.
There was not much of it to eat but enough to cure any hunger pains.
My companion encouraged me to
settle in the crate and I had no reason to complain. I was tired after all the
days excitement and felt I need to rest. So I went into the crate loyally and
lay down. I panicked when he closed the door of the crate behind me though and
cried. It was not what I expected. I have known dogs to lay beside the fire and
by their companion’s bed. I thought that is what I was here to do?
My companion spoke some words
to me and walked away and out of the door. I cried for a while and kept looking
at the door hoping he was coming back. He did not come back that night. All
night long I would fall in and out of sleep wondering where he had gone. I
heard strange sounds and the distant cries of other dogs.
The buzzing of the tube
lighting was very loud. Here I am in a strange place. No fireplace or slippers.
Just funny sounds and a missing companion!
I looked through my crate to try and understand this place; I saw only
metal trolleys and a table with wheels on. I tried not to think too much but it
was so new to me.
I think I must have managed
to sleep a little more and I was startled by the sound of the door opening and
I wagged my tail, my companion had come back and seemed pleased to see me. He
was wearing one of the white coats I had seen yesterday, he spoke to me in a
friendly way and brought another companion with him. She was also very pleased
to see me and I was overjoyed.
The female companion came
towards me bent down to me and told me
what a pretty girl I was and I wagged my tail so hard it banged against my
crate. I have never had such nice companions before, I liked it very much. I
barked with excitement but wanted to get out of the crate.
My male companion spoke to
the female companion and directed her to release me from the crate. As she
opened it I jumped at her with happiness and nearly knocked her over. She just
laughed and stroked my head and showed me much affection. Oh I was so happy to
be out of the cramped crate and to see my male companion and now a female too!
Is this my new family? The male companion came over to me and picked me and
placed me on the table. The female continued to give me affection and tried to
subdue my excited behaviour.
The male companion then
examined me and the female reassured me. I was ok and trusted them both. They
just wanted to make sure I was ok like when I was a pup with my brothers and
sister. Now I was like them, I had a home and next they would give me food.
Only this time my mother was
not there to comfort me, but I was ok!
He felt my tummy and then
washed his hands, he then put on some gloves and reached for a needle. I guess
another injection like before?
He bunched up the scruff of
my neck and put the needle in. I did not feel anything but started to feel very
strange. I became very tired and could not hold myself up. The female companion
held me as I could not stay awake any longer
my eyes became so heavy and everything became so blurry. The companions
were talking but it was all burbled and I fell into a deep sleep.
I woke up very groggy and
back in my crate. I could hardly lift my head and felt as though my head was
too big for my body and my throat was so dry and sore. I also had a very saw
paw and wanted to lick it but did not have the energy. I just could not seem to
wake up properly and did not feel well at all. I just lay there and with bleary
eyes saw the female companion looking over at me and I could just make out the
male companion putting small bottles into a fridge.
It took me a while to regain
my senses properly. What had happened?
The female companion came
over to me and I wagged my tail the best I could. I licked my paw as she opened
my crate. Why did it hurt so much. I noticed the rusty taste of blood on my
sore paw and also saw that my fur was much shorter. My mouth was still very
dry. The female companion gave me some water which I gulped down. It felt so
soothing as my throat felt a burning sensation.
The female companion stroked
my head tenderly. I was just happy to lay still and accept the affection and
closed my eyes not feeling the way I had before being put on the table. I think
that night I was far too tired to look at the door at my missing companions or
to be bothered by distant cries and neon
lighting.
I awoke once again feeling
much better and the male and female companions were there again. The female
companion had a lead and clipped it onto the collar I had been assigned to I
also noticed a heavy feeling in my ear. I kept pawing at it. It felt so
strange. It was a tag with a number on it in bright yellow. I kept trying to
get rid of it as it felt too heavy in my ear. The female companion kindly comforted
me but it was so annoying. Seeing I was not happy the companion encouraged me
to walk with her.
We walked into the corridor
which I had not seen since I arrived. We walked for a short time to a larger
area where I was allowed off my lead to investigate and relieve my self. I was
not allowed outside and I still saw no windows just bright neon lighting
everywhere!
This was now my life! I did not really understand
any of it. I became so exhausted by the
constant needles and the constant medications that I just accepted this as my
life. On a regular basis I was removed from my crate and each time placed on
the table, I would always end up in my
crate feeling groggy, weak and with
patches of fur missing. I noticed that it was on my legs and paws until one
day.
I was as usual placed and
handled as many times before but when I woke up this day my tummy hurt. They
had started with taking bloods and injecting different medications which
sometimes made me sick, gave me an upset
tummy and even frothing at the mouth with no control I could not stand up at
all some days.
That was how life was for me,
I handled it each time but what hurt me mostly was that my male companion had
stopped giving me affection. He handled me like an object and seemed to have forgotten
how I loved him. All he does now is make me feel sick and weak.
The female companion often
had tears in her eyes as she could see how I was fading away, I had lost all
hope and had lost my spirit. I no longer jumped up to greet them but tried to hide in the back
of the small crate. I knew that each time they would come into the room I would
be removed and placed on the table and then wake up feeling sick.
I had been sedated so many
times that I was becoming resistant to the medication and they needed a higher
dose which took its toll on me. It made me more and less able to function. I
had tubes forced down my throat while the sedation was not even working
properly and it hurt me. Despite sedation I felt every painful moment.
The worst of all was when
they started to practice operations on me. They would let a student cut me open
and investigate me. The male companion would watch and direct him but it hurt
so much I though I would die right there. I had, had enough?
Six years I had endured such agony
and let the male companion do as he wanted with my body without a care for me
as his loyal companion. I once again waited for another day where I was to be
opened up and have tubes forced into me with little sedation feeling every pull
and cut. The male companion did not ask the nice female companion this day and
came marching towards me. I did not hear one kind word or see a kind eye,
instead he tried to grab me abruptly so I did something I would never have done
and growled and bared my teeth to keep him from hurting me anymore. So he
kicked my crate and walked off angry but then returned with other men to help him get me out of the
crate. There was so much shouting and anger, I felt so confused. They were rough
and scary. I yelped with all my might but they just restrained me and put a
horrible and hard plastic muzzle on me.
I shut down which made it
difficult for them and I heard the male companion who had betrayed me say that
I was no good to him any more. It was the female companion whose eyes I looked
into that was to help me. As I looked at her I saw pools of tears in her eyes
and she pleaded for my life. My time had come and I was to be destroyed. I was
once a little dog full of gentleness and love, now I trusted no-one and feared
everything. I had experienced so much pain at mans hand I just could not take
it anymore.
The female companion remained
kind and I owe her my life! The little life I felt I had at that point anyway.
I thought once again of my lost little brother, it seems so long since he had
come into my thoughts he always reminded me of how precious life was.
I never saw the male
companion again but the female companion was my guardian until I could be moved
to safety, it needed to be quick. The female companion had confidence and
belief in me despite my inner madness and torment, she saw something in me
no-one had ever tried to see before. All my life I have been at the mercy of
human hands, what will become of me now?
She came and collected me
from the torture chamber where I had lived for most of my life and where I grew
from a young dog into middle age. I was led through those corridors again but
this time we headed around a corner where a door with windows stood before me.
I had not seen this before, she opened the door after pushing those buttons I
remember so well and for the first time in six years I stepped outside.
It hurt my eyes and I feared
the outside world. I refused to go through the doors and pulled back. I kept
trying to lift my paws away from the ground which was a stranger to me. I had
been so used to cold clinical floors. This new ground was so different and felt
uncomfortable.
She was so patient with me as
I just could not bare the thought of stepping outside. So she reached into her
pocket and gave me a treat, it tasted so nice much nicer than the dry food I
had eaten all this time. Then she dropped some on the ground outside. I took
each step through that door reluctantly and as though my paws were on fire.
Before I knew it I was
outside and there was no going back, I looked around me tail between my legs
afraid of the wind and the sounds. I heard dogs barking and they were louder
than I had ever heard before, my senses started to awaken and too much to take
in.
There was a car there and
friendly looking people, I had no idea they were taking me away from this
place. I just wanted to run. What if they hurt me like my male companion?
I slipped out of the female
companions grip and ran for my life but there was nowhere to go. I ran around a
corner and stopped in my tracks. There were large containers there and the
lifeless bodies of fallen dogs like me. They had either died through the
constant experiments or destroyed due to their inability to serve anymore
useful purpose. I barked and barked and felt so trapped and afraid. I was so
consumed by these horrible sights of my fallen comrades and so scared that this
could have been my fate that when the female companion rushed around the corner
with the strange people I just completely shut down unable to move. I shook so
violently my muscles ached.
What is there for me now,
what and where am I to be taken now?
Hope
Pictures taken by the female technician in the
institute Muzzled to silence protest
1
2 Hope sedated for more tests
2 Background is blurred to not implicate the institute.
Ear tagged and numbered!
3 Sedated!
I was scooped up while
remaining rigid; a man placed me into the back of the car. I know it was a
struggle for the man as I was so tense I put my full body weight on his arms. I
could see the veins in his arms and sweat building.
On the back seat a kind
female companion sat with me. I had a blanket and there were cloths in case I
had an accident. She gave me space but also kept her hand on me to comfort me
and to keep me calm. My heart was beating so fast!
I closed my eyes on and off,
every time I tried to close my eyes my fears got the better of me and I would
instantly open them again. I could feel every movement of the car, I could feel
the little bumps here and there with every road surface change. The male
companion was driving and had his window open and I could feel warm breeze
coming through the window. I could also smell the burning cigarette he had as
he concentrated on the road the female companion continued to keep her hand
upon me.
Oh what had I done to deserve
mankind to throw me into such fear and confusion?
I had always been a good girl
haven’t I? I had allowed companions close and even allowed my male companion at
the institute to hurt me all the time. I did not mean to growl at him but I
just did not want him to hurt me anymore.
I thought about my lost
family and yearned to see them again. I was so disappointed with humans and
thought good people were nowhere to be seen despite the female companion beside
me. The doctor also had a female companion so was this man companion the same?
We arrived at a house; it was
nothing like the institute and was like the one I had seen with Nanny. That was
a comfort to me but I was not willing to get out of the car because I did not
know what was inside for me.
I had no reason to fear as I
was taken to a large area where there was lush green grass and I saw other dogs
playing and running. They looked happy and not afraid. There were metal fences
but not as high and it seemed that it separated different patches of land,
where packs of dogs packed with each other. It was all in the open air and
looked rather inviting.
I had not interacted with
other dogs since Nanny and found it difficult at first to interact with them. I
stayed slightly away and kept my self to myself. I would watch them with each
other and thought how nice it was to be so carefree but I just could not let my
guard down. I needed space and I needed time. All those years imprisoned in a
crate only able to be free twice a week with a companion away from natural
light, my heart wanted to be carefree so much but I just felt so isolated.
I felt alone!
I stayed here at this
sanctuary for 8 weeks. Not a bad thing happened to me but I found it hard to
adapt, I tried to copy other dogs but I did not bond with anyone as much as I
wanted to. The companions who had brought me here were so kind and reached out
to me and I tried but I knew this was only a stepping stone.
I was right because I was
again to go on a journey. I travelled to a place called Greece where I would
have sanctuary one again at a lady called Linda’s home. Again many dogs and
lots of barking and excitement! So many dogs like me who had been hurt in one
way or another. Some abandoned, some beaten, some were literally chucked out of
moving cars and were left paralyzed in their back legs.
I understood their pain but
had no bonding like I had with Nanny.
Linda was such a special
person to help us and to give us love, affection, time and space. Each dog here
was treated with the most extreme kindness. I started to loosen a little and
responded to Linda in a way I thought I would never be able to do again. I
still had fellow dog issues through not understanding their dog behaviour as my
natural dog instincts were still a little confused with human conditioning but
I was learning.
I had to start my life all
over again, I needed to learn how to be a dog and not an object. Linda would
give me one to one attention and treated me with frozen bones on hot days. I
also became very fond of Linda’s husband and I would sneak into his study and
sleep by his feet just as I had dreamed of so many times in earlier times.
I felt very cared for and
started to make myself at home more than I had ever done in my whole life.
I learnt how to play and
loved my frozen bones and I made a huge leap forward with my dog companions
too!
Well it was one dog really
called Maverick, he was permanently in Linda’s care because he had paralyzed
legs. I am unsure why this was but he was left to die until Linda and her
husband welcomed him into their home and hearts. They even got him a wheelchair
to support his back legs. We would go out on nice evening walks along the beach
with each other.
I cannot understand what it
was about Maverick that allowed him into my space and heart. I felt as though
my lost brother may have been very much like him. We were around the same age
too.
Life was starting to feel
very nice indeed.
Linda allowed people to come
and stay with her to get help with us all and one particular day a female
companion from the uk came to visit. I thought she was another volunteer like
so many before her. I had relaxed much more by now and did not see her as a
threat. It seems that without me knowing there was a lot of different things
going on in the background for my benefit and this female companion from the uk
was a big part of that.
You see Linda was not to be
my lifetime human companion. I had one more journey to make and this lady called
Vicky was the crucial human to make my life
a happy ever after one.
Vicky stayed with us for a
few days and went back to the uk. I thought that I would never see her again
and that my life would end on the beach with Linda. I know there was a lot of phone
calls and a dreaded vet clinic to visit. I found that very hard but survived
because I knew Linda would protect me. I trusted her with my life. If I was at the doctors then
I knew it was to make sure I was in good health. I had to have injections but it
did not hurt and once I had them I was allowed a treat and left, no crate, no
feeling bad or sick.
I was safe! I stayed with Linda for a
month, I wanted to stay I really did but my destiny was in the Uk. Behind the
scenes the lady companion Vicky worked tirelessly to get me away from the
institute, to the sanctuary and then to Linda’s my final journey would lead me
to my home for life. I just did not know that yet.
Vicky was my saviour and does
not agree with how I was treated at the institute and wants to help others like
me to find homes away from the horrors of our pasts.
On the day of my finale
journey, I had to say goodbye to human companions I started to love and will
always love. I had to say goodbye to
Maverick too, my adopted brother by heart. I did not know that I would not see
him again. To me it was another journey another move and yet more companions to
have to get to trust and know again.
I did not know that after
arriving in the uk Maverick would move on to rainbow bridge. I know I will see
him in years to come. Thank you my friend!
Me chilling and rather relaxed at Linda’s
My friend Maverick who passed away 2013 after I left Linda’s
So here I am again on this
journey of life. I have been alive on this earth for 7 years now and many of
those years have been painful and frightening. It seems now my final journey
was about to begin.
Yet again a male and female
companion had been assigned to be my travel companions. I was to be escorted
from Greece to the UK accompanied by another little dog much smaller than me.
We were crated and my crate felt very small indeed.
I know there was much media
interest in me in the Uk which gave me safe passage with the companions.
It has been told that escorts
that travel to countries with dogs going to far away homes take money and then
the dogs disappear. I was lucky though as I had good companions. I also had the
protection of Vicky in the Uk.
I started to travel with my
human and little dog companion with an open mind. I had already been through so
much I thought the worst now would be death, this would give me release and see
my loved ones at rainbow bridge.
I had no need to worry
though!
My dog companion and I were
fed, watered and allowed out of our crates at times. I was glad because I felt
so confined. Stretching my legs felt like heaven. I seemed to be rather
travelled now though. From Albania, Greece. Holland, France and then Kent in
the Uk
We arrived in Holland and
stayed there for a while which was really nice. My dog companion and I were so
glad to just have fresh air and get rid of the crates from around our bodies.
The human companions seemed
very nice and made sure we were not unhappy and as comfortable as we could be
considering the long journey. It was easier to bare all of the travelling by
trying to shut out any thoughts I may have so I just curled up and closed my
eyes as much as I could and accepted what ever fate lay ahead. For some strange
reason I knew I would be ok. I was a survivor and strong. Look at everything I
have been through and I am still here.
We travelled by sea on calm
waters throughout the night until we arrived at the port of Folkestone in kent.
We had to go through customs which was rather daunting but my little dog companion
and I were once again on dry land.
Once back into the car we
left the ferry and drove into a spacious car park and there in a white van sat
Vicky and another female companion. I was safe in my cramped crate looking at
Vicky’s familiar face and another not so familiar face. I noticed they looked
tired. I had no concept of time but I did notice when they opened the car door
and spoke to me with those tired but friendly faces the sound of seagulls and
the cold crisp air.
There was much talking and
Vicky and the fellow female companion opened my crate and beckoned me out.
Everything was so different here and the cool air chilled my bones.
I needed encouragement to get
out of the crate and I must admit I was just petrified. My ears were alert at
all times I was looking at the companions, looking at all the port surroundings.
I heard traffic in the distance and my tail was curled between my legs. The
companion Vicky and her fellow female companion seemed so pleased and relieved
to see me. I did not understand ,I had no knowledge of all the work that went
on to get me here.
I was safe but I did not know
it. The fellow female companion with Vicky held my lead but I just wanted to
run as fast as I could because I was confused with what was going on. She comforted
me in an accent not clear to me, but I listened to her tones and they were
nervous yet kind.
She was my new female
companion and would take me to her home, where I would spend the rest of my
life. I just did not know it.
The companions who had brought
my little dog friend and me here had to go and take the little dog companion to
the north where he too would be in his new forever home and to live a life he
never thought possible.
The new female companions
name was Mandy and had agreed to help me. Vicky had contacted her and told her
my story. It was a done deal. She just had to help even though I knew she was
unsure and nervous.
Mandy and Vicky lifted me
into the van as I was more eager to run than go with them. It is a common act
for dogs like me to do in new and strange environments. It is a way of
survival. When you think of everything that I had been through and the not
knowing of what was to come you would understand. There was a blanket in the
back and we made our way to my final destination.
Vicky and Mandy kept
reassuring me and looking at me. Mandy was sizing me up I knew it and I was
doing the same to her. In a strange way I felt connected to her and she did to
me. She would not know that but I sensed it. I had waited my whole life to meet my soul companion.
There is much work ahead for
us I know that but I had an ok feeling about it.
When we arrived at Mandy’s
home , although still on tender hooks it looked like a home, just a normal home
windows and a door with plants in a garden. Before I could go into the home a
lady called Jean came out with a little dog. I looked at this little dog and
saw how loyal she was to Mandy as she went straight to her. I also watched as
Mandy stroked and greeted her with affection. Seeing this I too accepted the
affection.
I was already a little
jealous of this little dog! She had an easy life and had not gone through what
I have had to go through, the little dogs name is Gemma and she would take on
the role as my mentor. I know I was bossy and pushy with Gemma I even shouted
at her and pushed her around. I was not very kind to her and yet I watched her
and learned from her. She showed me how to go to
the toilet in the garden, where she sniffed I would follow. She was very
patient and kind with me. I know my lack of friendliness made her fear me at
first and I know that I pushed her away far too much. I just did not know what
situation I was in and felt I needed that space again.
It just takes me a little
while to adapt and because I have needed to keep strong and survive my defences
were very high.
I remember that first day
very well indeed and sensed Mandy and Gamma’s tension. Mandy kept a very close eye on me at all
times and gave me a bath. I remember her doing this very clearly. I followed
her and Gemma upstairs and she bathed Gemma first to show me it would be ok and
then she picked me up.
She was shaking because she
thought I would bite her, how could she think such a thing? I have never bitten
anyone I promise. She knew what I had been through and was unsure how to be. I know she felt sad for me but
then I also knew we needed to move forward.
I had a nice new bed to sleep
on and companionship; I also had a dog companion when I was ready to accept it.
On the first day though I was so unsure about what this was all about and I lay
on my new bed and looked out of the glass doors crying. Mandy saw me do this
and came and sat with me giving me comfort. It was a nice feeling to be here
but very confusing and once again a new person companion to know and then loose
again.
I had quite a life so far and
in one short day I had met new people and a dog companion, had a bath, eaten
well and had a walk where I explored my surrounding.
I bonded with Gemma more as
we walked and then later that day
Mandy’s family all came to meet me and I had my first taste of being
welcomed into a proper family and not because they wanted to hurt me or inject
me with things that made me sick but just because of me!
I also met another young
female called Sammy this day. She could not walk and had a wheelchair like
Maverick. So humans have poorly legs too? I was fascinated by this new world I
had come into. I have never experienced so many different kinds of people all
in the same place.
For the first three months in
my new home I was very defensive and although I followed the new life I did not
know how long I would stay. Is this a stop gap again or perhaps a forever home.
I liked it, I really did. Mandy, Sammy, Gemma and their family showed me so
much kindness and did everything they could to make me feel a part of the
family. I know the first three months were a bit difficult as Mandy was unsure
she could cope with a dog like me with my little hang ups and thought too much
about my damage inside. She was also scared I would not get along with Gemma.
She had nothing to fear
because as I realized I was here to stay I
started to relax and become a well taught student with Gemma’s
help. I have really learned a lot from
Gemma you know, she has been very forgiving of my bossy ways and I love going
for walks with her.
Sammy is fun too because she
chucks me and Gemma treats when her mum Mandy is not looking. I also sneak a
little toy out here and there…ssssh!
I was not let of the lead for
those three months until Mandy was sure but when she finally had the courage to
do so in a wide open field I ran as fast as the wind blew. The funny thing
though is that I did not run to escape and not go back I ran and ran because I
was free and I had a home with people who have hope and faith in me.
I even want to play with
Gemma, and made a friend called ruby the spaniel.
I did the usual thing with a
strange dog and barked with shackles up to these two dogs one called Maggie and
her daughter Ruby. Well Maggie gave me a run for my money and told me in no
uncertain terms I am not allowed to sass her daughter. I backed off and resumed
the submissive manner and then something wonderful happened …
Ruby came over to me and
kissed me on the nose!
I have not had that warm
feeling since my mother and it broke the spell. We became the best of friends
and ran, frolicked and played. I wanted to play with her forever. Gemma and
Maggie our mothers just sat back and watched us play as we went CRAZY! I was officially on the mend.
In mandy’s kitchen where treats
and food galore live and where I jump up at mandy who then dances with me is a
sign and the sign reads
Home is where the story begins!
As I had never officially had
a home before it had little meaning to me. Now I had an understanding. Although
my story had a shaky start my home is here and now a new chapter can begin. Six
months later I am a gentle soppy family dog who has just celebrated Christmas
like a family does. I can finally lay my head down on the big comfy sofa with
my family around me and fall asleep contented despite Gemma’s loud snoring!
Me who had just arrived at the port of Folkestone 2013
Me and Vicky!
Me investigating by the pond
Gemmy my mate!
At the embassy before Home!
Look Gem! There is a whole new world out there for me now!
HOME
Mandy
Ever since childhood I have
detested any form of animals cruelty, I remember very clearly bawling my eyes
out at fox hunting and lab rats to name just two of far too many atrocities
against the voiceless.
I am very much for giving my
voice on behalf of those who need it, mostly for my beautiful daughter who has
profound disabilities. Through my daughter and my love of animals I advocated
myself to signing petitions and the like on social media sites.
It was through a social media
site that I came across the story of the little brown dog and Peta’s anti
vivisection pages , it was also where I found a newly formed group called Unite
to care, which was founded by Vicky Fraser and supported passionately by
likeminded people such as my self.
We all had a common interest
in ensuring that animals used in research are re-homed once their laboratory
life has ceased rather than the animal being destroyed. The greatest would be
the end of animal research all together but each step is a milestone.
I found myself getting more
enlightened through the work of Unite to care and even though I knew that
animal research was still rife it was not something I knowingly thought about
until I became more open mined through Unite to care and was endeared and
passionately agreed with their aim in helping the animals confined in
institutions such as Hope had been such a big part of. It seems strange to look
back from now that this little dog out there needed sanctuary and help.
I became so open to the
atrocities of animal research and became so exposed to that and other abuses
against animals that I started to attend
protests. These were not heavy overly vocal public displays but very
gentle but powerful and may I say emotional. We become so consumed by daily
routine that we do not realize the pain and suffering that is around us for
animals such as research animals and the persecuted badgers, foxes, hares and
countless others but also the human civilization as a whole.
So many need support and a
collective to stand up and help them get recognition for help they need.
I would follow unite to care
religiously and decided that I would travel to Alderly edge and stand united
with these remarkable people and be another voice to an ever growing group. I
have always wanted to be as passionate and take the leap in attending but there
was always a reason to find excuses as to not do it!
I remember feeling very much
out of my comfort zone and nervous as I had left Sam in capable hands but also
very excited. I dropped Sam off at school and my sister Aimee collected me and
after having a coffee together took me to Dover Priory station where I
proceeded to get myself aboard the train to my overnight destination.
I felt a mission laid ahead
not quite mission impossible but certainly a personal mission that I was very
much proud to be part of. I was elated at coping with a journey by train and
not getting onto any wrong carriages, please bare in mind I had not been on a
train for over 15 years.
Tally hoe and all that! I arrived on a pretty bright
spring day at Alderly Edge station and made my way on foot to the little guest
house full of friendliness and comfort. I had been as thorough as I could be to
find one close to the meeting the following day to show my support for the
beagles held close by. I took advantage of the bright and mild day as I
wandered around the local area, which was extremely beautiful. I saw a man
playing 18 hole golf in his own back garden which blew me away and I saw the
institution which had the most outstanding luscious grounds imaginable. I could
also hear faint barking as I walked the outskirts of the institution.
It saddened me to think that
all this beautiful and lush greenery around the institution was wasted on the
beagles held inside. Trapped by a life of continual testing for mans so called
good and welfare. Pah!
An institution guarded by
security and common like many of these institutions do not enable the
imprisoned beagles (in this case) one
tiny paw outside, as this would contaminate research tests. It also saddened me
thinking of the breeders who bred these animals for no other purpose than to be
used for research institutions!
Imagine being born and
condemned to a life held captive in small cages with only metal to stand and
sit on, just imagine never seeing natural daylight, imagine having toxins forced into your body, being drained
of bloods and having adverse dire side effects.
Animals in research die so easily through this barbaric lifestyle. Some
may say well they don’t know any better? Well I beg to differ. An animal used
in research such as dogs/beagles, Primates, rats, mice, fish, horses, cats, pigs
and more to say the least are aware that they are being forced to conform, that
they are injected by things to make them sick and to be forced to have masks on
their faces to inhale poisonous substances. Animals have instincts! Would you
not come to a point in your life if treated in such a manner where you knew
something was not right, just as they do?
Anyway, I feel my point is
underpinned here. I had a comfortable night sleep in this friendly place and woke refreshed and eager to take my
place. I was so eager I waited for some time across the road looking at the
entrance wondering where everyone was and stated to feel a wee bit daft. I
walked over to the security guard who was surprisingly polite and pointed out I
was at the wrong entrance, my bad!
Oh well I trotted to the
aforementioned entrance and saw the gathering, extremely relived I introduced
myself and partook in the peaceful protest. Standing strong with my fellows and
felt very welcomed and a part of what I hope will one day be a solution. We
stood strong with supportive beeps from passing cars which made me feel such a
sense of pride.
A doctor, who also attended,
spoke eloquently and with vigour pointing out why animal research was outdated
and the reality of the lives they lead. She also outlined better more effective
non animal methods had been proven to supply human kind with better
medical outcomes rather than the animal research methods which can do more harm
than good!
What she said was true and
informative, animals or rather test subjects are used for economic satisfaction
and are supplied on demand and have no voice, so I guess protocol deems them as
having no rights?
I agreed to take the leap of
putting my name on the adopt list for a retired research dog without too much
hesitation, although I did wonder how I would adapt myself with having a full
hilt back home. I admit I did wonder if I
was doing the right thing or was I being hasty, perhaps that could be
said I suppose?
I did not expect much to
happen for a long time to come. I returned home to Sam and Gemma without really
considering the speed of what was about to happen. I attended the Alderly edge
gathering in early April and by May time I had Hope pictures and video footage before my eyes.
I was knocked for six at
first but watched the video over and over again and looked at the pictures
trying to get to know this new little fellow who would be coming to live with
us. I saw the pain in her eyes from the research institute and there was
nothing else for it I had to welcome her into our family despite my fears and
inner concerns.
I was not truly sure how
damaged she was, how would her and Gemma our resident dog get along? Would I be
what Hope expected of me? I was unsure I was right for the job. I wanted to get
everything right!
Day by day I imagined her
here with us and with each day I adapted at least mentally to the new
experience that was about to beset us. It is much easier for an animal to adapt
than for a human to come away from the familiar daily routine.
By June just a few weeks
after the peaceful protest at Alderly Edge and a few small false starts in
timings and dates due to protocol overseas, Hope was making her final
destination to us. Vicky and her mum Jean drove down from afar (up North) to
Kent, selflessly using their energies for Hope’s arrival. It was an exciting
night and no sleep was to happen as Hope would arrive at 4am in the morning at
the port of Folkestone.
There she was! This
frightened as can be little mite who had been through far too much! I was nervous to say the least and thought.
Here we are! EEEK! Imagination in to practice now Mandy!
The first three months were
very tentative as Gemma copped a couple of snarly bashings and there were many
calls to Vicky with me feeling very under equipped and worried that this was
not right for me or Hope. I felt on tender hooks pretty much most of the time.
This was down to my lack of experience to be fair in regard to a little soul
who had become impregnated with constant abuse.
I had no reason to fear, as
the weeks past and the interim period of us all getting to know each other had
passed I noticed something truly magical. Three months of tension just stopped
in its tracks.
I took Hope and Gemma over a
local open field. I thought now is the time. I watched how the once constant
ticking in my head had stopped and I noticed in Hope the stress in her body language and face faded.
Off came the lead!
At first she just wandered
around and then…hey gusto!
Other than seeing my
daughters face for the first time I had never seen anything so majestic or
beautiful, the girl can run like the wind blows! The carefree nature of her
running was something wonderful to behold and so symbolic of her new life
living freely. Unchained emotionally and physically.
I will confess that my heart
was in my mouth because I had this fear based obsession of her running off into
the sunset and seeing how fast she can go, me in my willies was no competition.
She had no intention at all. This was our point of companions and one I will
cherish. We crossed that threshold that day.
It appears that we all needed
time to adjust not just Hope. Now we were in a comfort zone and there was no
going back.
I give thanks for Vicky’s
confidence in me when I had none in myself and I give thanks to Hope for giving
me the time needed and for teaching me the art of time and patience.
It was a proud moment for me
to take Hope to a gathering at Alderly edge in the September to meet all of the
amazing people who had invested time, donations and support to Hope.
It gives me such pleasure to
share our lives with this extraordinary little dog who has, guts,
determination, a bossy yet extremely loyal and affectionate nature and a place
in my heart. It was an amazing thing to see the difference in a once bewildered
and afraid little dog into who she has always been inside. Despite being seven
years old her first ever family Christmas was wonderful. For her to celebrate
with us and to have a common respect with Gemma is the stuff of dreams!
Let us celebrate the success
of this wonderful dog called Hope who is the way forward for many more to come.
I want YOU! Vicky Fraser to
know how truly inspirational you are and to congratulate you on giving Hope
this future now and to also mention the success that has since followed in
Hopes footsteps such as the 10 little foals also rescued from a research
facility in Wales. Who are waited on hands and hoofs through Vicky’s time. Love
and dedication.
Eleven animals owe their
lives to the compassion and relentless work of unite to care. Lives that would
have been wasted and unknown without
such a group of extraordinary everyday people. Godbless you all!
Four of the 10 foals rescued by unite to care 2013 From a research institution based in Wales
First day
Enjoying their new life
Vicky Fraser And Unite to care!
About
Negotiate the release
and re-homing of beagles and other laboratory animals whilst pushing to replace
animal tests with modern, more reliable alternatives. Description Unite to Care was
founded by Victoria Fraser on the 28th Feb 2013 following the news that 300
dogs were being flown from Sweden to AstraZeneca in Macclesfield to be used in
research laboratories.
There are 3 main aims which are :
About CARE CARE is a diverse cross section of the public with three
main aims. They are: 1. To negotiate the release of any surplus dogs from
laboratories across the UK. 2. To educate the public on the dangers to their health by
allowing the current methods of testing to continue. 3. To peacefully campaign for an end to all animal tests. We welcome anyone who would like to help in any way; the
more people who know the truth, the quicker we will achieve our aims. Please
click here to get in touch - join us today and help us to help them![1]
What Unite to care say about
The Will To Live Gang! The Will to Live gang
namely, Walter, Isaac, Lester, Lottie, Tilly, Odie, Lola, Ida, Vinnie and
Edward are now all safe and sound. They were released
into our hands on December 8th 2013 and although
understandably frightened are now gaining confidence with each passing
day. All were due to be euthanized when we stepped in and transported
them to snug new stables in Manchester. They are now starting to
realise that not all humans will hurt them. Each pony has
several closely clipped areas where they were administered injections and blood
was taken. They also each have an identifying number glued to
them but this will eventually come off. Since joining us
they’ve spent time in their huge sheltered field, running about and
playing as babies should. They are still very much foals who were born
into laboratory life, and until now have had no idea how much fun living can
be. Taking tiny, gentle steps to slowly gain their trust has
been key but it has paid off and seeing the positive changes in
them is incredibly rewarding. We’ve received kind donations which are being
used for stabling, hay and general upkeep costs. If you feel
you would like to help our ponies PayPal donations can be made
to [email protected].uk. Any
donation is greatly appreciated and helps enormously. Please visit our Facebook page for further
updates about our ponies and our ongoing work at https://www.facebook.com/UniteToCare[2]
Walter
is the real shy guy of the group. He doesn't have much confidence at all but he
has formed a very strong bond with Vicky Fraser founder of Unite to Care. She has
also fell head over heels in love with this quiet little baby and after a long
hard think has decided that he has to be a permanent member of her family.
Congratulations Walter you are no longer looking for a home and will have many
happy years ahead being spoilt. ‘vicky Fraser 2014’
The truth
Some may argue that we need to use animals for
advancement in medicine! There is more reason to state an argument against
though and some of these reasons are as follows as stated from the vivisection
network.
1) Less than 2% of
human illnesses (1.16%) are ever seen in animals. Over 98% never affect animals. 2) According
to the former scientific executive of Huntingdon Life Sciences, animal tests and human
results agree "5%-25% of the time." 3) Among the
hundreds of techniques available instead of animal experiments, cell culture toxicology methods
give accuracy rates of 80-85% 4) 92% of drugs
passed by animal tests immediately fail when first tried on humans because they’re
useless, dangerous or both. 5) The two most
common illnesses in the Western world are lung cancer from smoking and heart
disease. Neither can be reproduced in lab animals. 6) A 2004 survey of
doctors in the UK showed that 83% wanted a independent scientific evaluation of
whether animal experiments had relevance to human patients. Less than 1
in 4 (21%) had more confidence in animal tests than in non-animal methods. 7) Rats are 37%
effective in identifying what causes cancer to humans �" less use than
guessing. The experimenters said: “we would have been better off to have tossed a
coin." 8) Rodents are the
animals almost always used in cancer research. They never get carcinomas, the
human form of cancer, which affects membranes (eg lung cancer). Their sarcomas
affect bone and connective
tissue: the two are completely different. 9) The results from
animal tests are routinely altered radically by diet, light, noise,
temperature, lab staff and bedding. Bedding differences caused cancer rates of
over 90% and almost zero in the same strain of mice at different labs. 10)Sex differences
among lab animals can cause contradictory results. This does not correspond
with humans. 11) 75% of side
effects identified in animals never occur. 12) Over half of
side effects cannot be detected in lab animals. 13) Vioxx was shown
to protect the heart of mice, dogs, monkeys and other lab animals. It was
linked to
heart
attacks and strokes in up to 139,000 humans. 14) Genetically
modified animals are not like humans. The mdx mouse is supposed to have muscular
dystrophy, but the muscles regenerate with no treatment.
15) GM animal the
CF- mouse never gets fluid infections in the lungs �" the cause of death for 95%
of human cystic fibrosis patients. 16) In America,
106,000 deaths a year are attributed to reactions to medical drugs. 17) Each year 2.1
million Americans are hospitalised by medical treatment. 18) In the UK an
estimated 70,000 people are killed or severely disabled every year by
unexpected reactions to drugs. All these drugs have passed animal tests. 19) In the UKs House
Of Lords questions have been asked regarding why unexpected reactions to drugs
(which
passed
animal tests) kill more people than cancer. 20) A German
doctors' congress concluded that 6% of fatal illnesses and 25% of organic
illness are caused by medicines. All have been animal tested. 21) According to a
thorough study, 88% of stillbirths are caused by drugs which passed animal
tests. 22) 61% of birth
defects were found to have the same cause. 23) 70% of drugs
which cause human birth defects are safe in pregnant monkeys. 24) 78% of
foetus-damaging chemicals can be detected by one non-animal test. 25) Thousands of
safe products cause birth defects in lab animals �" including water, several
vitamins, vegetable oils, oxygen and drinking waters. Of more than 1000
substances dangerous in lab animals, over 97% are safe in humans. 26) One of the most
common lifesaving operation (for ectopic pregnancies) was delayed 40 years by
vivisection 27) The great Dr Hadwen noted "had animal experiments been relied
upon...humanity would have been robbed of this great blessing of
anaesthesia." 28) Aspirin fails
animal tests, as do digitalis (heart drug), cancer drugs, insulin (which causes
animal birth defects), penicillin and other safe medicines. They would be
banned if vivisection were believed. 29) Blood
transfusions were delayed 200 years by animal studies. 30) The polio
vaccine was delayed 40 years by monkey tests. 31) 30 HIV vaccines,
33 spinal cord damage drugs, and over 700 treatments for stroke have been
developed in animals. None work in humans. 32) Despite many Nobel prizes going to vivisectors, only 45% agree that animal experiments are crucial.33) The Director of Research Defence Society, (which serves only to defend vivisection) was asked if medical progress could have been achieved without animal use. His written reply was "I am sure it could be.[3]
The
little brown dog!
An excerpt
from NAVS National anti vivisection society
The issue of the Brown Dog was a key feature
in the first undercover investigation of animal experiments by
anti-vivisectionists, and the subject of the 1903 Bayliss-Coleridge libel case
- Dr Bayliss of London University versus the Honorary Secretary of the National
Anti-Vivisection Society. The story of the Brown Dog and his memorial
goes back to December 1902, when Professor Starling at University College
London performed his first operation on the terrier dog, depriving it of the
use of its pancreas. During the following two months the dog lived in a cage,
upsetting many with its howls and whines. In February 1903, Professor Starling opened up
the dog’s abdomen to inspect the result of the first operation. He then clamped
the wound with forceps and handed the animal over to Dr. Bayliss, who made a
completely new wound in the neck for the purpose of a lecture demonstration to
students. After another half hour, the animal apparently suffering greatly, was
given to Mr. Dale, an unlicensed research student who killed it either by
chloroform or by surgical means. Two Swedish anti-vivisectionists, Leisa
Schartau and Louise Lind-af-Hageby, who had enrolled as students at the London
School of Medicine for Women so that they could learn first-hand about the work
in such laboratories, attended that lecture demonstration. They carefully noted
the facts of this case in their diary, in which they were recording the details
of the experiments they had witnessed during their studies at UCL. It was not long before Schartau and Hageby
gave up the idea of working for a degree for, as they put it, “physiology is at
present inseparable from experiments on animals". They decided to show
their diary, which was now a substantial manuscript, to the Honorary Secretary
of the National Anti-Vivisection Society, the Hon. Stephen Coleridge. The
information which they recorded was later to form the basis of a book entitled
‘The Shambles of Science’, which caused quite a stir at the time. (The book
remains in the NAVS archive today.) The Hon. Stephen Coleridge, who took up the
appointment of Honorary Secretary in 1897 (remaining until 1936) came from a
family of committed anti-vivisectionists; his father had been one of NAVS’
vice-presidents and Stephen had not been converted to, but born into the cause.
A barrister by profession, Coleridge came from a distinguished family, which
had connections with many influential people. It was once said, whether in
appreciation or in malice, that in dividing the human race one would have men, women
and Coleridges. It was from this man that the two Swedish women sought advice. Coleridge examined their material and was
particularly struck by the evidence presented in a chapter entitled ‘Fun’ - in
a later edition of ‘The Shambles of Science’ it was given the heading ‘The
Vivisections of the Brown Dog’. It described how the supposedly serious
business of vivisection demonstrations in medical schools were often no more
than entertainments. The allusion to the hilarity of the students and the
general levity of the occasions aroused Coleridge’s indignation. The subject of
such mirth in the chapter - a brown terrier dog - was not particularly
emphasised. Coleridge, however, immediately spotted that
there had been two infringements of the law - first that under the British
legislation of 1876, the Cruelty to Animals Act, an animal may not be used for
more that one experiment; second that for lecture demonstrations, which require
a special certificate, anaesthesia was mandatory. The law had therefore been broken
twice. Then, as now, a prosecution can only be brought if it is within six
months of the alleged offence and has the approval of the Home Secretary. It
seemed to Coleridge that it would be almost impossible to succeed by following
that particular path, but one loophole remained. Anyone who has the evidence
can make a public accusation. In May 1903 Coleridge read a statement
regarding the matter in St James’ Hall, London. This resulted in an action for
libel being brought against him by Dr. Bayliss, who had no choice but to sue
Coleridge; to do nothing would be as good as admitting the charge. Coleridge
refused to apologise, insisting that Professor Starling, under the 1876 Act,
should have killed the dog as soon as the object of the experiment had been
attained, that is after he had performed his second vivisection. It was clear that Professor Starling had not
killed the dog when he was legally obliged to do so. Indeed, he did not
complain about being libelled. The case rested on whether handing the dog over
to Dr. Bayliss was a permissible way of destroying it and, for this fact to be
established, evidence was required to prove that the dog had been properly
anaesthetised during the lecture demonstration. If the dog had not been, then
Bayliss was guilty of a criminal act. Could Coleridge prove that the dog had
not been properly anaesthetised? Coleridge’s chief witnesses were, of course,
Schartau and Hageby. They testified that as the first students to arrive for
the lecture they saw the dog in the passage in readiness for the demonstration
and followed Bayliss (and his attendant) into the lecture room. They had been
alone with the dog for about two minutes during which time they examined it
themselves. They had noticed the scars from the previous operations. They
observed that there was an incision in the neck in which two tubes had been
placed and that there was no smell of anaesthetic. The dog was making
purposeful movements which suggested that it was conscious. However, at the
trial, the anaesthetic condition of the dog could not be proved, nor was it
possible to prove the statement of Bayliss that the dog was suffering from
hemi-chorea (ceaseless occurrence of rapid jerky involuntary movements) which
accounted for its alleged movements. The evidence was inconclusive and after
four days, the trial ended in favour of Dr. Bayliss who was awarded £2,000
damage for libel. This looked like defeat, but the matter did not end there.
Public opinion had been aroused. There were innumerable leaders and letters in the
press. The press itself was divided on the verdict - ‘The Times’ upheld the
decision of the court; ‘The Daily News’, along with other newspapers and
journals, described it as a miscarriage of justice. ’The Daily News’ opened a subscription fund to
defray the damages and costs of the trial. So strong was public feeling in
favour of the dog that no less than £5,735 was collected in four months.
Coleridge had lost his case, but not with the public. For many, the Brown Dog
affair could not be easily forgotten and the outcome of the trial continued to
rankle. It was therefore decided to erect a statue in memory of the Brown Dog.
A further appeal was made to raise money for the monument, largely organised
through the efforts of Miss Woodward, founder of the World League against
Vivisection and Honorary Secretary of the International Anti-Vivisection
Council, the society which presented the memorial to Battersea. The memorial
was unveiled by the Mayor of Battersea on 15 September 1906. Edward Ford in his
book, ‘The Brown Dog and His Memorial’ published in 1908, recalls how he first
came to learn about the Brown Dog affair. Walking along the Strand one winter
evening, Ford became caught up in a rowdy group of young medical students who
thrust a stuffed animal into his face. They were in a militant mood, and
singing a song set to the tune of Little Brown Jug: “Ha, ha, ha! Hee, hee, hee!
Little Brown Dog do we hate thee!" Puzzled by what he had witnessed and eager to
find out more, Ford turned to a policeman standing nearby and asked what it
meant. Pointing to the students, the constable replied, “It’s only them Brown
Doggers, Sir". Ford soon discovered what had aroused such emotions - a
memorial in Battersea. Ford decided to visit Battersea. What he saw was a drinking
fountain on top of which sat a demure life-size bronze dog. Around the fountain
was the following inscription: ’In Memory of the Brown Terrier Dog done to
Death in the Laboratories of University College in February 1903, after having
endured Vivisection extending over more than two months and having been handed
from one Vivisector to another till Death came to his Release. Also in Memory
of the 232 dogs vivisected at the same place during the year 1902. Men and
Women of England, how long shall these things be?’ The dog itself had a mild expression and wore
no martyr’s crown. However, after speaking to the two policemen who were on
duty guarding the memorial, it became clear to Ford that this seemingly
peaceful spot had turned into a battlefield. From 20 November 1907 onwards, the
day on which the first incident took place - a year after the erection of the
monument - numerous attempts were made by students from university College (and
elsewhere) to wreck the bronze statue - all were unsuccessful, although the dog
was daubed from time to time with red paint. The local people of Battersea, meanwhile, had
grown rather attached to their canine friend and were determined that no harm
should come to it. Punch-ups and demonstrations between the two warring
factions - the young ‘gentlemen’ from University College and the working class
youth of Battersea - were a regular occurrence. These skirmishes became known
later as the ‘Brown Dog Riots’. The students were particularly incensed by the
inscription which they felt singled out one college and attacked it for using
animals in experiments. They argued that the majority of universities were also
involved in the practice of vivisection. An attempt to persuade Battersea
Metropolitan Borough Council to sanction the proposal to remove the inscription
failed; most councillors believed that the inscription was based upon fact. However, with the election of a new Council of
a different political hue, the situation changed and, on 9 March 1910, the
Council approved the decision to remove the monument. An injunction to restrain
the Council from dismantling the statue came too late. The memorial was removed
in the early hours of 10 March following the Council meeting on the previous
evening. The removal provoked much controversy, not
only in Battersea, but from a wide area of London. Public disapproval reached
such a pitch that on 19 March more than 3,000 people marched from Hyde Park
Corner to Trafalgar Square, where a public meeting was held. Attempts were made to have it put back in
subsequently, but the memorial disappeared. The NAVS, which all those years ago was the
defendant in the ‘Brown Dog Trial’, had succeeded in bringing the attention of
the public to the suffering of laboratory animals, and still believes today
that vivisection can only continue whilst it is carried out in secret. Successive governments have protected
laboratory workers from public scrutiny and public accountability. With your help, we can change this. The issue of the Brown Dog was a key feature
in the first undercover investigation of animal experiments by
anti-vivisectionists, and the subject of the 1903 Bayliss-Coleridge libel case
- Dr Bayliss of London University versus the Honorary Secretary of the National
Anti-Vivisection Society. The story of the Brown Dog and his memorial
goes back to December 1902, when Professor Starling at University College
London performed his first operation on the terrier dog, depriving it of the
use of its pancreas. During the following two months the dog lived in a cage,
upsetting many with its howls and whines. In February 1903, Professor Starling opened up
the dog’s abdomen to inspect the result of the first operation. He then clamped
the wound with forceps and handed the animal over to Dr. Bayliss, who made a
completely new wound in the neck for the purpose of a lecture demonstration to
students. After another half hour, the animal apparently suffering greatly, was
given to Mr. Dale, an unlicensed research student who killed it either by
chloroform or by surgical means. Two Swedish anti-vivisectionists, Leisa
Schartau and Louise Lind-af-Hageby, who had enrolled as students at the London
School of Medicine for Women so that they could learn first-hand about the work
in such laboratories, attended that lecture demonstration. They carefully noted
the facts of this case in their diary, in which they were recording the details
of the experiments they had witnessed during their studies at UCL. It was not long before Schartau and Hageby
gave up the idea of working for a degree for, as they put it, “physiology is at
present inseparable from experiments on animals". They decided to show
their diary, which was now a substantial manuscript, to the Honorary Secretary
of the National Anti-Vivisection Society, the Hon. Stephen Coleridge. The
information which they recorded was later to form the basis of a book entitled
‘The Shambles of Science’, which caused quite a stir at the time. (The book
remains in the NAVS archive today.) The Hon. Stephen Coleridge, who took up the
appointment of Honorary Secretary in 1897 (remaining until 1936) came from a
family of committed anti-vivisectionists; his father had been one of NAVS’
vice-presidents and Stephen had not been converted to, but born into the cause.
A barrister by profession, Coleridge came from a distinguished family, which
had connections with many influential people. It was once said, whether in
appreciation or in malice, that in dividing the human race one would have men,
women and Coleridges. It was from this man that the two Swedish women sought
advice. Coleridge examined their material and was
particularly struck by the evidence presented in a chapter entitled ‘Fun’ - in
a later edition of ‘The Shambles of Science’ it was given the heading ‘The
Vivisections of the Brown Dog’. It described how the supposedly serious
business of vivisection demonstrations in medical schools were often no more
than entertainments. The allusion to the hilarity of the students and the
general levity of the occasions aroused Coleridge’s indignation. The subject of
such mirth in the chapter - a brown terrier dog - was not particularly
emphasised. Coleridge, however, immediately spotted that
there had been two infringements of the law - first that under the British
legislation of 1876, the Cruelty to Animals Act, an animal may not be used for
more that one experiment; second that for lecture demonstrations, which require
a special certificate, anaesthesia was mandatory. The law had therefore been
broken twice. Then, as now, a prosecution can only be brought if it is within
six months of the alleged offence and has the approval of the Home Secretary.
It seemed to Coleridge that it would be almost impossible to succeed by
following that particular path, but one loophole remained. Anyone who has the
evidence can make a public accusation. In May 1903 Coleridge read a statement
regarding the matter in St James’ Hall, London. This resulted in an action for
libel being brought against him by Dr. Bayliss, who had no choice but to sue
Coleridge; to do nothing would be as good as admitting the charge. Coleridge
refused to apologise, insisting that Professor Starling, under the 1876 Act,
should have killed the dog as soon as the object of the experiment had been
attained, that is after he had performed his second vivisection. It was clear that Professor Starling had not
killed the dog when he was legally obliged to do so. Indeed, he did not
complain about being libelled. The case rested on whether handing the dog over
to Dr. Bayliss was a permissible way of destroying it and, for this fact to be
established, evidence was required to prove that the dog had been properly
anaesthetised during the lecture demonstration. If the dog had not been, then
Bayliss was guilty of a criminal act. Could Coleridge prove that the dog had
not been properly anaesthetised? Coleridge’s chief witnesses were, of course,
Schartau and Hageby. They testified that as the first students to arrive for
the lecture they saw the dog in the passage in readiness for the demonstration
and followed Bayliss (and his attendant) into the lecture room. They had been
alone with the dog for about two minutes during which time they examined it
themselves. They had noticed the scars from the previous operations. They
observed that there was an incision in the neck in which two tubes had been
placed and that there was no smell of anaesthetic. The dog was making
purposeful movements which suggested that it was conscious. However, at the
trial, the anaesthetic condition of the dog could not be proved, nor was it
possible to prove the statement of Bayliss that the dog was suffering from
hemi-chorea (ceaseless occurrence of rapid jerky involuntary movements) which
accounted for its alleged movements. The evidence was inconclusive and after
four days, the trial ended in favour of Dr. Bayliss who was awarded £2,000
damage for libel. This looked like defeat, but the matter did not end there.
Public opinion had been aroused. There were innumerable leaders and letters in
the press. The press itself was divided on the verdict - ‘The Times’ upheld the
decision of the court; ‘The Daily News’, along with other newspapers and
journals, described it as a miscarriage of justice. ’The Daily News’ opened a subscription fund to
defray the damages and costs of the trial. So strong was public feeling in
favour of the dog that no less than £5,735 was collected in four months.
Coleridge had lost his case, but not with the public. For many, the Brown Dog
affair could not be easily forgotten and the outcome of the trial continued to
rankle. It was therefore decided to erect a statue in memory of the Brown Dog.
A further appeal was made to raise money for the monument, largely organised
through the efforts of Miss Woodward, founder of the World League against
Vivisection and Honorary Secretary of the International Anti-Vivisection
Council, the society which presented the memorial to Battersea. The memorial
was unveiled by the Mayor of Battersea on 15 September 1906. Edward Ford in his
book, ‘The Brown Dog and His Memorial’ published in 1908, recalls how he first
came to learn about the Brown Dog affair. Walking along the Strand one winter
evening, Ford became caught up in a rowdy group of young medical students who
thrust a stuffed animal into his face. They were in a militant mood, and
singing a song set to the tune of Little Brown Jug: “Ha, ha, ha! Hee, hee, hee!
Little Brown Dog do we hate thee!" Puzzled by what he had witnessed and eager to
find out more, Ford turned to a policeman standing nearby and asked what it
meant. Pointing to the students, the constable replied, “It’s only them Brown
Doggers, Sir". Ford soon discovered what had aroused such emotions - a
memorial in Battersea. Ford decided to visit Battersea. What he saw was a
drinking fountain on top of which sat a demure life-size bronze dog. Around the
fountain was the following inscription: ’In Memory of the Brown Terrier Dog done to
Death in the Laboratories of University College in February 1903, after having
endured Vivisection extending over more than two months and having been handed
from one Vivisector to another till Death came to his Release. Also in Memory
of the 232 dogs vivisected at the same place during the year 1902. Men and
Women of England, how long shall these things be?’ The dog itself had a mild expression and wore
no martyr’s crown. However, after speaking to the two policemen who were on
duty guarding the memorial, it became clear to Ford that this seemingly
peaceful spot had turned into a battlefield. From 20 November 1907 onwards, the
day on which the first incident took place - a year after the erection of the
monument - numerous attempts were made by students from university College (and
elsewhere) to wreck the bronze statue - all were unsuccessful, although the dog
was daubed from time to time with red paint. The local people of Battersea, meanwhile, had
grown rather attached to their canine friend and were determined that no harm
should come to it. Punch-ups and demonstrations between the two warring
factions - the young ‘gentlemen’ from University College and the working class
youth of Battersea - were a regular occurrence. These skirmishes became known
later as the ‘Brown Dog Riots’. The students were particularly incensed by the
inscription which they felt singled out one college and attacked it for using
animals in experiments. They argued that the majority of universities were also
involved in the practice of vivisection. An attempt to persuade Battersea
Metropolitan Borough Council to sanction the proposal to remove the inscription
failed; most councillors believed that the inscription was based upon fact. However, with the election of a new Council of
a different political hue, the situation changed and, on 9 March 1910, the
Council approved the decision to remove the monument. An injunction to restrain
the Council from dismantling the statue came too late. The memorial was removed
in the early hours of 10 March following the Council meeting on the previous
evening. The removal provoked much controversy, not
only in Battersea, but from a wide area of London. Public disapproval reached
such a pitch that on 19 March more than 3,000 people marched from Hyde Park
Corner to Trafalgar Square, where a public meeting was held. Attempts were made to have it put back in
subsequently, but the memorial disappeared. The NAVS, which all those years ago was the
defendant in the ‘Brown Dog Trial’, had succeeded in bringing the attention of
the public to the suffering of laboratory animals, and still believes today
that vivisection can only continue whilst it is carried out in secret. Successive
governments have protected laboratory workers from public scrutiny and public
accountability.
For more information on the little brown dog. http://www.navs.org.uk/about_us/24/0/286/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Dog_affair
NAVS CONTACT DETAILS
UK USA How you can help
If you have been touched by
Hopes story and feel that you would like to help, there are many ways you can
do that.
You can sign online petitions Write to MP’s Change the way
you shop by going cruelty free, just look for the leaping bunny on the
products.
A useful link for animal
friendly non tested on animals cosmetic and household product guide can be
googled but here is one or two.
http://nottested.co.uk/Cosmetics.html
http://features.peta.org/cruelty-free-company-search/index.aspx http://www.buav.org/humane-science/statistics/ superdrug and coop also have
a fantastic range of their own products that are not tested on animals
including wet wipes and shower gel, shampoo’s and conditions etc.
By going cruelty free in the
home you are not supporting animal testing and each and every person that goes
cruelty free helps towards the battle
against animal testing.
If you would also like to
become more involved or want more information on unite to care their web
address is.
Unite to care 2013
© 2014 Mandy Flisher |
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Added on July 19, 2014 Last Updated on July 19, 2014 Author
Mandy Flisherdeal, kent, United KingdomAboutmy name is mandy a pleasure to meet ya i like to write ditty's to the dismay of my teachers i am here to shake hands with people like me who can share in the joy of writing you see! pleas.. more..Writing
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