Archive NewsVolume 6 Number 2, August 2001
Humane Slaughter
Animals going to slaughter in Grenada's abattoirs suffer unnecessary stress
and great pain. It is society's duty to ensure that the animals used for
food are treated as humanely as possible and their suffering and stress
at the time of slaughter is minimized.
With the assistance of W.S.P.A. (World Society for the Protection of Animals)
a seminar was held on Thursday, February 8, for butchers, stock control
officers and government representatives. Topics included animal welfare
rights, humane handling and slaughtering practices.
Dr. Juan Carlos Murillo, a W.S.P.A. Field Officer from Costa Rica, with
vast experience in the meat industry and Luis Carlos Sarmiento, the W.S.P.A.
Regional Manager for South America, facilitated the seminar. Practical training
was provided for the butchers on Friday, February 9, at the Grenville and
St. George's abattoirs.
The Seminar was sponsored by Caribbean Agro Industries Ltd. and Mr. Horace
Hamilton, Regional Sales Manager (Feeds), was in attendance representing
the Company. W.S.P.A., the RSPCA and the GSPCA have donated humane stunning
guns to the abattoirs. The stun gun renders the animal unconscious prior
to being bled.
Benefits achieved with humane slaughter methods include a safer environment
for both men and livestock, less stress and trauma for the animals and a
vastly superior meat quality. It is a GSPCA objective to further improve
the conditions of the animals passing through Grenada's slaughterhouses.
From Hell to Heaven
A call came into the GSPCA Clinic that a suffering dog had been sighted
on Green Street in St. George's and the Animal Rescue Van was dispatched
immediately to rescue the animal. After driving up and down Green Street
in the pouring rain and making numerous enquiries, Mrs. Judy Rogers finally
spotted what looked like a dead animal slumped in the gutter of an alleyway.
Upon investigation she found a poor creature unable to move, its emaciated
body wet from the rain, with no fur and covered in sores. The dog opened
its eyes in response to her touch and kind words and she gently lifted it
into the back of the GSPCA Van.
Rusty, as he was subsequently called, was too feeble to stand; unable to
straighten his contracted hind legs and could hardly lift his head. With
loving care from volunteers and visiting veterinarian, Dr. Thomas Barkdull,
Rusty began to gain strength, his sores healed and he grew a beautiful full
coat of golden brown fur. Now he is a happy, healthy animal living in comfort
with Ms. Laurel Wadsworth who wouldn't trade him for the world!
Controlling Feral Cat Populations
Businesses, hotels, restaurants and some private residences continue to
benefit from the GSPCA Feral Cat Control Programme. Thanks to this successful
programme fifty-two feral cats have been spayed, neutered, and vaccinated
for rabies. This means that several colonies of feral cats have been brought
under control due to the fact that they can no longer reproduce. It is important
to return the spayed and neutered cats to their site of origin so that they
can continue to perform their duty of keeping the rodent population down.
If the cats are not returned then a new colony of feral cats will move into
the territory and these will multiply. If the cats prove to be a nuisance
in restaurant areas, then the GSPCA can advise and help with the installation
of a ‘Cat Café’ where guests can feed the cats in an
area remote to public places.
Dangerous Dog Legislation
The GSPCA continues to work with the Government on the final draft of the
Dangerous Dog Legislation. In the proposed Law there would be strict conditions
of ownership of a dangerous dog.
Adoptions
Here are a few of the GSPCA rescued animals and their new owners. The GSPCA
has rehomed 92 cats and dogs during the past year. Please consider a GSPCA
stray if you want a pet; they make wonderful companions.
Mobile Clinic on the Road
The GSPCA/W.S.P.A. Mobile Veterinary Clinic is beginning to be a familiar
sight around the island traveling to remote areas offering free medical
attention for the needy animals of Grenada. First to benefit from this fully
equipped state of the art Mobile Veterinary Clinic was the village of Crochu
in St. David's when British Volunteer Veterinarian Caroline Allen joined
the GSPCA Team.
Next came American Volunteer Veterinarian Tom Barkdull and his wife, Cindy,
who donated their time and skills to work in the Mobile Veterinary Clinic.
Dr. Barkdull and the GSPCA Team performed spays and neuters on animals in
Grenville and Victoria.
Recently, the Mobile Veterinary Clinic has been operating in True Blue with
Volunteer Veterinarian Dr. Paul Sayer donating his skills toward the GSPCA
Population Control Programme. When the Society did not have a Veterinarian
on duty, the Mobile Veterinary Clinic operated as a Free Vaccination, Deworming
and Mange Treatment Centre and in this capacity the GSPCA Team were able
to treat animals in Victoria and Sauteurs.
The Mobile Clinic is also used in an educational role at functions such
as fundraising events and the Dog Show. The GSPCA is arranging for two Volunteer
Vets to work with the Society before the end of this year when the Mobile
Clinic will travel to St. Patrick's and St. Andrew's offering the Free Population
Control Programme to those areas.
Grenada Dog Show - 2000
The Annual Grenada Dog Show was once again honored to have Bryden &
Minors as the show sponsor. Ms. Natalie Minors gave an initial address and
Mr. Robert Whyte splendidly performed the duties of Master of Ceremonies.
Once again, the Official Show Judge was Senator Keith Laurie, former President
of the Barbados Kennel Club.
The children showing their pets were hardly bigger than the dogs they led
and it was enlightening to see such small children handling animals. Extremely
satisfying was the Local Grenadian Pothound class with 13 entrants. Competition
was extremely tough as all were in beautiful condition, prompting Judge
Laurie to express his delight with Grenada's local breed.
The most entertaining event is always the obstacle course and amidst enthusiastic
applause and frequent laughter, the animals (and some owners) deftly negotiated
their way through the obstacles toward the finish line. It was obvious that
dogs and owners had been practising hard to perfect their "tricks"
for the Show and with this event judged by audience applause, once again
competition was very close.
For those dogs 8 years and older, a new Senior category was introduced and
3 females and 2 males were entered who looked so good they certain belied
their age. There was a good turnout for the Most Obedient category and these
dogs certainly knew their skills. The Society would like to thank all those
who made this dog show such a success especially the students from the St.
George's University School of Veterinary Medicine.
Free Vaccination Clinics
The GSPCA continues to offer its free vaccination, deworming and mange
treatment clinics. This programme is made possible by donations from various
businesses in Grenada. This year the GSPCA have treated animals in the Grand
Anse Valley, Victoria, Grenville, Bathway, and Sauteurs.
Dog helping sick Children
LuLu was brought into the GSPCA Clinic when she was a small puppy, starving,
hairless and covered in sores but after treatment LuLu grew into a beautiful
animal and was adopted by Melissa Bahleda who took her to the United States.
LuLu now works as a Certified Therapy Dog and spends much of her time visiting
sick children in hospitals, bringing smiles to their faces and helping speed
them along the road to recovery.
Helping us helping the Animals
This group of schoolgirls visited the GSPCA Clinic bringing with them a
valuable gift of food for the rescued animals. They were very excited when
they discovered that Ringtag, a rescued dog, had a litter of eight newly
born puppies!
The Post family is unique in their love and concern for animals and have
delighted in fostering needy animals for the GSPCA The Society is indebted
to this devoted family for taking care of litters of puppies and also grown
animals which have needed special care. In addition, the Post family has
adopted two dogs, Lady, and Bibi, and a cat called Houdini.
A Lady called Bruce
The GSPCA Animal Rescue Van went to investigate the numerous
reports received of a dog in Grand Etang suffering from a massive tumour.
Upon arrival it was found that the staff at the Visitors' Centre and the
Venders had a female dog living around them called Bruce who had a large
tumour on her right groin area. However, it proved very difficult to capture
Bruce, as she was determined not to come near GSPCA personnel or to succumb
to the tasty morsels of food inside the humane dog trap. When a night security
guard announced that he could catch Bruce, his offer was eagerly accepted
and soon the dog was securely clasped in this man's tight embrace. It took
extreme effort to get Bruce inside a cage for transportation, however as
soon as she reached the GSPCA Clinic she immediately calmed down and accepted
her rescue in good faith. Volunteer Veterinarian, Dr. Tom Barkdull, operated
on Bruce to remove the huge tumour and to also spay her. It was many weeks
before she was well enough to be returned to her welcoming friends at Grand
Etang.
RSPCA Training for the GSPCA
The GSPCA was fortunate to benefit from a visit from Chief Superintendent
Kevin Degenhard of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(RSPCA) from January 7 - 9. Degenhard worked intensively with the GSPCA
management and the Grenada police concerning dangerous dog legislation and
offered training to S.S.U. personnel on cow darting. He also spent time
with the GSPCA Inspector St. Clair training him on how to investigate cruelty
cases. The GSPCA benefited greatly from Chief Superintendent Degenhard's
visit to Grenada.
The GSPCA goes to School
The Government Approved GSPCA Education Programme continues to reach the
children of Grenada. With the help of Annie, their rescued dog, Education
Officer Steve Slovenz presents the Programme, which teaches the four basic
needs of animals - Food, Water, Shelter and Love. During the hour long lesson
children participate in question and answer sessions, discuss their pets'
requirements and experience first hand how the GSPCA Inspector examines
an animal. This part of the session is always very popular with the children
as Inspector St. Clair demonstrates with Annie how he determines the health
of an animal. Schools that have recently benefited from this Programme are
South St. George's, Calliste and Grand Anse. The GSPCA would like to thank
the principals and teachers of these schools for their valued support of
this important educational opportunity. Each participating class received
reminders of the lessons they had learned and enjoyable memories of their
involvement in an interesting and exciting learning experience.
Working with the Community
When reports come into the GSPCA Clinic of puppies born to stray dogs the
Society encourages the community to help care for the mother and her offspring.
With the GSPCA providing dog food, the children of Cafe took responsibility
for feeding a stray mother dog until her puppies were old enough for adoption.
Maisha Archibald from Mt. Tout found a litter of orphaned puppies close
to her house and after contacting the GSPCA she agreed to use food provided
by the Society to nurture the pups until they were ready for adoption. These
are excellent examples of the GSPCA and the community working toward the
welfare of needy animals and the Society is grateful to these kind and thoughtful
people for their assistance.
Kitten "sees" Houston Specialist
When Nutmeg was rescued as a tiny kitten, it was soon clear that she could
not see. Although she adapted well to her cage and was aware of activities
around her, Nutmeg was always afraid of unfamiliar sounds or strange vibrations.
Samantha Hazelwood came into the GSPCA Clinic, saw Nutmeg and immediately
decided to adopt the unfortunate kitten and take her to America for treatment.
Once in Houston, Nutmeg was taken to an eye specialist but Dr. Hermann said
that her blindness was possibly due to a virus and that nothing could be
done to return her vision. However, Samantha reports that Nutmeg is adapting
well to living in a house and uses her whiskers as "feelers" to
negotiate obstacles in her new home. In fact, visitors cannot believe that
Nutmeg is blind as she runs, wrestles and stalks alongside the other cats
that have "purrr-fect" vision!
Landfill Tip
Although there had been sightings by concerned visitors to Grenada of a
frightened dog who was starving at the Perseverance Landfill, whenever the
GSPCA Van arrived to rescue the animal it could not be found. The workers
at the landfill knew the dog and advised the GSPCA volunteers of the best
time of day when the animal came around searching for food. Tip, as he was
subsequently named, was finally located and, although extremely frightened,
responded well to his rescue. He coped admirably with the long journey to
the GSPCA Clinic and once there enjoyed his first good meal in a long time
before settling into his new kennel home. Soon afterward Melissa, a student
at the St. George's University School of Veterinary Medicine, fostered Tip.
He proved to be a good, loving pet and he made friends readily with Melissa's
other dogs. In the end, Melissa decided to adopt Tip and he is now a happy
member of her family.
Volunteer Vet Scheme in Action
The GSPCA's Volunteer Vet Scheme was much in evidence this year through
the involvement of Dr. Brian Huntsman DVM of the United States who donated
his time and services to the Society in a number of ways. Dr. Huntsman first
arrived in Grenada for a specialist course at the St. George's University
of Medicine and while here volunteered his services under the GSPCA-sponsored
scheme which enables foreign vets to assist the Society on an honorary basis.
The scheme was approved by the authorities in 1991.
Says GSPCA President John Albanie: "It is an excellent way of remedying
this island's chronic shortage of veterinary resources. Compared to near-by
islands, Grenada is very poorly supplied. Grenada has one vet in private
practice and four Government vets. We could use another six private vets
and we would still be short. Barbados has three Government vets and eleven
private vets, to service one island. Our vets have three islands to look
after".
Under the Volunteer Vet Scheme, the Society's first-ever spaying and neutering
clinics were carried out at the Animal Hospital in Lowthers Lane in December
and January. Twenty-nine animals of both sexes were brought into the clinic
on the first day of the programme.
Dr. Brian Huntsman is seated at left.
