June 2021, FREE
Pity the Poor Donkeys How one charity is making the world of di erence to donkeys working in horri c conditions
Pet Remembrance Day: One woman talks about pet grief
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& much more inside… Vet
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Cavaliers’ Choices... Premium pet products, destinations & activities for you & your pet chosen by Sophie Nell and Rufus, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, assisted by Marie.
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Graze box for dogs! We adore this graze box for dogs - or Dograze! It’s a healthy pick and mix ‘sweet’ service for pooches, and we wondered how we ever lived without it! All made with super dog friendly ingredients, the boxes come in a variety of sizes and can be personalised for your individual dog(s). They’re absolutely fantastic for birthdays, celebrations, Christmas presents for your pooch or otherwise just because you love them so very much and they deserve a treat! Our canine taste testers loved them, especially the doggie pop corn! But they loved everything in their old fashioned pick n mix style box with a modern twist!
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A shocking new video has brought to life the horri
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Struggling through mountainous rubbish tips heaped with broken glass and sharp metal, amid searing heat in "the bleakest workplace in the world", it's little wonder that the life expectancy for donkeys like this used to be just six months. A shocking new
days pulling heavy rubbish carts up precipitous slopes, with little rest. And with sharp objects a constant threat underfoot, frequent cuts and infections from tetanus are agonising – and, if left untreated, often lethal.
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UK based working animal video has brought to life the charity SPANA (the Society for the Protection of Animals horri c working conditions Abroad) has set up regular of donkeys in the rubbish visits to help the animals, dumps of Mali, West Africa. including providing treatment and vaccinations for tetanus In the capital, Bamako, donkeys and other deadly diseases. And thanks to the free toil in temperatures often higher than 40 degrees Celsius. veterinary care they provide on the Mali rubbish dumps, the In homemade harnesses, with life expectancy of the donkeys ropes rubbing mercilessly has risen by several years, with against open wounds, the working animals spend their
improved welfare for the animals. Dr Ben Sturgeon, director of veterinary services for SPANA said: “We often see animals working in terribly difficult and dangerous environments, but the conditions here in Mali are truly shocking. “The donkeys and their poverty-stricken owners sadly face a never-ending cycle of work, hauling backbreaking loads of rubbish in extreme heat. “But SPANA is making a lifesaving difference to the animals here. In 2020, we treated more than 21,000 animals across Mali, including at the rubbish dumps of Bamako.”
The charity has to rely entirely on the vital donations from the public to
The shelters provide food and water, and SPANA vets are on hand to treat any injuries while vaccinating against tetanus and other deadly diseases.
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Old, worn saddle pads can be exchanged, and owners receive training and advice on how to care for their animals more humanely.
Regular donations can also contribute towards essential items such as bandages, medicines, antiseptics and antiinflammatories, as well as food and bedding for animals.
continue their work and
prevent animal su ering. Across the globe, last year SPANA treated 283,552 sick and injured animals and provided more than 350,000 veterinary treatments in total. But the charity relies on the public to fund its vital work. SPANA is currently raising funds to help pay for vaccinations to save the lives of
Now, thanks to SPANA’s intervention, donkeys at the Bamako dumps finish work in the early afternoon, retiring to a purpose-built shelter that keeps them out of the intense sun.
working animals at serious risk from tetanus and other deadly diseases.
Ben Sturgeon of SPANA added: “As everyone in the UK gets a jab, spare a thought for working animals overseas, whose lives can be saved by a simple vaccination.
“Vaccines and basic medicines can help prevent tetanus and other diseases from becoming a life-threatening consequence of even the smallest cuts and scratches. “Prevention is far better than cure, so alongside our free vet care, another major focus of our work is education and training for owners to ensure they can look after their animals properly and treat them with respect and kindness.
“Our teams work tirelessly to improve the welfare of working animals around the world, but the need is enormous and we rely completely on the vital
donations we receive from the public to continue our work and prevent animal suffering.”
For more information, and to support SPANA’s lifesaving work, visit www.spana.org/ tetanus
MY Pet
OUR My Pet stars this month are New ‘ T ro p hy G i rl ’, i s a b o u t a t ox i c , York-based WeiWei and Madeline, her controlling relationship, where the Shih-Poo (Shih-Tzu X Poodle). Wei Wei woman feels the pressure to conform to is an Asian American Pop Singer/ the stereotype of the submissive, quiet Songwriter. Born in Changsha, China, Asian woman. The song also explores her family moved to the U.S. when she i s s u e s a r o u n d s e l f - i m a g e a n d was four years old. As a child, WeiWei weight. WeiWei says: "The track was was a musical prodigy, playing violin, inspired by the feeling of liberation piano and guitar; even then, she from expectations of what a girlfriend, thought she could make music her life’s wife or woman should be.” We meet Wei ambition. Her rst single, ‘Forever’, was Wei and Madeline. released in 2018 kickstarted her music career; WeiWei has since performed at What breed is Madeline and why did you well-known NYC venues such as Pianos
choose her?
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Madeline is a Shih-Poo (Shih-Tzu and Poodle). and the Delancey. Her new single, She's Chinese just like her mom! I chose her
Does Madeline come with you to work? because she has a sweet, gentle and quiet personality. She's a naturally well behaved little girl. I love poodles and curly hair. I wanted to have a dog that I could take with me everywhere so I wouldn’t have to leave her at home alone. She is small so she fits into a purse. Her eyes are hazel/ brown and I thought her fur around her right eye was so special. She's just perfect in my eyes.
I work from home so yes she does! I take her with me everywhere I can. I pretend to not see the "no dogs allowed" signs...
What difference does Madeline make to your life? She just brings me so much joy. I think any dog lover can relate - just looking at her makes me happy. When I come home, she is just thrilled to see me. I can get really wrapped up in work and I get out of the house more now to take her for walks and I want her to see the world with me!
How long have you had Madeline?
Do you take doggie-friendly holidays with I have had her for 4 months. She's 6 months old. Maddie?
I do! I wanted to take her with me last time I came to the UK but ran into some issues with the flight approving her.
They grow so fast!
On domestic flights, she always comes with me. She isn't fussy and just sleeps on the plane. Truly an angel.
What are Maddie's favourite things in the world? Maddie's favourite things are attention, her pink bone chew toy, freshly cooked chicken and walks.
What are the best holidays you’ve taken with Maddie? I took her with me to Tampa to visit my family. My parents are getting older and love having a little baby around. It made them happy to take care of a little one and Maddie loved the special attention and all the spoiling she got.
Do you take Maddie with you to restaurants and pubs?
Yes I do. She is very small so it isn't an issue. I also live in LA and go to NYC often. These are very pup friendly cities. Plus, how could anyone deny her entry?
Does Maddie have any tricks or special character traits? Maddie's superpower is that she literally thinks everyone is wonderful. Even if an aggressive dog approaches her, she is still happy to see them. It's really adorable and admirable how loving she is...even if it’s to her own detriment.
Is there anything you feel strongly about regarding pet welfare? I feel strongly about giving pets real food. Feed them as if you were feeding a human. The preservatives and additives in pet food is harmful to pets. I cook her meat and veggies from the grocery store and add vitamins to ensure she has all the nutrition she needs. I want her to live a long time. Just like humans, if pets eat junk food, they will have health problems. It is more expensive, but it'll save you vet bills later on.
WEB AND SOCIALS: https://www.weisquared.com/ https://www.facebook.com/xoxoweiwei/ https://www.instagram.com/xoxo_weiwei/ https://twitter.com/xoxoweiwei
with fur On national Pet Remembrance Day (5th July), people across the UK will be remembering pets that have passed over the Rainbow Bridge. Here, writer CLAIRE MEADOWS shares her own poignant tale of pet loss and the resultant grief - a grief that is, still sadly, all too often belittled by those who haven’t shared the unconditional bond of love that only animals can bring...
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Next month (5th July) is national Pet Remembrance Day and people across the UK will be remembering pets that have passed over the Rainbow Bridge. Here, CLAIRE MEADOWS, Editor in Chief and Founder of After Nyne Magazine – The Art Lover’s Magazine, shares her own poignant tale of pet loss and resultant grief - a grief that is, still sadly, all too often little understand, and even belittled, by those who haven’t shared the unconditional bond of love that only animals can bring.
Most of us work hard to maintain our status quo. For many of us, our routines are ones to treasure, to set our metaphorical watch by. I knew someone once who wouldn’t consider it to be a good day until he’d walked a certain way around a lamppost. The same lamppost every day, outside Westminster Abbey. Until that route was traversed he wouldn’t rest easy and would be well aware that the day could be ‘tainted’ by not pursuing it.
Fond memories: Claire Meadows and Willow
This is an extreme example. For many of us there is comfort in the little things - the same coffee mug, the same spread on your toast and the same route to walk your dog every day. My husband had an exact route he followed with our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Willow, every day. We live in a tiny village in Oxfordshire. No pub, no shops. Only a large church at the centre. A church that I’ve always considered too large for the size of the village, but comforting in its sturdiness and a bastion of stability in ever restless times. My husband, Keith, would walk Willow up to the church every day, turn right and follow a winding path towards a verdant
area named ‘the orchard’. Yew trees are vile things, with every fibre of its being geared towards being poisonous, and this path towards the orchard was edged with them. Willow had been very sick after eating two yew berries a few years ago, so Keith tended to move at a fair clip, angling Willow’s head away from the luminous red berries. Because it couldn’t be assumed that Willow had learned her lesson about eating them. This routine was familiar, and laid a bedrock for our life in our tiny Oxfordshire village. Until it came to an abrupt end with Willow’s sudden death two months ago. Embarking as normal upon her daily walk, she had collapsed five minutes from our gate.
The first I knew of it was Keith dashing through the garden gate with a prostrate Willow in his arms. I thought she had been attacked, and rushed to find her at the front door in Keith’s arms, squealing, with her tongue dangling from her mouth. She died in my arms in the back of the car before we reached the vets.
“Just days before we had been planning where we were going to take Willow for her eighth Keith got behind the wheel of the car - I don’t drive - and screamed his heart out. Just days before we had been planning where we were going to take Willow for her eighth ‘birthday lunch’ on the 12th of January. This wasn’t meant to happen. We arrived home to a cold empty house. I telephoned the doctor to find out if there was something we could do for Keith. He had taken to pacing up and down the house, saying ‘no, no, no’ and I was worried. The doctor refused to medicate.
He had taken to pacing up and down the house, saying ‘no, no, no’ and I was worried. The doctor refused to medicate. My grief rose in waves, culminating in me lying on the bathroom floor at 3am the following morning, screaming. The following morning we found ourselves at the vets, discussing our cremation options. We decided to go for a communal cremation, and have Willow’s ashes scattered at the crematorium garden of remembrance. We chose communal because she never liked to be alone, and we saw
Our vet Graham said he suspected it was an aneurysm, and there was nothing that we could have done. She had been pronounced healthy just that Monday. She died on the Wednesday. Graham guided us through the backdoor of the practice, while we staggered into the car park. What had been routine and stable just an hour before was blown into oblivion within minutes. She was gone.
‘birthday lunch...”
no reason why she should be on that final journey. She never thought much of other dogs, but if it meant she wasn’t alone, that’s what we had to do.
amazing, and Susie has been a blessing.
lives of other people into sharp focus for me.
We’re establishing new routines - some different, some the same. Grief flies in through
And be kind to myself. We’re always in such a rush to stick to our routines and be achieving constantly. We need to take time out to We chose a communal reward ourselves, and to take stock of cremation because Willow everything around us. never liked to be alone, and we Smell the flowers.
I recall these details not for any attempt at mawkishness. Grief is a funny thing. Keith and I have found ourselves grieving in completely different ways and at saw no reason why she should rapidly different paces. I shut down and move be on that nal journey… on, while he dwells and cries. I can talk about the window. And at those times the good times already with a you have to ride it out. There’s smile, he’ll cry. nothing to do with grief but ride it out and try to redirect The support we received in those dreadful days was beyond that energy into something anything we expected. Family, else. That’s what I try to do. friends and neighbours provided comfort and kind words. In desolation of death, and especially sudden death, isolation is one of the worst factors. We didn’t suffer alone, but there were still those dark moments where everyone returned home and we were left with the silence, staring into the spaces where Willow used to lie.
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We didn’t rest on our laurels, and a couple of days later we rehomed a cocker spaniel named Susie from our local Blue Cross centre. The support from the staff has been
Susie has been a big help. I still miss Willow, but my grief isn’t the gaping wound that it has been for Keith. That dog was, he admits, ‘his life’, and he’s having to make plans to see a therapist, as Willow’s death has dragged up loss issues that have been dormant for a long time. If this experience has taught me anything it’s...to be kind. To be patient and understanding of other people’s circumstances. I thought of myself as a pretty compassionate person, but this experience has brought the
Be more dog, in fact.