Restoring the dignity of animals
http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/ne...rticleid=18264
Restoring the dignity of animals
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Ellie likes golf balls and dolls. His mate, Jack, is shy because he was abused as a baby. Rosie has a bad cough, and a recent X-ray test showed she had a chest infection that required medication.
But living in the leafy Karen suburb of Nairobi, the three are luckier than most and have few worries.
Their fortunes changed after they were rescued by people with a big heart for their kind — domestic animals.
The trio is now under the wings of the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA).
Ellie, a cat that was found by a roadside, has found the home he never had. You will find him playing with golf balls and dolls in an enclosure with a dozen other cats.
Jack and Rosie, two dogs rescued from an abusive owner, also look contented and Rosie, who nearly died from a bad cough, is said to be recovering well.
KSPCA director, Ms Jean Gilchrist, explains why they have compassion for animals.
"Just like humans, animals have emotions. They are capable of feeling sad, happy, nervous, hungry, depressed and even jealous," she says.
To some Kenyans, it would seem a misplaced venture to pump money into the care of animals when there are scores of starving and destitute people.
Others would dismiss it as a mzungu affair, since white people are known to have a deep love for pets, while others would brand it a preserve of the rich, "with plenty of money to throw around."
However, Gilchrist says animals, too, have a right to be happy. In any case, she argues, there are many organisations caring for disadvantaged people, and only hers has given a thought to animals.
Says the director: "We try to give them (animals) some enrichment to keep them happy. We share the planet with them, so we should let them enjoy too."
On the five-acre compound are donkeys, cats, dogs, horses and rabbits with various histories. Some were rescued from abusive owners while others were found in deserted homes, roadsides or garbage dumps.
The officials do not only care for animals but also, with other like-minded people, accord the animals a dignified sendoff when they die — including holding funerals!
KSPCA does this by offering pet lovers funeral and disposal services for their animals.
It has set aside a graveyard where "bereaved" people come to bury their beloved pets and pay their last respects. The feeling of loss is so immense that some people hold memorials at the graveyard every year.
And the magnitude of grief is seen in the words engraved on some tombstones.
Some of them read as follows:
"A saint, a soul, always in our thoughts and hearts. – Snoopy Vinner: February 1985-June 18, 1998.
"My best friend…and miles to go before I sleep – Doobie Vinner: January 7, 1986-Jan 19, 2003."
"Sweet and good. A dog has one aim in life: to bestow her heart — Puppy Vinner. January 7, 1986-January 19, 2003."
These messages are engraved by the owners of one generation of cats (notice the common surname). They have bought a permanent place at the graveside, which they visit occasionally to see that their pets continue to "rest in peace."
The animal organisation also campaigns for humane treatment of animals, especially during slaughter.
In pursuant to this, KSPCA inspectors visit slaughterhouses to encourage the butchers to use methods that do not subject animals to unnecessary pain.
Humane slaughter is a worldwide movement that has taken root in developed countries, but is yet to be embraced in Kenya. Many people still slaughter animals by bashing their heads or necks with axes and machetes.
Gilchrist wonders: "Why should you make an animal’s last moments so painful and fearful?"
She says the best way is to shoot the animal’s forehead with a bullet, which dazes it and leaves it unconscious. It is then slaughtered without feeling any pain.
Then there is the donkey: often regarded as the beast of burden. The donkey is the most abused animal, and is forced to carry heavy loads, lashed, denied food and made to live in unhygienic places.
Fred Atsyiaya, who attends to rescued animals at the KSPCA premises, sheds some light on this trend.
"Not all animals are abused. People don’t mistreat animals kept for meat," he says. "If humans know they will eat the animal later, they treat it well. Only animals such as dogs, cats and donkeys are mistreated."
Atsyiaya says most of the donkeys and horses at the home were forcibly taken away from abusive owners.
Gilchrist and her team were able to do this by invoking the law, which criminalizes mistreatment of animals.
These animals are given out to other people only after an inspection of their would-be living quarters.
"We carry out occasional inspections in homes to see that the animals are not mistreated. If they are abused, we take them away," says Atsyiaya.
A vet who is attached to her ‘patients’
Professor Susan Mbugua opted to be a veterinary doctor because she thought she would not feel the loss if sick animals died. She was wrong.
For the many years that Mbugua has been treating pets, she says their deaths have affected her emotionally because of her attachment to them.
"If you have treated a pet for some time and then it dies, you get sleepless nights. It is just as emotional as treating humans," she says.
Mbugua specialises in treating small animals and also lectures at the University of Nairobi.
And as she has progressed in her career, she has experienced love for "strange" animals.
One day, a man came to her with a snake suffering from a skin condition, and she was overwhelmed with compassion. Another client brought to the Kabete Campus clinic a pet rat, which was diagnosed with cancer.
"We told the man that the rat would not recover from surgery and the option was to kill it. He was so distressed that he walked out without speaking," says Mbugua.
Her "patients" have ranged from wild pigs to lizards and geckoes.
The professor has six dogs, all of which she is attached to.
Mbugua says if you have a pet, you should keep it healthy by vaccinating, de-worming and feeding it well.
"Generally, make ensure it is comfortable even if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on it."
At times, veterinary surgeons have had to administer mercy killing on animals too sick to recover.
