With the kind help of the managers of Olympian City II, who opened the doors of their outside piazza, we had over 200 volunteers, media, friends and supporters celebrating the irreplaceable link between dogs and people.
There, wearing their protective flame-proof booties, were the fire services dogs. They were joined by the heroes of the customs drug detection dogs, police services and the food detection sniffer dogs.
Volunteers streamed in with newly bathed and shining Dr Dogs and Professor Paws, together with youngsters from the Ma On Shan Ling Liang Primary School, who bravely ventured on to the stage to sing the now-famous Animals Asia Pet Cadet Song!
The day was glorious – clear blue skies and sunshine, and lots of laughter and clapping as all the recipients proudly took to the stage to receive their awards. Long service, professional, devotion, outstanding dogs, teachers and volunteers, until finally the saddest moment of the day – the posthumous Dr Dog awards.
Well we knew it would be difficult, but nothing prepared me for the emotion felt when our volunteers stood in front of the audience - without their beloved dogs by their side - and accepted their awards. Janice (pictured with me here) accepted hers in memory of Dr Toby, as did Doris for Dr Audi and Annie for another Dr Toby and not a dry eye in the house as they sadly left the stage.
Memories of losing Max, our first Dr Dog who began the programme in 1991, came flooding back and we were united in grief.
Thank you all for the difference you have made and for everything you and your very special dogs have done for their species and for the community – gone but never forgotten, as their legacy lives on.
Dog Devotion Awards, Part III – Fur fallacies
China dogs have their day!
Share this article with your friends            | Donate to bear rescue appeal |
Just before I left home on the morning of our Dog Devotion Awards in Hong Kong, I asked Eddie what he would like me to say in my welcoming speech. “Well,” he said thoughtfully, “you could say that we dogs want more rights. For example, we want the right to have our tummies scratched whenever we roll over. We want the right to share your biscuits, to run on the beach whenever the sun shines, and the right to drink the water out of the toilet bowl without you people screaming in disgust!”
Eddie was really warming to his subject – “We want the right to decide whether a bath is really necessary, we want the right to steal the cat food, to walk in the rain and the right to sleep by your bed at night.”
“OK,” I said. “Just supposing we gave you these rights. What do we get out of this deal?”
At that point Eddie turned away and was silent for a while. When he finally looked up into my eyes he said quietly.
“In fact we just want food, shelter and love – and, in return, you get what you’ve always had. You get a friend who has lived with you for 14,000 years, who loves you unconditionally, who lives to be part of your family. You get a protector, who will warn you of danger, will let you know if a fire has started in your house, or if a stranger is at your door.
You get a hero who guards your life utterly, unselfishly with his. You get a friend who works the world over to please you humans. You get a friend that is all too often rewarded with being abandoned, neglected, tortured, killed and eaten.”
“OK,” I said to Eddie, “I understand the message – it’s simple isn’t it. This is the day when we have our best chance of giving dogs in Asia what they need most of all – a voice. Where we encourage people to love and respect dogs – and cats – in the knowledge that our lives are richer – and safer – from being in your company. This is the day when we can put our wrongs to right.”
To all of the Dr Dog heroes we honoured at our Devotion Awards, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and we promise to help you every bit as hard as you’ve always helped us.
Heartfelt thanks to the Police Dogs, to the Fire Service dogs, to our Dr Dogs and our Professor Paws, and to our volunteers, and hospitals and homes in the community welcoming the presence of our four-legged best friends.
To Hong Kong celebrity Gigi Fu – and to our amazing Doctor Dog and Professor Paws staff, Marnie, Cassy, Jasmine and Claire - and to all in our Animals Asia family – you are the change for dogs and cats in Asia and together we can change their world for the better.
Dog Devotion Awards, Part II – For the love of dogs
China dogs have their day!
| Share this article with your friends | Donate to bear rescue appeal |
Two new bears have joined our Animals Asia family – a young female in China and a middle-aged male in Vietnam. I’ll write more in my next blog about the tragic story of “Misa Hai” in Vietnam, who was kept in a terrible, dark cage for 14 years.
First, let me introduce our lovely new cub, (nicknamed “Jingle”) and tell you about her dramatic rescue from a tree-top! Here’s a summary of the rescue report that I sent to staff:
“Rainbow received a call on Sunday (just after I arrived back into Chengdu) saying that a cub was high up in a tree in Xinfan (a small village near our rescue centre). Within 30 minutes, our Project Director Boris had gathered his team, Vet Jen hers, and we were speeding on our way to the area.
'High in a tree' was the understatement of the year – the cub was 12 metres up and not for coming down – particularly as the whole population of Xinfan and every other village in the area had gathered below to take in this unexpected sight. Hundreds of spectators, government officials, media cameras and even a puppy tearing around in excitement saw this as the highlight of the year. Meanwhile our Animals Asia team gathered thoughts and worked through a plan.
Lower branches were cropped away before Rocky climbed up a ladder and tied a rope around the tree. Although we’d been told this was a cub, she looked huge, high up in the branches, as the late afternoon light turned into dusk.
Jen and Wendy began loading the blow dart with drugs, while the ladder was moved and tied against an adjacent tree. Then, as Jen slowly ascended, Howard, Rocky, Ai, Xie Ming Yang, and more strong men began to pull on the rope to lower the tree holding the bear, in order to bring her more safely to the ground, and into Jen's range.
The darts were expertly fired but, not surprisingly, just missed their mark as the distance, branches and fading light played against Jen’s aim. After about 30 minutes and, as it was getting dark, the decision was made to pull the tree even lower to the ground, knowing that this risked it breaking, and the cub falling down.
Boris organised a net and duvet, which were placed just below and the boys pulled gently, but hard, on the rope. A terrific crack, the tree broke in two and the cub tumbled into the net. At that point a surge of media ran forward (despite poor translator Wen Yan trying heroically to keep the crowd at bay) and, in the mayhem, the terrified cub broke free and began to run for her life.
Within seconds, the duvet was recovered and with lightening speed the boys had pinned the wriggling cub safely to the ground, while Jen broke through the crowd with her syringe of anaesthetic, sending her into a gentle sleep.
After about 10 minutes the boys were able to relax their grip, and we had our first peek at our new family member. With adult teeth just through, she would be six months of age, but out of the tree, she was clearly tiny and considerably underweight for her age. She was also missing her front right paw and had obviously been captured for, or escaped from, a bear farm. Our team carried her over to the truck and loaded her safely into a recovery cage where Jen could then get a proper look and monitor her recovery from the anaesthetic.
Absolutely adorable with a tiny Douglas-shaped crescent, but an attitude growing bigger by the second as she slowly woke up, and began huffing indignantly as we arrived back at base.
A few minutes later, in the quietness of the quarantine polytunnels, her head plunged into her feeding bowl as she greedily sampled the first delights of a proper diet, before demanding more.
As always, so proud of our team – each and every one who dealt with the rescue, the media, the journey and the arrival home, and the ongoing tender loving care of this one lucky cub."
In fact, there is just so much that goes into even a relative simple rescue like this. As well as the “frontline” vet and operational staff, there’s also much preparation work going on behind the scenes:
The bear horticultural team set to work immediately giving the quarantine area a thorough clean and moving heavy cages; stores and maintenance staff readied quarantine boots, shoe covers and cleaning supplies, and prepared extra lighting as darkness approached; our wonderful chef and bear kitchen staff prepared delicious food for both hungry staff and our ravenous new arrival; Security staff braved the freezing outdoors to wait for "Jingle" to arrive; and translators, vet nurses, bear managers and volunteers all pitched in too – making sure everything went smoothly!
And this little cub's story got a great run in the Chinese media!
Please check back soon for the shameful story of "Misa Hai", who spent years being milked for his bile in a dark, dismal cage in a Vietnamese house.
| Share this article with your friends | Donate to bear rescue appeal |
Earlier this month, our amazing Italian office helped to organise the most beautiful concert for our bears: “Uno Stradivari per la Luna” (A Stradivari for the Moon).
The concert was held on Friday 6th November at Carlo Felice Opera House in Genoa and was organised by our Animals Asia office in Italy in cooperation with the Carlo Felice Foundation, the Genoa Science Festival, and the Pro Canale Foundation (responsible for the conservation and management of one of the most important collection of musical instruments in the world), which provided the Stradivari violin.
Carmen, who represents us in Italy, gave an inspiring speech with the concluding words:
“Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods? Draw near them then in being merciful. Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.” – William Shakespeare (Titus Andronicus)
And then the concert began with Maestro Pavel Berman (solo Violin and Conductor), with the Violin Antonio Stradivari, Cremona 1716, Marechal Berthier, owned by Alexandre Berthier, Marshal of France and Prince of Neuchatel, who was given the precious instrument by Napoleon Bonaparte, probably as booty from the war in Spain (the violin is worth 3 million euros);
The programme featured Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Ouverture Le Ebridi / Concerto per violino e orchestra op.64 in mi minore; Johannes Brahms, Sinfonia n.3 in fa maggiore op.90.
Attended by Gill from our UK office, the pictures speak for themselves. Carmen, Irene, Antonello and team bless your hearts for so tirelessly helping to organise a performance where Delaney – our gorgeous “wuss” of a bear – took centre stage.
Here’s what Gill wrote about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share wonderful music for the love of bears:
2009 has been an incredibly busy year for my lovely Italian colleagues and it reached a massive crescendo on Friday with their spectacular Stradivari concert in Genoa in aid of the bears, which I was privileged to attend.
I was completely speechless (a rarity I know!) when the full orchestra started to play, and with Delaney overseeing proceedings it was incredibly powerful and emotional, something I will never forget. I only wish everyone could have experienced it. Well done Italy it was an incredible evening. You should be very proud!! Big love Gill x
Although I had to miss the concert, I was in Genoa for the press conference at the beautiful Theatre Standard, which proudly hung from its façade the concert poster featuring our lovely China bear Lexa. Here with our Italian Director Irene, Animal Welfare Director Dave and Carmen:
Below is the poster in close-up. I thought you might also enjoy the fabulous invitation (featuring Bao Be) and programme cover (featuring Delaney). And just look at how the foyer was decorated with giant-sized photos of our bears:
| Share this article with your friends | Donate to bear rescue appeal |
Just recently we proudly welcomed our UK trekkers on site in Vietnam. These unsung heroes had trekked over inhospitable terrain for lengths of anything up to 10 hours a day to raise money for the bears, and arrived with us exhausted, but unbowed.
Over the years, they have loyally and tirelessly stayed with Animals Asia – dreaming up ever more crazy and adventurous ways of raising precious funds. Lovely Sarah, Linda and Louise even braved skydiving in the spring, and the pictures made me shudder as their frozen smiles did a sterling job of masking the fear they must have been feeling at the time.
And here they were – joined by Sue, Dave, Oliver, Bernie, Cheryl, Aileen, Jane, Frances, Lou, Aga, Cathy, Louise and Kate – all with big beaming smiles as they met the rescued bears for the very first time.
We had a fantastic few hours together as our visitors first knuckled down to create enrichment toys for the bears, who would soon be ripping into cardboard boxes filled with a smorgasbord of nuts, seeds, fruit, honey, peanut butter and chocolate sauce. Here's Frances working hard and in the next pic, Oliver and Sue (with camera).
Sarah (below) even kindly taste-tested the chocolate sauce first!):
Vet Leanne and Bear Managers Belinda and Russell enthusiastically guided them through the various bear areas and gave an overview of their day-to-day work and responsibilities. And then of course it was the bears’ turn to take the stage and show themselves off as only these consummate actors can.
I thought everyone in the group would pop with excitement as they fed cubs Maggie, Angus and Taurus with small pieces of fruit and gushed about their soft, pink lips. The three little delinquents couldn’t get enough of all the attention and of course they stole the show.
Young Olly, who himself was a cub only two years ago, happily strolled over to the front of his den to say hi to his beaming sponsor, Oliver. Sleek and handsome, our gorgeous juvenile was a perfect example of how good food and heaps of tender, loving care can change the lives of skinny, terrified cubs destined for a life on the farms.
Linda had her “moment of a lifetime” when she met her Southampton group’s sponsored bear, Irwin Junior – named in memory of Steve Irwin. Aileen then met Mausi, who also arrived as a cub two years ago and is now glossy and glowing with health and befriended by Aileen’s granddaughter’s Hermitage School.
Tuan, our thoughtful Vietnam Director had worked with staff Yen and Nhung, and part-time volunteer Vanessa Seguin, to create some beautiful Vietnamese lacquer picture files and our guests were thrilled with their memento of the day.
And at this point I’m turning over the rest of today’s blog to Sue, who wrote a beautiful update after she returned home. We loved having you all on site – come back soon!
From Sue:
“What an experience. We saw the most amazing sights up in the northern hills – from majestic water buffalo to comical Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs – and stayed with host families, including a delightful family from the Red Dao tribe, one of several colourful ethnic minority communities that inhabit this area of Vietnam. Oh, and we stumbled across some rather revolting leeches that attached themselves to our walking boots and tee shirts.
There were fifteen trekkers in all and we crossed dodgy suspension bridges and fast-flowing rivers and ducked beneath row upon row of massive spider webs (quite an ordeal for one trekker who is arachnophobic), walking for up to 10 hours a day on occasions. On the final day we visited Animals Asia’s moon bear sanctuary in Vietnam, which is located in the beautiful Tam Dao National Park, a couple of hours from Hanoi.
There were tears of anticipation days beforehand, so you can imagine the emotion on the day! Jill and her team made us feel so welcome – in fact, we were made to feel as if we’d just completed Everest, and for some of us, that’s exactly how it felt.
The cubs were a delight, romping around in their pens without a care in the world. For those of us who had befriended a bear or who were lucky enough to have named a bear (Oliver’s magnificent Olly for example), it was an unforgettable experience.
We had seen these beautiful animals on the internet, but nothing quite prepares you for meeting them in the flesh. They looked so contented, ripping their way through the enrichment goodies we’d been invited to prepare for them earlier – honey brought over specially from England, along with nuts and raisins and a host of other treats. It was a delight to see their obvious joy at being free from fear and pain. It just makes you want to walk a hundred more miles to bring this miserable bear bile trade to an end.”
| Share this article with your friends | Donate to bear rescue appeal |
Next Previous
Calendar