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The Animal Action Awards 2009

October each year brings IFAWs (the International Fund for Animal Welfare) Animal Action Awards. In 2008 I was very honoured to receive their vet of the year award. 2009 brings some very worthy winners indeed whose stories are below. I’m lucky enough to have met Pen Farthing and heard firsthand about his amazing work with the dogs of Afghanistan and, having spoken to George Lightfoot about his trip to the Mdzananda clinic before he went to South Africa, I’m really pleased to see him getting this year’s volunteer award. Congratulations to all being recognised for such great work; you’re an inspiration to many.

PETS AND PEOPLE AWARD

Pen Farthing

Pen Farthing, 40, from Devon, is a true animal hero who rescues street dogs from Afghanistan war zones. Former Marine Sergeant Pen set up the charity Nowzad Dogs after being moved by the plight of abandoned and mistreated dogs whilst on a tour of duty in the Now Zad area of Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, almost three years ago.

Pet dogs in Afghanistan are often left to fend for themselves on the streets as local people flee from the war. Many dogs are then used by gangs for organised dog fights which results in serious injury or death. After Pen intervened to stop one such fight and free the victims, one of the dogs involved (later nicknamed Nowzad) found its way to Pen’s marine compound. Others soon followed, including a young stray female, later named Tali, who also crawled under the gate to safety, after carefully carrying through each of her six newborn pups, one by one.

Pen and his fellow marines began feeding and caring for these strays and even built them their own underground mortar shelter. Worried what would happen to the dogs when the time came for the marines to leave three months later, Pen began to look into ways to move the dogs out of Now Zad to an animal shelter in a safer area in the far north of the country, with help from his Navy wife Lisa back in the UK.

While most of the dogs cared for at the base were eventually moved to the shelter for rehoming, Nowzad had struck a particularly special chord with Pen who decided to adopt him and take him home to a better life in the UK. As news of Pen and Lisa’s efforts spread back home, donations began to trickle in and they set up the official charity Nowzad Dogs to fund the work. Pen has since retired from service and devotes much of his time to running the charity with assistance from Lisa. While the main aim is to rescue strays for rehoming within Afghanistan, the couple also adopted Tali. One of Tali’s puppies, Helmand, was also brought to the UK where he lives with Lisa’s parents.

The charity, www.nowzaddogs.co.uk continues to support work to rescue dogs in need all over Afghanistan and to improve educational opportunities for potential vets in the country.

LIFETIME DEDICATION AWARD

Ernie Clark and (recently deceased) Paula Clark

This year’s lifetime dedication award goes to husband and wife Ernie (83) and Paula Clark, from Dagenham, Essex. Very sadly, since being told they were to receive the award just a few weeks ago, Paula, who was suffering from cancer, passed away last month aged 76.

Paula’s award is therefore being awarded posthumously and Ernie is to receive their awards in Paula’s memory.

The couple, who had been married for 51 years, had devoted more than 30 years to rescuing animals, running sanctuaries in various venues before setting up Hopefield Animal Sanctuary in Brentwood. During this time, they have rescued and cared for thousands of sick and abandoned animals, from rabbits to dogs, cats and horses.

The couple recently renewed their wedding vows at Hopefield and Ernie has vowed to keep the sanctuary running in his wife’s memory. The centre currently cares for around 200 horses, ponies, goats, pigs and other animals and relies on donations.

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD

George Lightfoot

Earlier this year vet George Lightfoot (29), from Suffolk, responded to an urgent appeal from celebrity vet Emma Milne for veterinary help and spent three weeks volunteering at the Mdzananda animal clinic just outside Cape Town, in one of South Africa’s most impoverished communities. The clinic, a project run by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), operates from six recycled shipping containers and provides a vital full-time veterinary service to a community of more than one million people who could otherwise not afford care for their pets.

During his time at the clinic, George helped administer the many services for dogs and cats provided by Mdzananda, from dipping, deworming and vaccinating animals to carrying out sterilising operations and treating and caring for dogs with serious diseases never or rarely seen in England, including babesia and distemper.

George said: “During my visit, I realised that the relationship between people and their pets in these communities where often people have so little is vitally important.”

Working at Mdzananda was George’s second volunteer job – the first was in Morocco, where he cared for domestic donkeys. George is now living in London and working at a small animal veterinary practice in Croydon.

George was chosen to receive the award because as well as impressing staff at the clinic with his dedication, he worked hard to promote IFAW’s volunteer programme in the media once he returned to the UK, encouraging other young graduate vets to follow his path.

YOUTH AWARD

Megan Brownrigg and Hannah Dewhurst

Hannah Dewhurst and Megan Brownrigg are two 17-year-old A-Level students from Northamptonshire who have spent huge amounts of time and energy organising fundraising events for a variety of animal welfare causes.

These include planning and running a dog show, a sponsored walk, a car boot sale, a school auction and three successful Christmas parties for IFAW, RSPCA, PDSA, Dogs Trust and Cavy Rescue.

At every event the girls have made sure they have literature and images from their charity of choice and have engaged friends, family and the local community in their fundraising activities and the animal causes behind them.

An IFAW ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Christmas party last year took months of planning and preparation and after a short break to complete their GCSE exams this summer the girls hope to start work on their next fundraising mission soon. Dedicated animal lovers, they are both interested in a future career connected to animal welfare.

ANIMAL RESCUE AWARD

Jamie and Heather Dyer

Husband and wife team Jamie (42) and Heather Dyer (36), work around the clock to care for and rehabilitate rescued seals at the Highland Seals Hospital in Scotland run by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR). The marine charity BDMLR heads up the largest voluntary marine mammal rescue team in the UK helping save cetaceans around the UK’s coastline, mainly seals, whales and dolphins.

In 2004, with the aid of a grant from IFAW, BDMLR set up its own small seal rehabilitation unit near John O’Groats in the far north of Scotland, backed up with a quad bike to rescue seals from remote beaches. Jamie Dyer, who had previously worked in wildlife rescue of kangaroos and koalas in his native Australia, became manager of the centre after catching the eye of BDMLR due to his enthusiasm for seals and gentle approach at a sea life centre where he was working when he first came to the UK.

Along with wife Heather, they devote round-the-clock care to the seals which can often need lengthy rehabilitation after rescue to ensure they can survive once released.

Heather has battled with kidney problems over the last four years and a few months ago underwent a kidney transplant. Having to be careful of the risks of infection from the seals, Heather is now back at work after making a full recovery. The couple married earlier this year and both continue to give 100% to the seals.

INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL WELFARE AWARD

Andre Majerski

Andre (61) is an equine dentist from north Wales. Despite spending all his working hours treating rescued horses, donkeys and ponies in the UK, he still devotes his annual summer holiday to helping neglected and abused horses and donkeys abroad. Andre travels to the Greek islands each year to treat some of the neediest cases in Zakinthos, Kefalonia and Crete. Many of those he treats are working animals or are kept for tourist photo opportunities but most receive minimal care. In fact, some of their teeth are in such a bad state that, unable to eat, they are slowly starving.

Andre says he has always loved animals and decided to train as an equine dentist because he gets real satisfaction from treating an animal and leaving it in a better condition than when it was brought to him.

He was nominated for his award by staff from Freshfields Animal Rescue in north Wales who were impressed by his kind and caring approach to the animals.

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