And they WILL have…..

Maria was a passionate advocate for animal welfare. Much of the year she spent in her Mayfair London townhouse, but the rest was made up of visits to Greece, where she had a second home. These visits were always for the benefit of the stray cats and dogs, and a veterinary surgeon and nurse were engaged for the purpose of neutering as many as possible. Maria’s house was a large sprawling building that had once been a very up-market property. All the bedrooms had a connecting door to a “dressing room”. Some were “en suite” such was the opulence, but I guess it was starting to show its age as the lady of the house spent most of her time in England it was not surprising that the furnishings were starting to look a little dated. The one very unusual thing was the house benefited from a fully equipped veterinary operating theatre. One of the advantages of money!!

Maria had dual nationality having both Greek and English parents, and was rumoured to be an excellent cook, but sadly she was far too busy to prepare meals.  Breakfast was the standard cereal or toast, whilst lunch and tea were delivered from the local restaurant. We could all order whatever took our fancy from a menu, and I must confess I took full advantage but, of course, suffered in the waistline department!!

Lack of animal welfare

There wasn’t a recognised animal welfare group in her area. Still, it appeared that her intermittent arrival inspired the local populace to engage with her, and an army of volunteers suddenly sprang from nowhere to assist. Without prompting, they scoured the local area for stray dogs and cats, separating each from its reproductive organs. This ensured that the females could live a life knowing that, at regular intervals, they would not be pounced on by the males and forced to raise another litter of kittens or puppies. And as to the males, they could not impregnate the females, their hormones would calm down, and they would be less likely to get involved in fights which sometimes resulted in appalling injuries. Because stray animals don’t receive veterinary attention and are left untreated, these injuries become infected and often lead to premature death.

This was my first visit to this particular area in Greece, so I was totally unprepared for the rather unusual practice that took place in the event of an animal being put to sleep.

Beyond help

As in most neutering sessions, one or more animals are often found that are beyond help. Their advanced age and deteriorating health can only have one outcome, the animal is unlikely to survive a surgical procedure, and even if it did, putting it back on the streets to die would be cruel.

On this occasion, it was a dog, hideously thin with an inoperable tumour. The veterinary surgeon sadly shook her head and preceded to administer the lethal dose, which for this dog was a merciful release. It was a fairly large dog, probably Labrador size.

What followed was certainly an eye-opener for me. We all have our priorities, that’s human nature, and I was to be introduced to something that I had never seen before.

The vet gave me my instructions, and I was informed that I was to assist Maria in her self-appointed task and only return when it was complete.

I was instructed to carry the body to a small ante-room where there was a table and a pile of what appeared to be white pillowcases of various sizes and some white sheets.

The Ceremony

Maria followed me in and asked me to wait as she would return shortly. She came back after several minutes clutching a bunch of flowers. Maria then proceeded to take a brush and remove any debris that was attached to the deceased dog’s coat, and a damp cloth was used to remove any detritus from the face, particularly around the eyes. We placed him in a very large pillowcase, and I was asked to lift his head. Maria then laid a carpet of flowers where his head would lay and then gently laid his head on the flowers. The rest of the flowers were placed on top of his body and the pillow case closed. This procedure was carried out with reverence, in almost total silence and finished with the request.

“Would you be so kind as to take him to my car and lay him on the back seat?”

I did this and immediately returned to the operating room to continue assisting the veterinary surgeon.

“Did you know what was going happen?” I asked.

“Yes, it occurs every time with every animal.”

I spread my hands in a questioning way expecting further explanation.

The reply came swiftly.

“She will tell you in her own time and in her own way.”

It had been an exceptionally busy day and our supper that evening was taken rather late. It was then that  Maria volunteered an explanation. I realised that in fact that I didn’t need one, and I hadn’t asked, figuring that it was a personal matter, but I had recognised that the ritual was tremendously important to her. I had at first thought that Maria had strong religious beliefs, which prompted this course of action, but this was not the case.

The explanation, when it came, was delivered in an unemotional voice, seemingly without rancour or pity, but the lady’s eyes betrayed her. The anger that she felt at the way people treated stray animals was evident.

“You see, these poor creatures have no dignity in life, but I make sure that they are buried on my land, they will never be disturbed, they will be treated with respect, and they WILL have dignity in death.”