At our April meeting, we learned about the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals from Mr Dan Heany – we know it as P.D.S.A. It was the brainchild of Maria Dickin, a middle-class lady who was a professional voice coach until she married, when she gave it up, as was done in those days, and instead did voluntary work helping the poor and sick in London’s East End during the first world war. There were very many working animals there – horses, dogs etc. and they led very hard lives, as did their owners, in that poverty stricken area. The fact that her own dog had been ill and recovered after veterinary treatment made her realise the tremendous need for such treatment to be available to others. She set up the first centre in a small basement in Whitechapel in 1917. All treatment free! ‘Please queue here for treatment’. They did........to such an extent that the police had to come to regulate it!
Well, that was the beginning ninety years ago and now it is the biggest veterinary charity in Great Britain and also in Europe. From the basement it progressed amongst other ways to a travelling treatment centre in a horse drawn caravan, then to vans and, in 1928, opened its first hospital in Ilford. Nowadays, there are 43 PetAid hospitals, the latest one opened last year in Birmingham. In addition, there are a number of well-equipped centres throughout the country served by experienced vets and nurses. Help is given towards the cost of treatment if the owner of the pet qualifies financially for this. This service, of course, costs a lot of money and for this they are completely dependent on public support. They have almost two hundred charity shops, but otherwise they rely on sponsorships, gifts, legacies and so on. A very worthwhile cause and, fortunately, so far they have managed to carry on.
The charity has its own scheme for awarding medals for outstanding bravery – it is the M.D. (Maria Dicken). We heard about the clever dog who, when his disabled owner fell out of the driver’s seat in his car on to his face and could not right himself, managed to turn him back, fetched a blanket to put over him and then, incredibly, got the mobile phone near to the owner’s hand so he could call for help. Unbelievable isn’t it?
What next? Well, we had a go at a quiz that Margaret Harrington had taken a great deal of care to compile. She had cut out a lot of advertisements and hung them round the hall. But , she had carefully erased the name of the suppliers of these items and we had to just write down on our list the name. They were all very well known........but now who was it??? Of course I knew.....it’s just that I couldn’t think of it at that precise moment!! Can I hand in my answer next month??
The competition was for a decorated Easter Egg (any medium). They were all so very well done, some looked professional. Congratulations to all contestants.
1st Margaret Harrington 2nd Lana McMaster
Flower of the month was a narcissus brought by Mary Hyams.
Daphne Little