The Blue Cross and PDSA
While acknowledging that ownership of pets should only be undertaken by those who can afford to look after them, it must be understood that family circumstances can change. A pet becomes a loved and treasured member of the family, forming special relationships with different people, or perhaps with just one person.
When a family falls on hard times, they will do their best to keep their pet. These days, there are food banks not only for people but for animals, too.
In 1897 a group of animal lovers formed ‘Our Dumb Friends League’ to care for working horses in London and encourage kindness to animals. It later became known, in 1958, as The Blue Cross.
In 1900 the society bought the first horse ambulance to carry injured horses to hospital. A year later, it lent sun hats to horses in hot weather to keep them cool. In 1906, the first Blue Cross hospital was opened in Victoria. It has never refused treatment to injured pets.
The Blue Cross Fund was instituted in 1912 to help animals during the Balkan War (1912-1913) It also helped animals in both World Wars (1914-1918, 1939-1945)The Blue Cross continues to care for sick and injured animals and to support their owners.
The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals of the Poor, now known simply as the PDSA, was founded in 1917, during the First World War, by Maria Dickin. When visiting the poor people in the East End of London, she was appalled by the poverty she saw, and the sick and injured pets whose owners could not afford to feed them or pay for treatment for their ailments. She set up a clinic in a basement in Whitechapel to provide free care for dogs and cats in need. The demand was so great that she soon required larger premises and eventually developed a taskforce of mobile vans to travel round the country, dispensing treatment, and medicines.
Today, the PDSA is known as the vet charity for pets in need. It works to keep people and their pets together, believing that poverty should not be an obstacle to owning and loving a pet. It also takes a role in educating children and the wider public about the care and welfare of animals. It has forty-eight veterinary hospitals across the country and those in need can apply to receive free or low-cost treatment for their sick or injured pets.
Maria Dickin spent her life campaigning for the dignified and humane treatment of animals. In 1943, she instituted the Dickin Medal, the animal Victoria Cross for animals who served the country during war.
