Animal attraction:the Gibraitai I ISPCA chairwoman

Everyone knows her from her Main Street 'conversations' with waggingtailed four-pawed friends or as the friendly voice at the other end of the Society's hotline, but now the Gibraltar Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals chairwoman Barbara Dunn has been publicly recognised for her sterling eleven-year long service and will receive the Gibraltar Award from ^ the Governor in early spring in a formal ceremony at the Convent.

"The award is mostly (and deserv edly so)to the Society rather than a singledout member, but since it can be bestowed only upon persons and not associations, I suppose they chose me because I am the longest serving member as well as the current chairwoman," says Barbara Dunn — long time server, first time award receiver stressing that the GSPCA achieve ments in Gibraltar are the result of a cohesive committee and involved members, as ready and pro-active as she is to support animal welfare and cmelty prevention in Gibraltar.

"Sometimes I feel guilty because I am the only one in the committee not to be a resolute vegetarian," she admits, "but 1 believe that some animals are created herbivores and some aren't — we just aren't!"

This effervescent Scottish lady, Gibraltarian for almost four dec ades, who every morning goes to Engineer's car park to feed the stray cats, has a pretty much hands-on approach to animal issues in Gibral tar, being available to be contacted for any enquiry or report and work ing closely with the animal shelters.

Barbara has seen many improve ments in local animal welfare,from the employment of an in-house vet erinarian to the micro-chipping and 'passport'system,to the dangerous dogs ordinance(although it hasn't in her opinion been completely ful filled and some dangerous dogs are still around),to the recent appoint ment ofan inspector on a six-month contract.

"A lot has changed since 1 started — when we didn't have a vet, ma jor operations and neutering relied on the arrival of the Forces vet every six weeks or on visiting globetrotter vets, and pet care was limited to worm pills and minor stitching procedures, unfortunately leading to having to put to sleep many cases which could have been saved by a resident vet!" Barbara recalls.

Herself the owner of two cats, which seldom leave her apartment, Barbara admits that in Gibraltar life is 'ruff for pels, particularly dogs, because they are usually confined to small flats and leashed short walks, with little chance to enjoy a wild run in an open grassy space.

Before buying a pet, many factors mustbe weighed carefully,not least the extra costs it might add to your budget for its care; food, vaccina tions, insurance, transport...

Then you must adjust your life style to accommodate its necessi ties: a dog needs more company than a cat and shouldn't be left home alone for long hours, and feeding routinesshould be adhered to regularly.

You must also take into account the eventual dam ages to the furniture and unexpected ex penses in case of sick ness or accident, but most importantly ^Pk you must be always able to guarantee your petsuitable accommodation when you are away on vaca tion.

Also, before buying your chil dren a pet,assess their level ofcom mitment and understanding of the responsibilities entailed.

Once they prove themselves mo tivated, you might as well check their allergies, because the last thing you want is to be forced to give up your child's adored pet be cause dog's or cat's hairs have transformed your soft furniture into an asthma trap!

Barbara also invites people who for any reason cannot look after their pets anymore to hand them to the GSPCA instead of dumping them somewhere or letting them stray. The GSPCA will make every effort to re-home healthy animals and save unwanted puppies and kittens.

She ensures that no animal is put to sleep unnecessarily — anyway, being put to sleep by the vet is a much more humane end than be ing crushed alive in the rubbish truck after having been chucked in the dumpster!

But compared to the UK or the rest of the world, cruelty cases are just minor in Gibraltar. Attending an RSPCA conference at the Albert Hall ten years ago, Barbara was struck by the account of extreme brutality episodes registered worldwide.

Appearances can be deceiving, though: one alleged cruelty case turned out to be less ghastly than forecast when two scruffy dogs were found living in a filthy house, yet in healthy conditions and not afraid of human contact.

"What strikes me is that, no mat ter how severely they arc abused, .logs don't usually hold a grudge towards humansin general and demonstrate affection to their rescuers. I had a touching ex perience with a big dog kept in such a state ofstar vation that, when freed, it was so hun-At ^ gry it had to stop on the way to lick a ba- ' nanaskin — still, it was so friendly and affectionate with whomever spared him a cuddle!"

So there you have it. Like pets, the Gibraltar Award is given (well, announced)at Christmas, but it is for life — for lifelong accom plishments that make ordinary people extraordinary.