One of the joys of being your own editor is that you can go off-piste whenever you want, topic wise. I am 99.9% beauty but when it comes to animal welfare, I can have my head turned in a nano-second and actually, it’s thanks to beauty that I know about the The Wild At Heart Foundation.
I met Nikki Tibbles, founder of Wild At Heart floristry (the one right outside Liberty), and co-founder of the Wild At Heart Foundation at a Fresh beauty launch. After the usual pleased-to-meet-you’s and pleasantries, we somehow got onto the subject of dogs. Regular BBB readers will know that I lost one of my dogs last year – I can still hardly bear to talk about it and if I do, tears just leak out of my eyes because I miss her as much today as the very first day. As it happened, Nikki had lost one of her beloved dogs only two weeks earlier, and much to the confusion of the PRs (who handled it very discretely!) we ended up crying on the sofa. It’s not exactly what any PR hopes for – two grown women sobbing over their lost dogs at their event. However, those tears led to a conversation about Nikki’s foundation and I just wanted to share a little bit about the work that the organisation does in rescuing dogs who have little or no hope of ever surviving their current circumstances.
In essence, the Wild At Heart Foundation funds and supports global animal welfare projects and in particular aim to reduce the number of stray dogs (estimated at 600 million, globally). It’s not just dramatic rescues, but education, awareness building and neutering programmes.
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I went a few years ago to Turkey on holiday. I have one lasting memory of that holiday and it’s of a bewildered black Labrador by the side of the road, clearly abandoned. At the time I saw it, I just assumed the owner was in the roadside woods but the horrible truth of abandoned dogs became all too clear when arrived at our resort. I will never go there again. But, before I isolate one particular region, this happens everywhere in the world, including here. The problem is neutering – many cultures, with all the good intention in the world, feel neutering damages the dogs. Consequently, dogs are allowed to do what dogs do, over and over again, with no hope of ever being able to home the ensuing puppies who literally have to scrabble in the rubbish for survival. And that’s if they’re lucky enough to be born anywhere near some rubbish.
In the UK, we have laws that protect animals to a certain degree – in other parts of the world, no such laws exist. The Wild At Heart Foundation focusses on animals in Romania, Greece, Cyprus and Bosnia to name but a few. Often, dogs are brought back to the UK for re-homing. There are some beautiful success stories HERE.
I still find it very difficult, and always have, to understand those who cannot show kindness and compassion to animals. But those people exist everywhere in the world and it’s up to us, those who really care, to take every measure to help charities such as the Wild At Heart Foundation to scoop up those animals and find a better way for them to live. I like to think there are more people that respect and nurture animals than don’t and in some far off karma that balance will eventually show.
If you’d like to donate you can do so HERE. I know I am a better person for having dogs in my life – they have brought so much joy to our family over the years, teaching my children about kindness, responsibility, fun and loyalty. Those silly little poodles and their huge, human loving hearts.
*Thank you Fresh for introducing Nikki and I. Your Rose serum has brought much joy already!
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