Helping rescued animals reach their full potential

By Dixie Ann Belle

When Elspeth Duncan woke up early one morning and heard a dog crying, her response was typical of her. While someone else might have gone back to sleep, she realised the sound was not just a dog complaining about being locked up.

“I thought ‘No. That’s not a dog in a kennel, that’s a dog in pain’.” She went out into the darkness with a torchlight and searched among the bushes behind her house and found a severely wounded dog that had been chopped and dragged itself into hiding. “It was horrible, horrible,” says Duncan.

Unfortunately, this is not an unusual sight in our country whether it is animals wounded by humans or with bones sticking through their coats or covered with mange.

Sometimes we feel helpless, but Duncan is moved to act. “It’s like a magnet that pulls me to that animal,” she explains, describing her response to their distress.

This is what motivated Duncan to begin rescuing animals and eventually to officially register her non-governmental organisation (NGO), Venus Doggess of Love in Tobago.

Her outreach rescue service has helped hundreds of animals.

While officially a one-woman operation, she is supported by volunteers and donations from animal advocates who are moved by the stories she shares on the NGO’s Facebook page. “Happy ending stories especially with animals really make people feel good,” she observes.

There is unfortunately no shortage of cases in Tobago. Duncan describes a culture which is not strong on animal welfare. “There’s a lot of poisoning of animals,” she notes.

Duncan recognises the promise in the destitute creatures she sees every day. “When I look at an animal I see potential, and I bring that potential out,” she states. “Along with the people that I would work with along the way, we are the ones who can take that animal to its full potential.”

Though she is not Catholic, Duncan feels a very close connection to St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals.

Sometimes during rescues, they call on St Francis for support. “It always feels like that spirit of St Francis is helping, and it’s a very powerful spirit, a powerful energy of healing,” she says.

Whenever an animal under her care travels from Tobago to Trinidad or a foreign land, a St Francis medal is attached to their crate, and the new owner attaches it to their new pet’s collar.

While Duncan shows no sign of tiring, she believes more people should be working to help animals in Trinidad and Tobago. She does not have a dedicated group of volunteers to assist and a lot of the help she has received comes from tourists and a few friends.

She thinks more should be done by authorities. “We should not have stray animals at all,” she says. “I think there should be a massive spay and neuter drive—an ongoing one funded by the government.” She believes that this could help reduce the stray population.

She has practical advice for anyone who wants to help animals in distress or who witness incidents of animal cruelty. She suggests driving around with food, water, and some basic medicines to help strays.

She advises taking animals to vet clinics and asking animal welfare groups for help to get the word out for donations to aid with treatment. “I think a lot of animal rescue groups would appreciate someone who does that.”

She also urges people to take pictures and report incidents of animal cruelty to the police. “There are a lot of crimes committed against animals and they go unpunished.”

Duncan makes these reports and gets a receipt even when police do not want to take the incident seriously. She hopes that even if nothing is done, having the evidence of reports might have an effect someday.

In the meantime, Duncan and her helpers continue to highlight the potential in the neglected and abused animals they rescue.

On the Venus Doggess of Love Facebook page, many of them can be seen transformed, happy, healthy, well cared for and sometimes even surrounded by show dog medals.

Duncan thinks that anyone can also make a difference in this way. “I believe that any work we do which is a great service to other living beings, there’s something divine working through us,” she reflects.

“I am simply a channel, a vessel, and the divine moves through me, that the Creator, that creative energy, moves through me and does everything for me.”

To learn more about the NGO Venus Doggess of Love, visit their Facebook page:

To donate use one of the following options:

OPTION 1:

Pay online via credit card.

Go to Venus Doggess Of Love’s e-commerce payment portal (powered by Fygaro): . The payment will go to the official Venus Doggess Of Love account at Republic Bank.

OPTION 2: Local bank transfer.

Account name: VENUS DOGGESS OF LOVE

Account #: 200 806 920 901, Republic Bank Limited