Dear Editor,
On March 31, 2010 Guyana Times published a letter under the title, ‘Manbodh is more than public image,’ in which the writer declared that:
(1) “…many of us wonder at Manbodh’s sanity and mental equilibrium when we see her at all hours of the night and early morning, racing after every and any dog with large syringes in hand”; and (2) “Manbodh employs two street persons to go in her pickup at night, syringe in hand, to reduce the population of stray dogs.”
The letter I found rather amusing since it was so far from the truth that I am sure the ‘peeping tom’ who wrote it is in need of a better quality pair of binoculars.
What really concerned me, however, is the irresponsibility of the editor of the Guyana Times in allowing such ‘accusations’ – bordering on, if not constituting, libel – against me to be published. It speaks volumes about the paper’s journalistic standards to allow an attack on a private citizen, identified by name, by a person who hides behind anonymity.
Permit me to respond to the charges I referred to at the beginning of this letter, beginning first with the reference to the two “street persons” supposedly in my employ. These unemployed young men – as well as others in less fortunate circumstances – are always on the lookout, on my behalf, for animals in distress.
For example, on March 16, 2010, one of the young men came to my gate and told me of a starving, abandoned pitbull wandering on Quamina Street; when we found her, she was skeletal, but very friendly, so we took her to the GSPCA where she is now recovering. She will be spayed and hopefully relocated into a loving home. The young man was paid a small sum for his assistance.
I should point out that over the years some of these “street persons” have helped me clean up the manatee pond and feed the manatees; and rescue birds, a sloth and many sick and abused animals.
Regarding the timing of my volunteer work, most of it occurs during daylight hours. However, if friends call me at night or early in the morning about an animal in distress I nearly always respond, although “all hours of the night and early morning” is stretching the truth. For example, when animal lover Noreen Gaskin, called me, not so recently, just after 5.30pm about a sick dog at Cyril Potter College of Education, it took a while to find the animal which was in a washroom two levels up where he had dragged his bleeding body.
His neck had been eaten away by maggots and the smell was unbearable; luckily I found someone to help me take the kennel up and down the steps. The dog was taken to a private clinic and put to sleep. Noreen paid for the euthanasia. That rescue took me over an hour – and it was dark when I returned home – but my work was not finished since I still had to sterilise my kennel. My reward – the animal had to suffer no more.
I’m sorry if such activities are upsetting to the letter-writer, but to call into question my sanity with my commitment to my voluntary work as the only “evidence” would cause any objective observer to question the motives of this anonymous neighbour of mine.
I would like to invite the letter-writer to join me on one of my trips around the city to rescue animals in distress. The ‘female’ letter-writer might learn something about compassion and ‘she’ most certainly would learn that what ‘she’ calls a large syringe is merely an animal snare, used to handle the most vicious dogs.
The resident of Queens-town would also learn that I do not “race” after dogs. When I catch dogs I use food to lure them inside a large kennel to minimize their stress and a cement sling to tie them. I then transport them to the GSPCA or a veterinary clinic; they decide what actions should be taken. Injecting a dog with a syringe, even a small one, is beyond my ability.
Yours faithfully,
Syeada Manbodh
