Winella Cameron-Greene, who turned her Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo home into a temporary animal sanctuary, will next Sunday December 15, lead a five-kilometre walk to raise awareness of animal cruelty. Assembly starts at 6.30 am at the Umana Yana. People are asked to walk with placards or banners.
Cameron-Greene, 27, of Furever Hope Alive, Animal Rescue Sanctuary Inc, told Stabroek Weekend: “The walk, which starts at the Umana Yana in Kingston, Georgetown, is to raise awareness about animal cruelty, such as beating animals, straying animals, letting horses fetch weights above what is required of them and many other acts of cruelty that people do not know animals experience”.
This is the second year for the walk, which is being held under the theme, ‘Animals Lives Matter. Stop the Abuse’.
“Last year, we attracted a small group. We’re hoping more people this year will take part. Not many will want to wake up early to walk for animals’ cause,” she noted.
Expected to take part in the walk, which is scheduled to start at 7 am, is animal activist from Trinidad and Tobago, Carol Sarwansingh, the chief executive officer of Bismarck Technology and Learning Institution.
Sarwansingh is offering anyone taking part in the walk a free online tuition voucher to study an information technology course at Bismarck Technology and Learning Institution. She is also expected to present awards to some people who have assisted Furever Hope Alive’s efforts to save animals from cruelty.
Those efforts included Cameron-Greene and her husband Allan Greene intervening in two cases in which dogs were being buried alive. One incident took place in Leguan and the other in Parfaite Harmonie.
“The man who buried the dog halfway in a grave in Parfaite Harmony was abusive to his dog. We were told he was also abusive to his wife. We couldn’t rescue the dog without the police intervention. We rescued another that was buried halfway by the seawall in Leguan. She had no owner. Unfortunately, she didn’t survive. Her spine was injured in several places because of her struggle to get out of the grave. She was euthanised,” Cameron-Greene said.
She added that her husband has been her main support since she began rescuing animals in 2019. “Every time I say Al, there is an animal in need of help, he is always there,” she said.
Furever Hope Alive posts stories on Facebook to educate the public on cruelty to animals and what could be done to save them.
“We have never been threatened physically although people might show some forms of hostility, and we have called in the police to assist,” she related.
The sanctuary at their home in Tuschen, she said, is a temporary location.
“We have a space limitation so we cannot take in a lot,” she said. “We focus mainly on injured animals and animals that are very sick. In the past if we were driving and we saw a stray cat or a stray dog we stopped, picked it up and brought it home. We had to stop that when we didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. We had to release some of the animals to the Guyana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals because at that time we had about 50 dogs and 48 cats and one donkey. Right now, we have 20 dogs and 15 cats waiting to be homed.”
She said that also because of the lack of funds, it made no sense to try to house many animals when they could not get homes for them and they struggled to get meals to feed them.
“People generally don’t donate to animals that are healthy. They would more donate for a sick animal. We just work on the injured animals, focus on their recovery and then find homes for them,” she said.
She noted that other organisations pick up any animal off the road and find homes for them. “We cannot do that because of space. We get them veterinary treatment and when they recover, we find a home for them. I want to do what I am doing on a larger scale. I don’t want to help just a few at a time. Sometimes I look after five sick ones at the same time.”
On Wednesday lasr, she was looking after one that required eye-removal surgery and another with mange. If someone calls in with several more cases, she said, she will not have accommodation for them.
Cameron-Greene had applied for land in 2019 through the Guyana Land and Survey Commission to house a sanctuary.
“In June this year, they called us,” she added. “We paid the inspection fees, and we are now waiting. They said they would give us some lands on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. Once we get through with that, we will build the rehabilitation centre there, accommodate a vet clinic and do other things for the welfare of animals. That’s why I need a larger space. We will continue to treat the sick and injured animals in Tuschen.”
Awaiting homes
At present Furever Hope Alive is housing over 30 animals that were chopped, burnt or had other ailments that are recovered and waiting to be homed.
“So far, we did two amputations. One of the owners left a wire tied around the leg of a dog, White Girl, and the leg started to rot. The vet amputated that injured leg,” she said. “We had another whose head was badly infected. She has recovered but with one ear. We have a donkey whose young one was hit by a vehicle on the road. When we picked up the baby, the donkey started crying, so we brought in both. The baby didn’t make it because the injuries were too much. Now we’re left with a donkey.”
It should be noted that some of the animals, picked up off the road, had owners but they do not claim them.
“We have a dog that was running behind a man on a bicycle. The man chopped her leg and it was left hanging. She has recovered but without a leg,” she related. “Apart from White Girl, whose former owner we knew, we responded to people who told us about injured animals around. White Girl had an owner who didn’t want to put her in our care. After discussions we agreed that after White Girl recovered, the owners would take her back. She has recovered and now they don’t want her so White Girl is still with us. She has three legs.”
Generally, the Greenes rescue animals based on pictures or videos and locations where the animals could be found. They post the animals’ pictures on Facebook stating the animal’s condition and asking if anyone is willing to help. Donors reach out to them to assist with veterinary bills. Sometimes people assist in catching the animals and taking them to the vet.
Apart from seeking treatment for injured or sick animals, the Greenes regularly put out food for animals on the street outside their home.
On Valentine’s Day, in recent years, they would gather food from donors and feed as many animals as they could from Tuschen and its environs to Crane, West Coast Demerara.
Furever Hope
Furvever Hope Alive had its origins in 2019 after Cameron-Greene visited an aunt in Linden. Her aunt had a dog that gave birth to six pups a few weeks before she visited. Unfortunately, five of the pups and the mother dog died. Cameron-Greene took the remaining pup that she named Kimmy.
“I was very happy. I had no pets. I brought her back to Tuschen,” she said.
The following year, Kimmy gave birth to eight pups, and they all died. Kimmy was also left with a lump protruding.
“She became smelly, and she began to throw off weight no matter how much she ate,” Cameron-Greene related. “Flies started following her. One day I was going on the road, and she followed me. The neighbours pelted her, and I took her back inside our yard. I didn’t know what to do. I had no clue as to how I go about helping an animal.”
Scrolling through Facebook she saw the post of a girl thanking the people who helped her with her dog.
“I took out a photo of Kimmy and I asked for help for her, too. I got a call from a Mrs Gaskin who offered to pay for Kimmy’s veterinary expenses at NB Veterinary Services clinic in Georgetown. I was so excited,” she said. “Mrs Gaskin has been a regular donor to our cause since. The next day, I took Kimmy to the vet, Dr Nardeo Bassoodeo who explained to me that she had a vaginal cancer. That was the reason for the pups’ demise. He treated her and after a while she became healthy and happy again.”
Noting that there were other animals in need, she decided to start helping them. “I told myself, if I could get help for my pet, I was sure I could get for others in need,” she added
Cameron-Greene made a Furever Hope Alive Facebook page where she said she would like to help injured or sick animals in need.
“People started reaching out to me with pictures of their injured animals. I posted them on my Facebook page with a little story of what happened. People started to reach out to me to donate and to pay the veterinary bill for the animals. That was how it started. Over the years we helped many animals including a goat with a broken leg.
Noting the proliferation of cats and dogs on the streets with no one to care for them, Furever Hope Alive, moved on to promote spaying and neutering for strays and for the owners of animals to get animals treated through appointments. She promoted these events on Facebook and garnered support from sponsors. The spay and neuter events were done at reduced costs by the veterinarians involved. Dr Bassoodeo, Dr Greyson Halley and Dr Ozaye Dodson are among the vets who have worked closely with Furever Hope Alive.
“I didn’t want the animals to make babies and endure the suffering their parents went through. The vets are always willing to help. They go beyond the call of duty; sometimes when it’s very late. When we cannot get them, because they live in Georgetown and Berbice, we call on the veterinary technician at Parika who is always on call to give assistance before the vet takes over,” she said.
Linden girl
Cameron-Greene was born in Linden and moved to Tuschen with her mother when she was 12 years old. She lost her mother in 2015 after which she moved from Tuschen to live with an aunt in Georgetown.
“I was looking for a place to rent in Georgetown because I had started Furever Hope Alive with my husband. My aunt advised me to return to Tuschen at my mother’s house. We have been here since 2016,” she said.
She started secondary school at Wismar Christianburg Secondary School then Stewartville Secondary but did not write the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations there. She successfully wrote several subjects at Global Technology.
Cameron-Greene, the mother of three girls, is also employed online full time with a law firm as a customer service representative. After her mother’s death she worked as a security guard and reared chickens on her own.
“I have always tried to be gainfully employed. This online job suits me because it allows me to be home,” she said.
The Greenes also run a pet shop, a pet grooming service and a transportation service. Apart from these ventures being a means of their livelihood for the family, Cameron-Greene said that much of the profits from the businesses go towards feeding and caring for the animals in the sanctuary.
The Greenes start their day early with cleaning up of kennels and feeding the animals. They also prepare the children and take them to school.
On weekends, she said, the children, ages eight, six and four, willingly help to wash the animal bowls and do other small chores. “Whenever I am looking after sick animals like bandaging one, they bring the bandages and the iodine. They know the names of the medications. When they see me or their father looking after the animals, they offer to do things they can do. It’s me, my husband, the kids. We do whatever we can do,” she said.
Cameron-Greene had to learn how to look after animals. She took a course on animal welfare behaviour on the online teaching website Coursera that was sponsored by the Guyana Government.
“I call the vets for advice, and they tell me what to do until they arrive. We have eight kennels for the dogs, and we built an area adjoining the pet shop for the cats,” she related.
