Lest We Forget - Animals In War

Last week millions of people across the world held a two minute silence on Remembrance Day to remember the soldiers who died to give us the freedom we have today. Both wars were extremely horrific and saw severe loss of life. In World War One, an estimated 10 million people died in military action. During World War Two there were a lot more civilian fatalities, with an estimated 40 million civilian deaths and 20 million military deaths.

However, it wasn't just people who served their country during the war. Often the forgotten army of war, thousands of animals have also been at the forefront of the action, putting their lives at risk to save ours. The purple poppy represents their sacrifice, while the red poppy represents the sacrifice by our soldiers.

As dependable as soldiers, dogs played a crucial role in sniffing out enemies, carrying supplies, finding the wounded, delivering messages, ratters and most importantly companionship. The idea to use them first came from the Red Cross, who wanted to use ambulance dogs on the front line and by 1918 Britain had employed more than 20,000 dogs in war.

Messenger dogs were vital to the service because they could overcome the difficulties that soldiers and vehicles faced in the heart of battle. They were able to run a lot faster, could travel over any terrain and were less likely to be shot at by a sniper. The trenches were a complex system to navigate and messages could easily be lost, running the risk that an important letter would not make it to the front line or headquarters. Soldiers were an obvious target and vehicles were likely to break down or get stuck in the deep mud that savaged the battlefield.

Casualty dogs were also known as "mercy dogs" and were trained to find those who were wounded or dying on the battlefield. They were even equipped with medicine, so that the soldiers could tend to their wounds while they waited to be found. Sadly, in the case of those who were too far gone, the dogs simply sat and comforted them until they passed away.

Dobermans were particularly used as sentry dogs and tended to patrol the military bases with a handler, warning them with a bark when someone approached. On the other hand, scout dogs had to be very quiet and worked with soldiers by patrolling the area in front of them. As a dog's nose is so sensitive, they were able to detect an enemy scent up to 1,000 yards away and quicker than a soldier ever could. If they found someone, they would simply stiffen and point their tails to indicate that the enemy was approaching. That way the soldiers could prepare themselves and hopefully take the other side by surprise.

Dogs were not just used on the front line though. Animal Rescue Squads were set up during World War Two, when the Blitz began to terrorise London, to try and save the numerous people who were trapped under bombed out buildings. One Alsatian, Irma, saved hundreds of people and memorably two young girls who were trapped under a house. She sniffed them out and refused to move until rescuers had moved in to release the girls from the rubble.

However, it wasn't just man's best friend who helped with the war effort. Pigeons were used extensively to deliver messages during both World Wars, with 250,000 used in World War Two alone. As a result, racing with these birds was stopped and many birds of prey were killed along the coasts of Britain, so that pigeons would not be attacked while delivering an important message.

One pigeon, named Mary, delivered an important message despite being attacked by a hawk in France and returned with injuries to her neck and breast. On a different occasion, she returned with a wing tip shot off. Another pigeon called Royal Blue flew an astonishing 120 miles in 4 hours and and 10 minutes after the aircraft he was in was forced to land. He was able to pass on a message containing the location of the rest of the crew.

Horses were also used extensively during both World Wars as modes of transport, as well as pulling the heavy artillery the forces used at this time. Sadly, at the beginning of World War One, many horses were employed for use in the cavalry. Many died due to trench warfare, barbed wire (which was found across No Man's Land) and machine guns, so the forces stopped using horses in the cavalry section.

Recorded figures show that more than 8 million horses died during these wars and one factor was because once the fighting was over, there was no way to bring them home. Only 62,000 actually made it back to England, which is a devastating thought. These horses had carried soldiers through the heart of battle, often coming across weapons that were miles more advanced that what Britain used and then at the end of this, they were simply discarded.

At the time, there was a shortage of horses going into the war and so many were forced to give up their farm horses for the war effort. This is highlighted in the theatre production "War Horse", which has been given excellent reviews worldwide. Based on the book by Michael Morpurgo, the play centres around a young man Albert, whose horse Joey is taken away to fight in the war.

Albert follows him out there and every move he makes is in the hope that eventually he will find Joey again. I won't tell you the ending of this story, but I can assure you that I shed many tears throughout as the plight of Joey and the millions of horses used in the war is told.

This was also made into a film by Steven Spielberg and I would recommend both the the play and the film because they are both individual interpretations in their own right. While Spielberg's film is magnificent and features beautiful scenery, the play is also special because as it continues, you forget that there are people operating the puppets and the horses aren't real.

As a result of the bravery shown by all the animals who served in war and just after World War Two, the PDSA's founder Maria Dickin introduced a medal especially for animals. The Dickin Medal is essentially the animals' Victoria Cross and is awarded to those animals who are devoted to duty while serving or who are associated with the Armed Forces or Civil Defence Units. This is the highest honour any animal can receive while serving in war.

Since 1943, this medal has been awarded 64 times to a grand total of 32 pigeons, 28 dogs, three horses and one cat. And what a fitting tribute it is to all those animals who have contributed to the war effort both her and abroad.

Orangutans - Now I'm The King Of The Swingers

Orangutans are considered to be one of the most majestic great apes and this week the Orangutan Foundation is trying to raise awareness about this beautiful animal by holding Orangutan Awareness Week.

From Monday 11- Sunday 17 November, charities, zoos and organisations up and down the country are bringing the plight of orangutans and the loss of their rainforest habitat to the forefront of an international campaign. This movement hopes to prevent the extinction of the orangutan and raise money to fund more conservation projects in order to learn more about and try to save these amazing animals.

Poignantly, the name orangutan in Malay language means "person of the forest".

The world's largest tree-dwelling mammals, orangutans can only be found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra in Indonesia, hence why the two species are named the Bornean and the Sumatran. While other apes such as gorillas and chimpanzees sleep in the trees and move around on the ground, orangutans spend almost all their time in the rainforest canopy and will only go down to the forest floor to eat.

They depend on rain in order to find food, because the tropical variety enables the forest trees that they eat from to produce flowers and fruit. Interestingly, orangutans find food by partly remembering where they found it last and 90% of their diet is made up of fruit. However, they will also eat nectar, bark, insects and even small mammals such as mice. Some days they will spend up to six hours simply feeding or looking for food.

When it comes to babies, you can't get much cuter than this! Seriously, it took me much longer to write this post than most of my others because I couldn't stop looking at the baby orangutans. However on another note, these great apes will usually give birth to one baby after an 8-9 month pregnancy. Very rarely, will a female give birth to twins - can you imagine, twice the cuteness!

What is so lovely about orangutans is that for the first two years of its life, a baby will be in constant physical contact with its mother. The females will do anything for their young and carry their child for the first year of its life. She will hold her baby to her chest as she moves through the rainforest searching for food and at times the youngster will be clinging onto her up to 30m above the ground! Their eyes are open at birth and the baby orangutan learns very quickly how to use its fingers to grip onto things.

After three to four months, the baby will begin to eat soft fruit, but will continue to drink its mother's milk until it is at least four years old. Now it is classed as a juvenile. However, it is not until they are five years old that they will begin to spend more time away from their mother and finally by the age of seven, the orangutan is a sub-adult and fully independent.

The real problem with orangutans is that they have such a slow breeding rate, which constantly puts their status into jeopardy. While the female can have babies at around seven years old, they will normally have their first young at around nine or ten and after that they only give birth every four to five years.

Interestingly, when it comes to the males being able to breed, they are not fully mature until they are at least ten years old. Consequently, the males' advance will always be rejected by a female if he is younger than this and because the females are so much lighter than the males, they can flee by moving into the higher, smaller branches of the trees in the rainforest.

As illustrated by the above picture, this male has developed cheek pads. This only occurs when the male has established his own territory and is able to breed. This development may also allow him to make his loud, booming calls.

Adult males can reach 1.5m in height and weigh as much as 100kg (15 stone). On the other hand, the females are only 1m tall and weigh up to 45kg (7 stone). They can also live for more than 50 years, which I believe is a major achievement.

Sadly, it is estimated that just 50,000-60,000 orangutans are left in the wild and this is due to threats such as deforestation, mining and the palm oil industry. In 1997, huge fires were started in the orangutan's forests because people wanted to use the land for farming. However, the fires got out of control and spread rapidly. In the end the fires burnt for more than a month and destroyed more than 1,000 square km of forest.

It's important that organisations continue to raise awareness about the orangutans' plight. This is because if habitat loss continues at the rate it is, experts estimate that by 2022 98% of Indonesia's rainforest will be destroyed. Sadly, this would cause the numbers of orangutans to fall dramatically and could result in their extinction.

• For more information about the campaign, visit: www.orangutancaringweek.org or www.orangutan.org.uk 

Fireworks - Protecting Your Pets

Fireworks: we all know how pretty they can be and people flock every year to the various displays put on, both in your local area or by a family member or friend.

While some animals seem to cope quite well with the bangs and bright flashes of light - my friend's lurcher Penny loves watching them go up - numerous pet owners struggle to reassure their pets. Sadly, it's not just the one night that these go on for either, many are put on well before Firework's Night right up until the New Year celebrations.

Animals have much better hearing than us and so you can imagine that a firework we think is pretty loud, must be extremely frightening to our dog, cat, rabbit, horse or any other pet you have. There are a number of ways that we can prepare them for this period and help keep them feeling safe and calm.

To prepare your dog for a night of fireworks, take him/her for a walk first, long before any fireworks are due to go off. Your dog will not want to go outside when the fireworks are taking place and this way they can unwind and go to the bathroom too.

Most dogs like to have a safe place where they can go when something frightens them. It could be a quiet room, behind the sofa or even in the wardrobe! This is a place where it can feel in control and you can help them learn to associate this place with positively. For example, leave a variety of toys there to keep them entertained, offer treats or praise them while they are there. It's also worth putting some of your old clothes in this area, because they can feel safer if they have your scent nearby. They should also have access to this place whenever you leave the house. This can work with cats too, especially when it comes to a hiding place!

If a family member or friend's dog isn't worried about the fireworks, it could be an idea to have this dog over when the fireworks go off. That way your dog will see that there is nothing to worry about and have a friend to comfort them at the same time.

When the fireworks do go off, make sure all your windows and doors are shut to prevent your pet from getting out. There is nothing worse than losing your pet at night, especially when fireworks are exploding, and they are at their most stressed and vulnerable. Your pet should be microchipped or carry ID tags because at least if they do get out you have a better chance of being reunited with them, should someone find them and hand them in to a local rescue or vets.

If your pet wants to hide away in a corner, pace or make noises, the best thing to do is to let them. This is their way of dealing with the fireworks and shouting at a frightened animal will only make them more stressed. It's easy to say this, but try not to let your anxiety about your pet show either. This is confirming to your pet that there is something to be scared about. Attempt to stay calm and praise their behaviour when they are calm too.

Birds get frightened by fireworks too! This will work with all animals, but playing music or turning the TV up slightly is a good way of distracting your pet bird. This way it will block out some of the noise of the fireworks and will reassure them, especially if they are used to some music or the TV on in the background.

With birds, it's particularly worth covering up exposed windows to prevent them from being disturbed by the bright flashes. A night light can also be useful because if your bird becomes distressed and starts flying around, at least they can see where they are going.

If your neighbours are going to set off fireworks, it can be worth speaking to them and explaining your concerns. If they know that your pet does not react well to fireworks, they could help to control this by setting them off well away from your house or choosing some fireworks that won't be as noisy. It's always worth a try because some people may not realise the impact this can have on your pet.

If small animals, such as rabbits and guinea-pigs, can't be brought inside, it's best to make sure they are covered up with blankets to reduce the noise. I can't bring in my rabbit Simba because his hutch is too big, but when the fireworks start I make sure he has plenty of food (as you can see he also has a teddy bear for company), place two blankets over his hutch as well as a plastic sheet and put his run lid and food bin in front of this. Hopefully, this reduces the noise for him and makes him feel safe. He also has plenty of bedding to burrow into too.

For horse owners, it's essential that you tell neighbours and firework display organisers that horses are kept nearby. That way, they should be diverted away from fields and stables. It's also vital to keep them in their usual routine to help them feel secure. Therefore, if they are normally out in a field, keep them in the field, but if they are used to being in the stable, keep them there. However, only do this if they are well away from any firework displays and the field or stable is secure.

Stay with them where possible so that you can keep an eye on their reactions. If they start to get panicked, then respond as appropriate. Horses are also very sensitive, so its important to keep calm. If you begin to get anxious, they will too and this could get much worse once the firework display is well underway.

Read up what numerous pet charities, such as the Guide Dogs for the blind, the Blue Cross, PDSA and RSPCA have to say too when it comes to protecting your pet from fireworks.

On another note, this week I was sent some Pet Remedy plug-in diffusers and calming sprays, which I have given to my riding instructor and a work colleague of my sister. Both these people have problems with their dogs when it comes to fireworks and they find it hard to keep them calm. Check out my next post after Fireworks Night to see how this natural remedy has helped and the differences they have seen in their pets.