After 12 years on the job as an Education Assistant, the DSPCA lost one of their own this week when Beckham, a dog who helped with teaching responsible animal care to both children and adults, passed away. Gillian Bird from the DSPCA spoke to us about the impact that Beckham had.
“Beckham was a cruelty case rescued from a back garden in South Dublin in 2002. He was extremely underweight as his owner admitted to giving him just one tin of dog food every 3 days over a period of 6 months. The owner was prosecuted and given a lifetime ban on the ownership of a dog. He was adopted by Gillian Bird and remained with her until the very end.”
Beckham helped Gillian in “educating children and adults about responsible pet care and empathy for all living things.” Over the course of his life in the DPSCA, Beckham would have worked with a minimum 45,000 children just visiting schools.
Gillian commented: “Beckham loved helping with media events, enjoyed the camera and the limelight. He loved to play with the water hoses each Halloween when the DSPCA joined forces with Dublin Bus, Dublin Fire Brigade, an Gardai and the local Co. Councils when they visited schools across Dublin talking about Halloween hazards.”
The DSPCA is Ireland’s oldest and largest animal welfare charity which was founded in 1840. They take in sick, injured and cruelly treated animals of every species from pets like dogs, cats, snakes, rabbits, parrots, ferrets and horses. They also deal with wild animals such as deer, foxes, swans and ducks. If you would like to help with their work, you can log on here.
