The story of GAWF
The story of GAWF
The work of the Greek Animal Welfare Fund began in 1959 – the year Mrs. Eleanor Close arrived in Greece. But to get a clear picture of how and why GAWF came about we should go back to the beginning.
Mrs Eleanor Close
In 1916 the Greek Royal family endorsed a model dog pound in Athens. Following World War II and a devastating civil war in Greece, Mrs Close came to spend time in Greece when her husband, who worked for the British Council was posted to the country. She was soon confronted by appalling animal suffering; sick and starving cats and dogs on the street, emaciated dogs in hospital pounds awaiting experimentation, painfully thin and broken down horses and donkeys at the end of their working lives, brutal treatment in slaughterhouses and the dog pound – which was far from ‘model’. With permission from the Greek authorities Mrs. Close set up a Working Committee of Greek, English and American ladies to change this.
By now the work of re-establishing animal welfare in war-torn Greece as well as reinforcing the need for this had truly begun. Funds were badly needed in order to keep achieving more for the animals and therefore the Fund was inaugurated in London in 1961 with the object of ‘raising funds to further humane behaviour towards animals on the mainland and islands of Greece’. A London Committee was appointed with Eleanor Close acting as Liaison Officer with the already existing Working Committee and the Hellenic Animal Welfare Society.
And so the work continued and expanded and the Fund achieved wonders in those early days in a society where animal welfare was a very low priority. The near derelict dog pound in Athens was rebuilt and humane methods of euthanasia were introduced, the use of anaesthesia for animals used in experiments was adopted, the cruel traffic in live horses, donkeys and mules to Italy for slaughter was exposed and humane slaughter methods were introduced in some slaughterhouses. Doctor Veltsos, an animal welfare friendly vet, helped and advised Eleanor Close and visited animal hospitals with her in those early days. He was one of the first vets to neuter dogs and cats in Greece.
As more funds were raised by the London Committee it was possible for more work to be carried out. The Fund was able to begin responding to tourist reports about animals being cruelly treated such as unwanted cats and kittens been dumped.
In 1965 Eleanor Close was given the Victoria Medal, the RSPCA’s highest award for outstanding animal welfare work in Greece and in 1966 she returned to the UK to become Vice President of GAWF.
During the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s GAWF supported animal sanctuaries, gave financial and practical assistance to animal welfare societies, donated veterinary equipment and medicines, helped set up a clinic for pet owners, subsidised sterilisation of dogs and cats, helped build stables for abandoned equines – to mention but a few of its many tasks.
Today we continue the work started by Eleanor Close and each year, in addition to our many projects and campaigns, we award increasing amounts of money to many animal welfare groups and individuals who work with dedication and determination to carry on the good work started nearly 50 years ago. There are, of course, still problems but there has been considerable progress and a significant rise in awareness of animal welfare since GAWF’s conception.
For every abandoned cat given a good home, every starving, sick or injured dog fed and nursed back to health, every donkey, horse or mule saved from a sad fate, we can be thankful for the efforts of Eleanor Close and those who she worked closely with to set up GAWF. Her work proves that individual effort, when helped by loyal and caring supporters, can achieve remarkable results and make a world of difference for the animals.
