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The Daily Mail reported
the story about Frank who had spent 3 years of his life locked in the boot of a
car. Frank rarely saw daylight after his cruel owner - a tramp- confined him in
a Ford Capri parked in a London backstrcet. He only had inches to spare in the
damp cramped boot; he was locked in all day and allowed out only on rare
occasions. Poor Frank was still locked in the boot of the car when his owner
sold the car 3 years later to a Scrap Yard telling the ScrapYard owner that
there was a dog in the boot and that he could keep him.
Although he was
rescued from this ordeal his lifestyle did not improve. He was chained up all
day at the Scrap Yard and he had adopted a wrecked car as his kennel.
Frank was eventually handed over to the National Animal Welfare Trust Sanctuary
based near Langport in Somerset and it is at this point that Jackie Critoph,
takes up the story....
The Story of Frank
Jackie
Critoph
It always grieves me. to read heartrending reports in the
Newspapers about the ill treatment or abandonment of animals and there is
rarely any follow up to these reports to put our minds at rest. We never get to
hear whether the animals are recovering from their ordeal or whether they arc
now settling down in a new home with a caring and loving family.
It
was, therefore, a great surprise to find myself involved in the "Story of
Frank", who had been found abandoned in the hoot of a car that had been left at
a Scrap Yard in London. On reading the report in the Newspaper I immediately
telephoned our Director of Rescue who informed me that he was familiar with the
Frank Story and that he would he assisting Mr Hughes at the Sanctuary in
Langport in finding Frank a new home.
Content that this sad case was
now in the safe hands of our Director I dismissed the matter from my mind,
until 1 received a very excited telephone call from Jennifer Tallon, a personal
friend and lover of mastiffs. She too had read the report in the newspaper and
had immediately contacted Mr. Hughes to make an application to be considered as
the new owner. I was then contacted by Mr. Hughes to give a personal reference,
which I was pleased to do. However, I did not anticipate that Jennifer would he
successful with her application as I under stood that there had been almost a
100 applicants, all of which would have to be seriously considered.
It
was a nail-biting period and I kept telling myself that "no news was good news"
but eventually the telephone call came inviting Jennifer and her husband Peter
to the Sanctuary to meet Frank. Both Jennifer and Peter knew the "laid back"
characteristics of mastiffs and wondered how Frank would react to meeting
strangers. They need not have worried
because it was a very emotional
meeting; Frank showed great acts of affection towards them and Jennifer and
Peter immediately fell in love with him.
It was several days after this
before Jennifer and Peter received the wonderful news that they had been
selected as the new owners of Frank and I immediately arranged a small
gathering of friends at the "Famrise Kennels" to welcome Frank to East
Anglia.
Frank loved all the attention and he was not at all "laid-back"
in his approach to strangers. I couldn't help thinking that despite his sad and
unhappy lifestyle, he must have been loved and cared for at some stage because
I do not think that any animal can display acts of love and affection unless
they are given this in the first place.
The invitations for stardom
started to arrive- Margaret (Golightly, the then Secretary of the Eastern
Branch of the OEMC, invited Frank to lead the Mastif f Parade at (their
forthcoming Exemption Show in October and Thames Television wanted to feature
the "Story of Frank" in a programme called "Give the Dog a Home". They would
also be reconstructing how Frank was abandoned at the Scrap Yard.
I
duly arrived on the day of filming; making sure that I concealed my clapped-
out old Mini Metro in case they decided it would make an ideal vehicle for the
Scrap Yard Scene! Jennifer was rushing around trying to make coffee for all the
film crew and at the same fine trying to ensure that Frank was ready for his
debut.
The producer was setting the scenes, the cameramen were
discussing the best angles for the shots, and the interviewer was rehearsing
the questions that would be asked. Frank sat quietly watching all this activity
and then decided that every one was completely mad and that he would make
himself comfortable in front of the kitchen log-burner and have his morning
sleep!
Eventually the scene was set. The Scrap Yard reconstruction had
already been filmed elsewhere and I was quite relieved about this because I
didn't want Frank to he taken back to this environment and have to relive the
horror of being once more in the boot of a car. Obviously the filmmakers had
also realised that this would have been a very sensitive issue.
The
cameras started to roll and after filming Frank snuggled up with the cats in
front of the fire, it was all out to the garden to film him romping with his
new owners. Not surprisingly, Frank feels very much at home in a car, and he
very obligingly jumped into the back seat of Jennifer's car to be filmed on his
way to her Office, where he spends his day with her. I am told that he is on
the Pay Roll and is employed as the Credit Control Officer! Finally he was
filmed on his daily walk along the beach at Southwold with other "doggy"
friends that he has made in the local Community
For me, this was,
without doubt, a very happy ending to what had been a very sad case of
abandonment.
GOOD LUCK FRANK AND MAY YOU LONG CONTINUE TO ENJOY YOUR
NEW HOME AND FREEDOM.
June 2002.
I am pleased to report
that Frank continues to keep very well indeed and is, we believe, now in his
8th year. He enjoys life to the full and still greets the public on a daily
basis in Jenny's office.
He and Peter were recently appointed Chief
Stewards at the Southwold Jubilee Open Air Dance, which was held in the Town
Centre, but unfortunately, Frank was too big to fit into the fluorescent jacket
they provided him with!
His owners tell me that Frank was bombarded
with attention from the general public and he had such a wonderful time that he
was very reluctant to get into the car to go home. His owners felt that it
possibly reminded him of his former "street life". Frank has, without doubt, a
wonderful temperament; he is so socially adapted with the public and likes
nothing more than the opportunity to participate in local events and make new
friends. |
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