A DOG’S BEST FRIENDS
Lives saved in Thailand
Tucked away in the rolling green countryside of Almonte lies a jewelry store of sorts that is in the business of helping dogs a world away.
Fran Bryerton is a retired publishing worker who has been selling brand new donated jewelry out of her kitchen to raise money for the Soi Dog Foundation, a charity that rescues dogs from the illegal meat trade in Thailand.
Soi Dog “sterilizes street dogs and cats, they treat those that have medical problems, they go around feeding the ones that are hungry and they help dogs and cats that are affected by disaster,” Bryerton said, standing next to a table covered with small, neatly organized zip-lock bags containing Pandora charms, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and more.
“There are so many pretty ones,” she said, looking down at the spread of bracelet charms. Shifting her gaze over to another corner of the table, she pointed to a stack of necklaces. “And if you just want to wear a pendant you wear this and put a pendant on the end of it. Beautiful stuff.”
About three years ago, Bryerton was browsing the Internet and stumbled on the website of the Soi Dog charitable organization, which operates in multiple countries around the world. The site’s terrible images of mutilated, emaciated pooches captured the compassion of the longtime animal lover.
“I know animals are slaughtered for meat and human consumption but the torture that these dogs suffer and are put through before they are killed is unbelievable,” Bryerton said, when asked what inspired her to get involved.
From there, she donated $50 — a contribution that paid for the erection of two billboards in parts of Thailand such as Phuket, where dogs are trapped and transported to their slaughter. The billboards list information locals can use to contact Soi Dog or the police to file reports.
Last year, Bryerton upped her contribution efforts by holding a yard sale at her home that generated about $1,200, all of which went to Soi Dog.
This year, she’s selling jewelry — an endeavour that began when a Facebook friend in British Columbia reached out offering to mail her a large box of new jewelry.
“Deborah Ross ... contacted me to see what ways she could help,” Bryerton said. “She told me she had all this jewelry that was all new and she could send it to me, and I said I would be happy to sell it.”
Ross, who herself takes advantage of the Internet to raise awareness for animal rights, didn’t have much cash but had a collection of jewelry she wanted to give to a good cause.
“I bought this jewelry over four years ago because I had an inheritance,” Ross, 51, said by phone from her home in Victoria. “So I bought this jewelry for a fraction of the price and was going to sell the jewelry to make money for myself, but I thought these animals are in need so I’d rather do it for them.
“It makes me so mad and angry — the pictures you see — I just start to cry” Ross said, her voice cracking. “If I could go to Thailand and stop (the meat trade) right there, I would.”
Once the box of jewelry arrived in late May, Bryerton and her sister, Heather Gadbois, spent about three days sorting through the pieces, meticulously labelling each with a price tag, usually around $5 to $10 for most items.
“I’ve already sold $500 worth,” Bryerton said. “And that’s not even half of it all.”
Bryerton will usually set up a sale by having people reach out to her through email or Facebook, a platform on which she’s built a vast network and has used vociferously for the promotion of animal rights. She’ll then give them her address so they can drop by and browse the items.
The 13 or 14 people who’ve purchased jewelry from her so far are mostly from her network of animal lovers, said Bryerton, who herself has rescued a number of animals throughout her life.
“My sister and I always rescued birds and we would take them home and my dad would fix their wings with Popsicle sticks,” she said.
Talking more about her childhood, which she spent in Cornwall, Bryerton recalled her and her sister’s first pets — two ducks that ended up growing to about two feet tall.
“They were enormous ducks and I used to put clothes on them,” Bryerton said, with a smile forming.
Since getting married and moving to Ottawa in 1974, she’s had two rescue dogs who lived to the age of 12. She and her husband Alan now have a pony named Fred and a cat named Fluffy.
“It doesn’t matter where the animal is as long as it gets rescued or saved. I don’t care what country, what state. An animal is an animal.”
Once all the jewelry is sold, Bryerton will send the money to Candace Cornock, Canada’s representative for Soi Dog, who will then pass the money on to members in Thailand.
“Fran is having a very meaningful and effective impact in growing awareness within Canada of the plight of these dogs,” Cornock said. “Through her sales of the donated jewelry and other items, including her own personal items, she has helped save many lives and provide a future for animal welfare,” she said.
Jewelry purchases can be arranged by contacting Fran Bryerton at 613-256-3726 or at fluffyb@ xplornet.com. She will also be selling leftover items at the Bridge Street Bazaar festival in Carleton Place on July 30.
It doesn’t matter where the animal is as long as it gets rescued or saved. I don’t care what country, what state. An animal is an animal.