In 2004, Louise Hastie traveled to Iraq with the UK Territorial Army to see what it’s like to go to war. Her first few days were terrifying – she did not come prepared for the constant shelling and danger that put soldiers on the front lines at risk of dying. But what struck her the most were the innocent animals that became casualties of war.
Hastie had grown up with pets, so it broke her heart when she saw piles of dead and injured animals by the roadside. When she was younger, she witnessed a pet shop owner who tried to feed a snake with two live mice. The sight was simply unbearable, so instinct told her to save the mice by buying them from the owner, and then she reported the owner to the council to teach him a lesson.
Hastie’s love for animals was extraordinary. One day at the camp, she was given a half-dead kitten and was told to get rid of it, but she didn’t. What she did instead was that she nursed the poor kitten back to life and took care of him until he fully recovered.
Harboring a cat was against the Territorial Army policy, so when Hastie was transferred to another camp, she was told to leave the cat, whom he later named Simba. But Hastie knew that if she followed the order, Simba wouldn’t survive long, so she did everything in her powers to save Simba and made sure he arrived safely in England where her parents live.
Hastie broke the rules, but she did not regret her move. What mattered to her was the fact that she saved another animal. Her brave act had not gone unnoticed – shortly after that, the world recognized her as the woman who would risk everything for the love of animals.
Before Hastie went back to England, she was able to bring home three more cats and two dogs from Iraq. She then volunteered at an animal shelter to help more animals brought by military personnel from the Middle East. Today, she is enjoying her early retirement, but her significant contribution in saving those animals caught in the war will never be forgotten.
Meet Louise Hastie in the video below.
Source The Animal Rescue Site via YouTube
