Obituaries
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2007:
Tamara Monti, 37, from Lake Como, Italy, employed as a
dolphin keeper at Oltremare Park in Riccone, was fatally stabbed on
February 4, 2007 by neighbor Alessandro Doto, 35, who lived with
his parents in the flat above Monti’s. Doto, arrested at the scene
with the knife in his hand, claimed he was driven mad by the barking
of Monti’s two dogs while she was at work. Monti had worked
exceptionally long hours since September 2005, raising a grampus
dolphin named Mary G who was rescued with her mother from a June 2005
stranding. The mother died, but Mary G survived. Mary G refused to
eat after Monti’s death, however, and was in dire condition as of
February 20.
Mark Loren Morris Jr., DVM, 72, died on January 14, 2007
in Topeka, Kansas. The son of Science Diet brand pet food company
and Morris Animal Foundation founder Mark L. Morris, “The junior
Morris followed in his father’s footsteps,” recalled Barbara
Hallingsworth of the Topeka Capital-Journal, “leading a business
that conducted research and development and did other services for
Hill’s. Morris developed the Science Diet line of pet foods,” by
adding many new varieties, “and worked with former Topeka Zoo
director Gary Clarke to develop ZuPreem products for zoo animals.”
His son David Morris now heads ZuPreem.
Martha McPhee, 51, died suddenly of unknown causes on
February 6, 2007, only five weeks after presiding over the merger
of the Animal Humane Society of Golden Valley, Humane Society for
Companion Animals, and Great West Humane Society, the three largest
humane organizations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. McPhee had
headed the Animal Humane Society since 2005. Involved in many other
nonprofit organizations, in multiple fields, McPhee was also
treasure of Pets Across America, and a past board member for the
Medina Horse Association.
Anna Nicole Smith, 39, died suddenly of unknown causes on
February 8, 2007, in Hollywood, Florida. A former Playboy model
who inherited the fortune of Texas oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall
II in 1995, after a 14-month marriage, Smith “was a great friend to
animals and used every opportunity to speak out against senseless
cruelty,” eulogized PETA in a prepared statement. “A long-time
vegetarian, Anna Nicole posed as Marilyn Monroe in one of PETA’s
most striking ad campaigns, ‘Gentlemen Prefer Fur-Free Blondes.'”
Nour Nadi, 17, of Fayyum, Egypt, on February 5, 2007
became the 12th Egyptian to die from the H5N1 avian influenza, after
trying to conceal her symptoms in order to save her chickens from
massacre. H5N1 has killed 167 of 270 people known to have been
infected, worldwide.
Robyn Alexandra Schuttais, 70, known as Sister
Ambrose-Martin de Porres Claret, died in a January 8, 2007
single-car accident near her home in Glendale, Oregon. “She was a
member of the Order of St. Dom-inic, and founded St. Martin’s World
Mission for Animals in 1988,” wrote Jeff Duewel of the Grants Pass
Daily Courier. Volunteers from several other local organizations
recovered 15 dogs, 20 cats, and several birds from her home,
Douglas County Animal Control officer Gloria Free told Duewel.
Dorothy “Dotsie” Palouze Keith, 71, died from complications
of lung cancer on December 23, 2006 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
“A native of Richmond, Virginia, Mrs. Keith adopted a stray
Dalmatian when she was 12 and had her first champion Dalmatian as a
teenager,” recalled Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Sally A.
Downey. Keith later raised championship Bichons, but fought
breeders and the pet store industry when as vice president and
legislative chair of the Pennsylvania Federation of Dog Clubs, she
won legislation that in 1982 strengthened the state Bureau of Dog Law
Enforcement, and in 1997 allowed puppy purchasers to return sick
pups to the sellers for either a full refund or payment of veterinary
bills.
Bessie D. Sanders, 65, of Washington D.C., known to
neighbors as “The Cat Lady” because she kept many cats and fed
strays, died in a January 17, 2007 housefire started by one of the
candles she used for light after her utilities were shut off due to
nonpayment.
Betsy DeWallace, 67, died on January 11, 2007, after a
long illness. DeWallace served 35 years as animal control officer
for Sudbury, Massachusetts, also serving the nearby town of Maynard
for 26 years, and serving Acton and Hudson for briefer intervals.
Mary Lou Henry, 78, of Texas City, Texas, died in a
February 1, 2007 housefire while trying to carry one of her cats to
safety. That cat and another cat died with her. “Two other cats
were given oxygen by paramedics, two were unharmed, and another is
missing,” reported Armondo Villafranca of the Houston Chronicle.
Karen Aerts, 37, of Antwerp, Belgium, was fatally mauled
on February 11, 2007 after hiding in the Olmense Zoo until after
closing hours, finding the key to the cheetah cage, and letting
herself into it. Aerts, a frequent zoo visitor, sponsored the
feeding of one of the cheetahs, named Bongo, and apparently wanted
to pet him.
