Obituaries

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2005:

Prince Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand III, 81, died
on April 6, 2005. Rainier inherited titular rule of Monaco in 1949,
a principality of less than one square mile, controlled by his
ancestors since 1297, renowned for gambling and as a tax haven for
the rich since the mid-19th century. Rainier revitalized the Monaco
resorts after 1955 with investment capital from Greek whaling baron
Aristotle Onassis–but married animal-loving actress Grace Kelly in
1956, who detested Onassis. To placate Kelly, Rainier banned
pigeon shooting, a favorite Onassis pastime, in Monaco. Rainier
wrongly anticipated reconciling Kelly and Onassis when in 1961 he
persuaded Onassis to join British wildlife artist and trophy hunter
Peter Scott, Prince Philip of Britain, and Prince Bernhardt of The
Netherlands in founding the World Wildlife Fund. Scott and the
princes feared that newly independent former European colonies would
abolish sport hunting, as India and Kenya eventually did. They
sought to save hunting by funding the wildlife departments of
emerging nations, following the example of the National Wildlife
Federation, which in the 1930s lobbied successfully for U.S.
wildlife management to be funded by taxes on hunting licenses and
equipment. Instead of promoting taxes on hunters, however, WWF
raised money directly from the public, to “save animals,” seldom if
ever mentioning the pro-hunting agenda in appeals. The rift between
Kelly and Onassis widened until Onassis sold his Monaco holdings at a
tenfold profit and left in 1965. Rainier remained involved with WWF
to the end of his life, but the tiny Monaco zoo fell into disrpute
after Kelly was killed in a 1982 car crash.

Emily Kent, 6, of North Fort Myers, Florida, on the night
of June 5, 2005 saw a turtle in the middle of Old U.S. 41. Her
mother Geraldine Kent stopped to rescue the turtle–and Emily Kent
leaped out of the car immediately despite her mother’s screams to
wait. She was killed by a car driven by Heather Lowe, 19. Friends
and family remembered Emily Kent’s love of her dog Alexis, a
recently acquired black kitten, and turtles and snakes she found
near her home. [The safe way to rescue animals from roads is to use
one’s vehicle as a shield, with four-way flashers on.]

Eduardo Patuglan, 28, of Quezon City, the Philippines,
was fatally stabbed on May 12 while defending his pet monkey from a
knife attack by Joel Zamora, 20, the Philippine Inquirer reported.
“It was not immediately clear what happened to Patugalan’s monkey,”
wrote D.J. Yap of the Inquirer News Service.

Allisdair Macleod, DVM, 91, died on April 30, 2005 in
Placer County, California. Born and educated in Scotland, Macleod
“took part in World War II as a captain in the Royal Veterinary
Corps, looking after mules in the jungles of Burma,” recalled
Auburn Area Animal Rescue Foundation volunteer Cassie Reeves.
Macleod actively assisted the Placer County SPCA and animal control
department, Reeves told ANIMAL PEOPLE, and helped to start three
rescue groups, including AAARF, Friends of Placer County Animal
Shelters, and Angels Rescuing Kritters.

Claude Argyle Smith, 92, a USDA veterinarian from 1935 to
1972, died on February 15, 2005 in Hyattsville, Maryland. Smith
was inspector of gift animals sent to the U.S. by foreign
governments, including a horse named Sardar given to then-First Lady
Jacqueline Kennedy in 1962 by the President of Pakistan, Muhammed
Ayub Khan, and the pandas Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, donated to the
National Zoo in 1972 by the People’s Republic of China.