In 1929, the SSPV formed the Tail-Waggers club to increase their outreach and raise interest in their work.

Initially it was run by ‘Mac’ the Scottie (on the left in photo), care of Netta Ivory. The first President of the club was the Countess of Haddington.

Upon joining the club, members would receive a certificate, registration for dog collars, and a medallion for their dog. The idea being that a dog would be more traceable should he/she go missing. Then, from 1936 – 1940, they bought dog licences for poor people who could not afford them. They (and the SSPV itself) supported dog licences and felt that licensing had an important role to play in reducing the number of abandoned dogs. The SSPV was disappointed when licensing ended 1988.

To raise money for SSPV campaigns, the club ran stalls at dog shows and held dances and jumble sales, as well as attending the yearly Dogs Bazaar with their own table.

One of the club’s main focuses was on campaigning for dogs to become exempt from vivisection. They had a campaign called The Dog’s Friends’ Petition which they promoted heavily for years, and which, in 1937, was presented to parliament with 19,515 signatures.

Another of their campaigns was the Save Our Dogs national campaign, a petition to liberate dogs from the cruelty of vivisection experiments. Despite the outbreak of war, dog lovers continued to run the campaign which was wide reaching, with signed petitions being returned from Australia and correspondents from Jamaica, Iraq, USA, British Columbia and most European countries.

In 1940 the Save Our Dogs campaign met difficulty due to the club being unable to undertake its work in parliament, the rationing of petrol and the London air-raids. The paper ration also meant they could not put their usual notice in newspapers. However, Mr Gleeson, one of the lecturers at the time, was able to continue his work. This was because the Club bought a cinematograph projector and presented, with the help of the Education Authority, 33 lectures to children who had been evacuated from London.

The Tail Wagger’s club ran until just after WW11.

Photos © OneKind