Fiji is the only island in the South Pacific with a Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals. The Fiji SPCA was formed nearly half-century ago when a group of concerned people in the Capital City, Suva, got together (in 1935) and raised the funds to build the still-existing headquarters on the fringe of the city.

That doesn't mean, though, that all the dogs and cats in the city are well-fed, sleek show-animals. Despite laws which make it illegal to mistreat a pet in this country, pets are all too often chained, neglected and fed scraps which barely keep them alive.

It is often repeated that a dog is a man's best friend. In today's gender-specific terminology, a pet is a person's best friend and certainly, children learn humanitarian concerns as much from their pet dog or cat as they might in the classroom.

Since the arrival of the first Homo sapiens on Earth, man has domesticated wild animals to serve his needs. Horses and camels, yaks and donkeys carried his soldiers and provisions; dogs guarded his campfires and homes and warned of intruders. Without his four-legged friends, at least until the beginnings of the industrialized era, it is doubtful if mankind could have survived. We only need to look a hundred years back to see how important horses were to our mode of travel.

A relatively recent concept is that the more civilised a society becomes, the better it treats
the animals around them. Certainly it is true that, in our life-span, people have become more and more dependent on pets - those marvelous creatures that share our burdens and brighten our day. Rudyard Kipling in his classic 'Just So Stories' in the tale about
'The Cat that Walked By Himself' tells of early man in the beginning and how "Wild Dog
crawled into the cave and laid its head on the woman's lap and said 'O my friend and wife
of my friend, I will help your man to hunt and I will guard your cave'. When the man waked,
he said 'What is Wild Dog doing here?' And the woman said 'His name is not Wild Dog
anymore but First Friend because he will be our friend for always and always.' "

The SPCA in Suva has extended and improved it's kennels and catteries several times since it opened; employed its own veterinarian; found homes for numerous unwanted animals - and even provides an ambulance service to pick up sick or injured animals.
One of the organisations' most pressing concerns is its attempt to educate the public on pet awareness and health concerns, mostly through programmes conducted in schools,
special posters and publications, and media releases.
The real ambassadors to pet lifestyles, though, are the animals themselves.

Since the artwork was completed, mile-a-minute's kittens have all been found homes and 'Rani' has been spayed at the SPCA surgery and found a home with loving children.

The First-Day-Cover depicts Penaia with two puppies from a litter of nine from mother 'Chutney' which has been Penaia's pet and everyday companion since he was four years old.

The SPCA is the only organisation to offer veterinary services throughout Fiji (it's vet makes house calls and runs regular clinics on the western side of the main island), the SPCA is doing all it can, on a very limited budget, to ensure the health and well-being of mankind's four-legged friends. It hopes to do this by enlarging membership; building bigger facilities and hiring an inspector to monitor animal lifestyle and through enforced laws which would protect not only dogs and cats but all animals kept in urban areas.

A daunting task? Not for animal lovers and Fiji's children with pets.

The Fiji Philatelic Bureau salutes this organisation and its unselfish aims.