Lulu: the most dangerous dog in Birmingham

The purpose of a headline is to draw a reader into the story written below. The dog of death roams a city for five hours”, is a headline that surely makes a person want to read more. It conjures up images of a dog shaped manifestation of the Grim Reaper roaming the streets to claim passing souls, or an atomic age puppy causing havoc on buildings and city infrastructure.

An arrangement of five newspaper cuttings relating to Lulu the dog

An assortment of newspaper headlines relating to Lulu the dog, 1961

The above headline was published by the Daily Mail in January 1961. Other papers at the time had similar headlines referring to Killer Lulu and the germ-carrying terrier. But what is the story behind these headlines and why is there a collection of these newspaper cuttings in the archive of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies?

During the Christmas break 1960-1961, Mr Barry Leek, an assistant in veterinary physiology at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, was visiting Birmingham with his family. Whilst he was driving through town he was involved in an unfortunate incident when a lorry backed into his car. In the ensuing panic his dog Lulu jumped out the car and ran away. Mr Leek quickly informed the police of the missing dog and stressed that she must be found as quickly as possible since she had been injected with the salmonella “duck egg” virus!

A dog, which could supposedly kill a man with a single pat*, was on the loose in Birmingham city centre, and this caused a massive emergency service response. All police officers were informed of the situation, “find this dog…it’s dangerous”. Police cars with speakers patrolled the streets warning people to stay away from Lulu. If anyone had come into contact with her, they were to visit their doctor immediately! The police also visited schools to warn children not to approach the dog and pictures of Lulu were quickly sourced to be shown on the news later that day.

After five hours, Lulu was found in an alley not far from where she was last seen. Relief all round. The city was saved. Though the question remained, how much of a danger was Lulu to society?

Newspaper photograph of Lulu the dog. The caption reads "Lulu...her poison injection brought panic to the city. From the Scottish Daily Express, January 3 1961

A photograph of Lulu the dog, from the Scottish Daily Express, Tuesday January 3 1961

The University of Edinburgh denied that Lulu could have been injected with salmonella. Mr Charles H. Steward, Edinburgh University’s secretary at the time stated, “We have investigated the matter, and we are convinced that the dog is not used for experimental purposes, and that there was NO danger to anyone.” The R(D)SVS principal, Professor Alexander Robertson, agreed by saying no experimentations were carried out on dogs at the veterinary college and even added, “it is not a very serious disease – in fact, I am surprised there had been so much fuss made.” Mr Leek later admitted that no such injection was given to Lulu and she was suffering a case of naturally occurring food poisoning at the time. He was more worried about Lulu’s reaction to children having not been socialised with them and feared Lulu might pass on salmonella to them.

The result of such a major reaction to a dog with a tummy bug lead to protests in Birmingham for different reasons. One being a reaction to why such a dangerous dog was allowed to go through the city without adequate preparation was allowed. The other protests were concerned with dogs being kept for experimental purposes by the University.

These newspaper cuttings can be found in one folder of many in the archive of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, which is currently being catalogued as part of the One Health project. There are plenty of stories emerging from the pages and they will be shared here.

 

*even I’m getting swept up in the sensationalism

Welcome to One Health

A new project is taking shape at Edinburgh University’s CRC department!

With funding from the Wellcome Trust, the One Health archival project aims to pull together resources relating to human responsibility for animal health in Scotland from 1823 to the present day. Animal health and welfare is a massive and topical subject and the hope is that this project will allow further research and awareness of animal rights in Scotland. This history can be somewhat imposing, but luckily the project is made up of three separate archives. The papers of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies (R(D)SVS), the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) and the animal rights charity One Kind.

Let’s break down these different archives since each has its own part to play in understanding the history of human and animal health in Scotland.

Illustration of how to tip a cow from the R(D)SVS collection

Now known as the R(D)SVS, Scotland’s first veterinary college was founded in 1823 by William Dick, the son of a blacksmith and farrier. The college was initially set up to educate blacksmiths and farriers about treatments when shoeing horses, but the college expanded over time to become the world leading veterinary college it is today. Items held within the archive include papers relating to the running of the college, the lives of its staff and students, a vast array of photographs and glass plates slides, research papers, and a host of fascinating objects.

Photograph taken by an unknown veterinarian of the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, c.1905

The RZSS was founded in 1909 by Edinburgh lawyer Thomas Gillespie with the aim to promote awareness and and conservation of rare and endangered animals from across the world. The original charter states the role of the society was;

To promote, facilitate and encourage the study of zoology and kindred subjects and to foster and develop amongst the people with an interest in and knowledge of animal life

Today the RZSS manages both Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park as well as well as supporting a wide variety of research, conservation, education and public engagement projects both in the UK and around the world.

 

The OneKind archives in store at the CRC

The One Kind animal charity was founded in Edinburgh in 1911 as the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Vivisection. Although the name may have changed over the years (It was known as Advocates for Animals from 1990-2010) the aims of this charity has not. Since the charity’s foundation, they have expanded their aims to encompass far reaching political and social engagement. This is a great resource for those interested in animal welfare, ethics, research and social and political engagement. The material within the archives spans their entire organisational existence and includes correspondence and investigations into the R(D)SVS and the RZSS, which brings these separate collections together.

 

Phew! There’s quite a lot to get through, so be sure to follow this blog for updates and to hear about the stories which are emerging from these collections.