Samoyed rescued from Chinese dog meat trade walks the Cannes Film Festival red carpet

A Samoyed rescued from certain death in China’s dog meat trade has been photographed at the Cannes Film Festival.

London-based charity No To Dog Meat was founded in 2009, when founder Julia de Cadenet saw for herself the horrors of the profession.

The charity says it was the first to bring the annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival to the world’s attention in June and now has United Nations Special Consultative status.

Among the many animals the organization has rescued is Samoyed Felicity, who was rescued after being hung by the tail by Chinese butchers. Felicity has now been brought to the UK by the organization, where she lives with Julia.

And Felicity this week highlighted the charity’s mission to end the dog meat trade by taking to the red carpet at the French festival during a special screening of the Project Silence movie.

RED CARPET: Now the animal lives in London and helps promote the charity’s mission. Here she is pictured walking the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival with Julia de Cadenet

The Cannes Film Festival, which has long supported the cause, invited Felicity to an event, where the dog donned a special dress made by No To Dog Meat senior volunteer Michelle Parker.

Michelle, from Rawdon, West Yorkshire, deconstructed a second-hand ball gown, thinning out the yards of tulle and satin before adding hundreds of hand-stitched tiny sequins to create the dress.

She then created intricate satin roses to decorate the dress.

Michelle said, ‘I had a blast making the dress and Felicity looked so fabulous.

“She’s a very outgoing dog and loves to pose, but the most important thing is that she feels comfortable, so I spent a lot of time making the dress as light as possible so she can enjoy wearing it.”

“The hardest part of making the dress was removing the boning and reusing the cups in the front to make the bodice, plus sewing on all the bling, which was well worth it.”

When Felicity, who lives in London, arrived at the festival, she was given her own pass, which gives her access to a host of exclusive parties, screenings and events.

Along with her human companion Julia de Cadenet, who rescued the lucky pup, Felicity got the star treatment.

Julia, founder of No To Dog Meat, hopes that by spreading Felicity’s story they can raise awareness of the trade – and help put an end to it

Julia hopes telling her story will help educate and inspire people to act in the fight against the dog meat trade.

She said, “When we found Felicity she was in terrible shape, but over time and with a lot of love and care, her outgoing personality has blossomed.

“She really is a wonder and loves to show off and meet people, so this is a really perfect time for her.

“She is very deserving and we hope that by telling Felicity’s story and when people meet her they will be inspired to join our movement.

“The dress itself is like a work of art, and a big thank you to Michelle who worked so hard to create the dress for this special occasion. No To Dog Meat really is a family, so everyone helps with their specialist skills.’

The festival provided Felicity with her own pass to the event, which gave her access to a range of exclusive parties, screenings and events.

No To Dog Meat has projects in China, Cambodia and the Philippines, where it works with local people who want to make a difference.

It currently cares for more than 750 dogs at its shelters in China.

Michelle said: ‘Anyone who loves dogs is rightly appalled by the cruelty of the dog meat trade, and ever since I found out I’ve been determined to try and help.

Of course it’s not all about dogs wearing gowns on the Cannes red carpet, but at charity we always say no action is too small.

“I hope Felicity’s red carpet moment raises awareness and money for charity.”