Kindness goes a long way

I have an interesting animal story to share with you," said Jenny Peña, director of public relations of Intercontinental Manila and dog lover, to me when she called last week. "It makes me so proud to know that the employees of the hotel would go out of their way to help save a little kitten."

Off I went to see Jenny – and I was touched by the story she shared with me.

A tiny kitten was rescued by the security men at the hotel a few weeks ago. They had noticed the kitten was badly injured – perhaps by a car that may have accidentally backed into her. The injury was so bad that the kitten’s two hind legs were severely damaged.

"I got to see the kitten when I came to work," shared Jenny. "The security personnel took her in and were tending to her wounds."

They dressed the kitten’s wounds and gave her antibiotics. The kitten had beautiful green eyes and she was a fighter as far as Jenny could see. Jenny had suggested that they name the kitten Duchess.

A few days under the care of the security department – and with other employees pitching in for the food and medicine for Duchess, she began to recover.

Jenny said that Duchess became strong enough that she was able to poop outside the guard house on her own and she even would struggle to make it up the few steps leading to the guard house.

"Everyone was happy with the recovery," added Jenny. "Duchess became a sort of mascot for the employees."

Jenny made it a point to pass by the guardhouse and check on Duchess each time she left the hotel and whenever she came back after meetings outside.

But things took a turn for the worse a few days ago. Duchess refused to eat and she started to lose weight. Jenny knew that it was time that she was brought to the vet for professional help. "Our GM even said that he would take care of any of the expenses that the trip to the vet would incur," said Jenny.

At Animal House on Jupiter Street in Bel Air, Jenny was told by the attending vet that the kitten was in a lot of pain and that he was not sure that if there was anything that he could do to save her life. At that point Jenny opted to put Duchess down because she said that it was the kindest thing for her to do. Jenny stayed with Duchess throughout the procedure.

"I found comfort in what the vet said," added Jenny. "It’s good that in her short life on earth she was able to experience love," the vet said to Jenny.

Indeed.

Jenny broke the news to the hotel employees when she got back. A few of them shed a few tears.

If there is one thing that touched Jenny the most from the experience it is this: "If the employees have compassion for the smallest of creatures, they are good people."

* * *

It was a busy pet weekend. But it was fun, too.

I got to catch a portion of the The Pendragon lecture series, which is designed for pet owners and breeders so that they can learn to perform first aid on their pets.

"Can you join us?" asked Dr. Vet Mayem Valera. "You can bring Gorby, too."

When I got to the seminar, Doc Mayem told me that she hopes to be able to schedule a series of lectures once every three months so that more pet owners will be able to deal with pet emergencies.

That Sunday afternoon the other vets, dog owners and I listened intently to the discussion on how to perform emergency procedures and first aid. We were told about the basics steps to take in case your pet meets an accident, becomes fractured or wounded.

The discussion also included what food and poisons to avoid and what to do in the event that pets get poisoned.

I look forward to more interesting lectures on pet care at home. Many times, a pet’s life can be saved if the human knows what to do during a pet emergency.

* * *

Last Tuesday I bumped into Julie Reyes of K9 Couture. We met at the dog race a few weeks back. She and her partners Twinkle Zamora and Michael de Mesa had a stall set up during the event.

Julie told me that K9 Couture is the brainchild of three friends, two of whom are from the Hotlegs – Julie and Twinkle. The other partner is director/actor Michael.

The three want to provide pets with the finest collection of ready-to-wear shirts, dresses, costumes, collars, jewelry and more for dogs and cats, too.

Julie even said that if you have your own design, K9 Couture will be more than happy to execute it for you at an affordable price.

As if manufacturing fun and funky apparel and embellishments were not enough, the group has also ventured into pet furniture. Those precious paws need a cozy place of slumber and an armoire to store all their hip outfits, right? Both of which can be custom-made to match the home furnishings of their equally stylish humans.

"We also aspire to dig our paws into making plush toys, leashes, carriers, and who knows what else," added Julie. "The ideas just keep coming!"

The group started K9 Couture in November, and they are proud of their elite list of celebrity clientele, which includes the county’s greatest pet lovers.

Whether it’s just for a walk around the neighborhood, a trip to the mall or a visit to your friends’ or family’s houses, the K9 Couture collection will surely draw a smile from everyone – and a joyous wag from your pooch’s tail.

If you are interested in checking out the products of K9 Couture, visit their website at www.k9couture.com, e-mail them at k9_couture@yahoo.com or call Julie Reyes at 0917-893-2460.