A night of compassion

It is a rainy evening, but nothing can dampen the spirits of the humans and their pets who attend the Bow & Wow benefit dinner for Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA) Philippines at the Rockwell Tent.

I make my way to Rockwell early, as I want to get a good seat and also to have a good view of the many humans with their loving and lovely doggies as they enter the well-decorated tent.

“I’m a foster parent for CARA,” says Li An Ascalon. “I take in rescues from the Mandaluyong pound and I care for them until I find a forever home for the doggies.”

Tonight, Li An is with Cooper, a Chow Chow mix. Now, Cooper doesn’t look anything like a Chow Chow, rather he looks like a Lab mix.

Whatever.

The people who bought Cooper from a puppy mill gave Cooper to the Mandaluyong pound because they realized that they had been duped.

It was Li An who took pity on Cooper and stayed with him for three hours, waiting for the person who said he would adopt Cooper.

“He is a smart dog,” Li An says. “He can sit and shake hands.”

Li An is working double-time to help get the Mandaluyong pound in better order. There is so much that needs to be done at the pound, she sighs. But her very positive spirit knows that if each of us did our own share — there would be no cruelty to animals.

“That is what I do for CARA, foster dogs,” she shares. “Actually, I think that is the missing link between the dogs in pounds and their forever homes. If we had more people volunteering to foster dogs, that would make for better adjusted dogs when they go to their forever homes.”

As for Cooper, he is enjoying himself tonight as he feasts on the food on the buffet spread prepared for the dog guests of the night courtesy of Bow & Wow.

There are other CARA volunteers walking their foster doggies, making sure that these fosters learn how to socialize. Each of the CARA volunteers tonight is having a ball with their wards in tow.

Just the two of us: Cooper the recued doggie with his foster mommy Li An Ascalon

Time for compassion, time for CARA

Nancy Cu Unjieng, president of CARA, an animal welfare NGO founded in 2000 by a group of citizens concerned with the plight of street cats and dogs, delivers a most touching speech.

She talks about what CARA has been doing for the past seven years and how its work has impacted on animal welfare in the country.

“In a nutshell, the problems are two-fold: there are just too many of them and most of these animals are abused,” says Nancy Cu Unjieng. “ The Philippine government still does not have the manpower or funds to address the sad condition of our ever-growing domestic cat and dog population.   So CARA relies solely on donations to sustain our clinic in Malate and our projects.”

How did she get involved in helping animals?

It was her father — who gifted her with her first pup at the age of seven — that opened her love for animals.

“Since that time, I have always been with both cats and dogs in our home,” she says.  “My desire to become a vet did not materialize, so I chose to involve myself in animal welfare instead.”

Nancy hopes for the day that other NGOs and barangays will follow CARA and start their own spay/neuter programs.  CARA promotes TNR  (Trap-Neuter-Return) programs in areas such as Makati villages, Quezon province, Ayala Alabang, Fort Bonifacio, Greenbelt Malls, Alexandria Condo, Subic, Roxas Blvd and Heritage Park.

“We also do our own personal rescues of street animals through Facebook and find good homes for them,” she adds.  “I must emphasize that CARA is not a shelter.  We hold educational events with neutered cats and dogs and wildlife animals and have fundraising events for income to sustain CARA.”

Before Nancy ends her talk, she let us in on the current situation of the rescued Pitbulls from the dog-fighting ring run by Korean nationals.

CARA has been at the forefront of the rescue and rehabilitation efforts in that case.

“CARA became the primary NGO involved in the rescue, relocation and rehabilitation of 230 Pitbulls rescued from a dog fighting facility in Laguna,” she says.  “The other NGO involved is IRO in Cebu headed by Nena Hernandez. Maria Parsons, a staunch animal welfare advocate, also threw in her full support to this project.”

For those who are not aware of the background of the dog-fighting ring in Laguna, here is a short background given by Nancy:

“On March 30 the CIDG conducted a raid on a dog-fighting facility in Laguna operated by 11 Koreans.

“At the time there were 230 Pitbulls rescued. Because of the poor conditions of many of the dogs and the inhumane conditions at the site, only 173 dogs made it to a rehab center in Batangas.

“The cost to lease, clear and prepare the property with water, electricity, fencing and individual cages is P1.9 million.

“The maintenance of this facility will require P200,000 monthly.  The bulk of this goes to the caretakers, dog food, utilities and medical bills.

“Ninety percent of the dogs were sick and inflicted with wounds from the weekly fights shown through the Internet worldwide.

“The plan for these dogs is to ensure their good health, rehabilitation and eventual adoption.  They are kind and loving dogs towards humans.  It is truly unfortunate that they were trained by the Koreans to attack and fight each other.”

“Nancy is such a hands-on president. It is why the volunteers cannot give any less than 100 percent in the work we do, because we see she gives 110 percent,” shares Li An after Nancy’s speech.

 “And even after all these years, she still cries when she sees an animal treated badly or in pain. It shows how much she really cares for all the animals.”