It was another no-going-home-weekend and from our overnight stay at QC, I went to Mandaluyong to meetup with my former officemates just to help out at P.A.W.S. or Philippine Animal Awareness Society. We are going there to volunteer and feed the animals in their facility.
It was my friend's birthday and she chose this place to celebrate, by feeding the animals there. We volunteered to go with her and to help. The facility is located at Aurora Boulevard, Katipunan Valley, Loyola Heights, Quezon City just besides the Superline bus garage. It is near the border of Marikina and Quezon City so you can see SM Marikina from afar.
We went there at around 2pm in the afternoon bringing the fish, meat and rice that we will mix for the shelter animals. As we arrived at the gate, we were given ID's telling people that we are there to volunteer. We went to the main office where they welcomed us warmly. Their office is small and there are a lot of cats hanging around. We were a bit amazed on how the cats there are really bigger than those we were used to on the streets. Also, at that time, there are two puppies that are going to foster care. Foster caring is one way to help the shelter. You get to bring home an animal and take care of them for a certain period of time. This way, the shelter frees up some space for some incoming animals. This helps them greatly since the shelter can only take care of a certain number of animals.
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| Our ID's |
We talked to the officials there and then they showed us a small area where we can do the food for the animals there. We brought boiled fish and meat and some cooked rice. The meat is for the doggies and the fish is for the kitties. We need to mix them with the rice and also, mash them so that the small kittens wouldn't bite on the bones.
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| Ground Meat mixed with rice for the doggies |
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| Fish mixed with rice for the kitties |
After we finished setting up the food, they called us so that we can tour the facility. They introduced us to the different animals there. They also showed us the different areas there. The kitties are greater in number than those of the doggies. They have a larger area for both the animals.
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| number of kitties and doggies in the facility |
They have this quarantine area where the sick kitties stay. You need to disinfect your footwear once you entered and upon exiting. This is to ensure that you don't bring out their viruses and make the healthy kitties sick. The Cattery is the next area where the kitties stay and wait for people to adopt them. It is complete with scratching posts and sofas for the kitties to hang around. One of the kitties is like showing off to us and it didn't change its position while we were there. look:
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| Kittie showing off |
The doggies' area is also big since there are lots of big dogs staying there. They have a large area to walk and play around. They are barking at us when we were there so we didn't stay long. On the far end of the facility is the quarantine area for the doggies. This is where newly rescued animals stay. When they get better, they are mixed with the others and gets ready for adoption.
Along the tour, Ms. Anna discusses to us the different situations the animals are in there. We also learned some trivia about the kitties like if a cat is tri-colored, it is a female. It has something to do with the genetics in cats. Also, we learned that the kitties that are roaming around the facility are not one of those to be adopted. They just went there and the people at P.A.W.S. took care of them. They are now healthier since they are all neutered. They explained that when the animals are neutered, they become more healthy since their sexual drives are now down.
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| Kitty eating the food we prepared |
After the mini tour, it was time to feed them. We were assigned to the kitties. We started out at the quarantine area which was a wrong move. We can't feed the healthy kitties because of this. The others took care of it and we just watched them while all the kitties gather around them. I was so jealous of them since I want that many kitties surrounding me too. Next time I get to do this, I'll take note on this.
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| Tubby kitties all around |
After a while we were done, all smelling like fish and sweat but we are all fulfilled. We were happy to have been with the kitties that day. We were almost bathing in alcohol just to drown the smell but it was okay.
We had this mini orientation with Ms. Anna on what they do. She also shared some stories about the animals they rescued. I realized that there are some cruel people who takes advantage of the helpless beings around them. I hope that people would be more educated about this and they stop doing this to the poor creatures. There is something we can do to help out and even in a small way, we can make a difference.
We allotted our Saturday afternoon in a facility, we smelled like sweat and fish, and I even sacrificed sleeping after a night of minimal sleep but we went home happy and fulfilled with the volunteer work we done. It was nice to have done this and I hope I can do this again another time.
You can help too, contact them through:
PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center (PARC)
Aurora Blvd. Katipunan Valley,
Loyola Heights, Quezon City
Tel No.: +63 2 4751688
Email: philpaws@yahoo.com
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