More and more people are deciding to adopt, instead of buying dogs and cats.
What gladdens animal welfare groups and advocates more is the fact more people no longer discriminate against dogs without breeds, and adopt asong Pinoy or aspins, and mixed breeds.
Because all dogs deserve to be loved. All dogs are loving, loyal, and easy to please. All dogs are also easy to take care of as long as owners are not pasaway or irresponsible.
Who are the pasaway owners?
Those who
1. Give table food or food scraps. These food cause mange or skin problems, and adversely affect the kidneys, liver and heart, among others.
2. Do not give vaccines to protect their dogs from illnesses. When their dogs get sick, they end up paying a lot for treatment or their dogs die because they can not afford the treatment.
3. Do not give the yearly anti-rabies shot to their dogs which leave them and those in contact with the dogs open to rabies infection. A bite incident can cause one his/her life, and will leave an owner open to possible imprisonment and being ordered by the court to pay thousands of pesos in damages.
4. Keep their dogs in dirty places. This is one of the reasons dogs get sick. Again, treatment will cost an owner a lot of money. Failure to have the dog treated will cause suffering to the dog and worse, death.
These are just some of the acts of owners that are deemed irresponsible.
But it is easy to take care of dogs. All owners have to do is provide clean food and clean water, bathe the dog once a week, provide a clean space for the dog, have the dog vaccinated against illnesses and rabies.
In return, dogs bring color to one’s life, wonderful experiences and valuable lessons to each member of the family.
Audrey Reyes, adopter of rescued aspin Derek, and Raycyn Enriquez-Aabad, adopter of rescued mixed breed Bonus, both attest that their adopted rescues brought so much joy into their lives.
Here are their stories in their own words:
Audrey Reyes and pup Derek
Being a furparent is a blessing. Derek made my kids responsible
And every dog deserves a good life as much as we, humans, do.
When we–my kids and I–decided to adopt Derek, we were all excited. I love dogs so much that I prefer being around them rather than with other people. People bite and my dogs won't.
Whenever I'm going through tough times, they are there for me. With different personalities, they have different approaches.
Derek would just lie down by my side quietly and would keep staring at me with his puppy eyes. And once he got my attention and I started to pet him, he would then be jolly and would give me tons of smooches to lighten up my day.
He gets along well with his brothers and sisters. He loves their morning and afternoon walks. (They do their potty outside the house.) He loves to play with balls though he doesn't know how to catch one.
All my dogs sleep beside me after my shift. They all know when to be quiet so as not to wake me up and when they can be very playful.
I find my dogs much more responsible than other people. You'll know when they did something wrong as they would feel sorry about it. My dogs won't lie. They would not harm us. They're my best friends. They're my family. Our family.
Raycyn Enriquez-Abad and Bonus
Bonus made so many positive changes in our life. It was truly a blessing that she joined our family.
To name a few , she made us believe in second chances. It was the first time we got an adult dog. We did not know anything about her life before she was saved by SAVE ALL. But we saw that anyone can bounce back from a past.
Second, it made our sense of commitment stronger. Since getting Bonus (of course there were a lot of adjustments and circumstances that needed our correction), I am happy to say that my husband and I stuck by Bonus' side and never thought of giving her back.
My dad, mom, Gab and I take turns in feeding , walking, bathing and training her. We are a team.
Third, Bonus taught us what true loyalty means. She was once a shy dog. But now, she alerts us multiple times of possible dangers. May it be a popping sound of a stove, or a stranger trying to get in, she would alert us until the situation is handled.
I would very much encourage everyone to adopt a rescued dog. Sometimes, I ask myself who really rescued who because Bonus brought such joy into our life.
Adopting a rescued dog not only changed the life of that dog, but you are affecting multiple dogs in the process. By adopting a rescue, you can encourage others to do the same, lessen the number of stray dogs, bring awareness in your own circle, and you just saved a life!
Adopting a rescued dog not only changes the life of that dog, it changes you and your perspective as well.