The country’s first Quadruple A developer, DMCI Homes, has linked hands with animal welfare advocates to promote responsible pet ownership in its condominium communities.
Last Sept. 23, DMCI Homes invited the Philippine Animal Rescue Team (PART) to its Stellar Place property in Visayas Avenue, Quezon City to educate residents not only on the proper handling of their pet dogs and cats but also on the appropriate way of dealing with stray animals.
During the seminar, Stellar Place unit owners were encouraged to address their pets’ physical, social, emotional and mental well-being by giving them adequate sustenance, proper shelter, medical care, and daily exercise.
“Your needs are similar to your pets’ needs. So it’s just like taking care of a child and if your dogs are seniors, it’s like taking care of your old parents,” said Rowena Suzara, PART executive director.
Suzara also introduced the trap-neuter-return (TNR) program to prevent overpopulation of stray animals in the property. The cats are spayed or neutered and then returned to the place. This means the cats will still have a place to stay but will no longer reproduce.
“We have to learn to co-exist with animals. As humans, we need space. We need land. It’s the same thing with animals,” Suzara said.
The UP-MMDA Vanguard K9 Corps, on the other hand, demonstrated basic obedience training for pet dogs as part of the group’s advocacy to raise disaster awareness.
The group, which is composed of volunteer canine enthusiasts, trains owners and their pet dogs to be able responders in the event of a disaster, particularly during a strong earthquake.
“Our group is a group of volunteers who train regularly and vigorously to be good in search and rescue. We’re dog enthusiasts with the desire to help other people and their dogs to be ready in case a ‘big one’ happens or a disaster happens,” explained Pat Aquino, one of the group’s members who also brought her 4-year-old Belgian Malinois during the seminar.
May Javier, the condo’s resident veterinarian and a member of the UP-MMDA Vanguard K9 Corps, led the anti-rabies vaccination for dogs of unit owners.
On the same day, unit owners paraded their pet dogs in their costumes during the “Furry Fashionista.”
“I learned a lot from the seminar like the proper way of handling a leash, the proper care when my dogs get sick and also basic obedience training,” said Larraine Joyce Solis whose shih tzu, Flower, won first place in the dog fashion show.
Just like in every DMCI Homes community, Stellar Place allows unit owners to have a total of two pet dogs or cats that weigh less than 25 pounds and standing 15 inches in height when full-grown.