Ten deaths for a 12 year old aren’t usual.
Four goldfishes + three hamsters + two dogs + a chick =10 deaths and sadly, without even decent burials.
They didn’t die all at the same time of course but, a child can only take so much that cannot go beyond his or her ten fingers.
I just woke up one morning and our aquarium was already empty, the goldfishes jumped out of the water. My three hamsters found themselves inside the tummy of stray cats. I didn’t really know how my dogs died. After a summer vacation when we went back home, I was informed that my parents had given away my dog and it died with its new owner. My second dog also died while we were away on vacation. And my poor my baby chick which I remember naming Temper, died because I wasn’t able to take good care of it.
After the death of my last pet, I developed a zoophobia. I can’t hold animals anymore, I don’t want to be near them and just their mere presence triggers fear in me. I developed a paranoia that all animals will hurt me, that they will bite my skin and devour me.
I took the death of my last pet as a toll, maybe taking care of pets wasn’t my cup of tea, I thought. Also, my countless encounters with dogs which were about to devour me, built not only fear but also a loathing for dogs.
But change happens when you least expect it.
My zoophobia continued until a trip to Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF), an animal rescue and rehabilitation center in Capas, Tarlac.
AKF is a 2.5 refuge for dogs which were once slaughter-bound , neglected, abandoned and were about to be transacted for dog meat trade. It is the largest non-profit animal shelter in the country which promotes a no-kill policy.
It wasn’t one of those trips which triggers goose bumps or an inability to sleep the night before due to excessive enthusiasm for a getaway.
It wasn’t thrilling at first but, little by little, it became life changing.
One thing I have come to learn in going to places I have never been before was to never expect. Not expecting will lessen the probabilities for regrets. Also by doing such, one allows the place to reveal itself freely without the boxing of inhibitions.
Upon arriving at AKF, it was the dogs’ barking which incited an instant fear that made me want to stay at the van. But as how Franklin Delano Roosevelt coined it, the only thing you have to fear is fear itself. Still with jitters crawling in me, I hopped out of the van.
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| Manny, the boxer :) |
Manny, a pure bred boxer greeted our group. He didn’t howl as if he will feast on my flesh. He just smelled us like we were freshly washed bed covers. Although I was still clasping on to my fear, slowly I felt that Manny was assuring me that he won’t harm me and that he just wanted to welcome new pals. He led us to the shelter’s main building where the clinic and the office are housed.
Dr. Roland Arciga, a resident veterinarian at the shelter, mentioned that 98% of the funds they use for the protection and the promotion of the rescued dogs come from Charles Wartenberg, founder of International Wildlife Coalition Trust (IWCT). IWCT is a foundation based in the United Kingdom which is dedicated to building animal rescue shelters.
Dr. Arciga mentioned that since the Philippine government doesn’t support the maintenance of the AKF, the best thing it can do is to disseminate information about the center. According to him information dissemination is very crucial in promoting animal awareness and convincing tourists both local and international to adopt dogs after their visit at the rescue center.
An irony is then manifested in the funding of a foreign country in solving our country’s own problem in trading dog meat. Excruciating it may seem but it’s really happening. According to a statement released by Charles Wartenberg, “...around 2,000 dogs per week are being killed to fill the dinner plates of those that still persist in eating man’s best friend.”
The trading of dog meat sprang from the delivery of goat meat from Batangas to Pangasinan. Since there is an insufficient supply of goat meat, meat traders resorted to dog meat to make the goat meat appear plentiful. Tormentingly, as time passed, the demand for dog meat grew rapidly.
As we went along the holding pens, we were welcomed by a chorus of more than 700 howling dogs. It was terrifying yet comforting at the same time. Terrifying because I was still holding on to my zoophobia and comforting for I know that they are caged and won’t have the capabilities of hurting me unless they will be freed.
I freed my eyes in the lost gazes of dogs pleading for freedom. I realized that more than fearing them, it should be concern for them that I should be first worried about. No animal would want to be caged, just like human beings; they are gifted with life and liberty. But these dogs are very inferior to some greedy humans who deprive them of their right to live freely without having to fear that their heads might be someone else’s meal the next day.
Each dog held in that pen has a distinct story. The scars on some of the dogs’ mouths struck me. Dr. Arciga explained that those scars were due to the cans forcefully shoved on their mouths so they won’t make noises as they were being illegally trafficked.
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| Kylo, the amputated dog |
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| Kylo, my life dog |
Of all the dogs in the shelter, I considered Kylo as my life dog. Kylo is just like any other dog until you see that he has only three feet. His right hind leg had to be amputated due to an infection that spread in his femur. He is one of the two dogs which survived among the three live dogs recovered with other 35 butchered dogs in a vehicle bound north of Luzon.
10 deaths for a 12 year old is just a handful compared to 10,000 deaths that will still be counting if left disregarded. We’ve heard and experienced countless stories of the loyalties of dogs, maybe it’s about time we become loyal to them in return. RLM
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