What we hope to see more of

Most, if not all, animal rescuers and animal welfare activists we come across and read about have been introduced to animal welfare advocacy through an initial direct encounter with a stray cat or stray dog. We believe that this aspect is seldom acknowledged, and that if taken as part of the dialogue on why so few people care about the plight of stray animals, may be important in trying to come up with ways in breaking apart this societal problem.

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Every initiative usually has a goal, and this project of ours, named after our first dog (not a rescue dog) and first cat (former stray cat), initially had the words  "animal rescue project" tagged in its homepage when it started two years ago. But along the way we are able to observe and analyze several angles into the systemic problems around the topic of stray animals in the city, and realized that rescuing is just a small part of how this issue may be approached. First, there is not enough governmental support (the first Quezon City pound was built only several years ago) to provide education and facilities for strays, and second, attitude towards strays in Filipino culture is varied and complex - ranging from looking at stray cats as pests and are disposable, stray dogs as meat ("asocena"), dogs as house guards requiring minimal care (usually tied via rope or chain outside the house with little to no shelter, given food and water once a day), to the other end of the spectrum where dogs and cats are seen as part of the family.