There Is A Shelter That Needs Your Help More Than Ever
Be kind to all creatures. This is one of the things my late grandmother taught me early in life. She passed away 2 years ago and on her deathbed I made a promise that I am going to try my best to do good, be kinder, and follow in her footsteps.
Mommy, as what we fondly called our grandma was a very kind-hearted woman. She helped both people and animals in need. I remember she would take in stray cats. At one time I think she had a total of 7 adopted cats. And she would jokingly tell the cats to stop bringing in their friends as they were now too many along with the house dogs that we have as pets. But Mommy never turned away cats who’d suddenly appear in her home expecting to have a meal. When Mommy died, she still had cats. During her wake, her favorite cat, a young kitten with orange fur kept by her coffin.
Last November 8th was my grandmother’s 2nd year death anniversary. Keeping true to my promise, I decided to donate dog food to the Mandaluyong Animal Shelter (MAS). Michee and I mentioned our plan to 3 of our friends – Sasa, Mitch, and Rishel - and they immediately jumped on board and donated money so we can get more sacks of dog food.
So off we went last Saturday to MAS with 8 sacks of dog food. What we saw was just heartbreaking. Hundreds of dogs, many of them with illness are in dire need of our help. They need food, plastic mats, shampoos, vaccinations, medications, and a lot of kind hearted people who would be willing to sponsor their needs. We met 2 volunteers when we visited, Jinky and Siki, who didn’t mind doing the hard work of cleaning the shelter and getting their hands dirty in the process.
Jinky told me that they actually just ran out of food that day and they didn’t know where to get food to feed the hundreds of dogs in MAS the following day. When they saw that we brought 8 sacks of dog food, they thanked us profusely and even called us “heaven sent”.
As we got into our car and waved goodbye to Jinky, Siki and the MAS dogs, our hearts just sank. Michee started crying. I can’t blame her. After seeing the hundreds of dogs in need, without a home, many of them battling sickness and waiting for a human to give them love, a warm touch, a simple pat, you could not help but shed tears for these 4-legged lovely creatures.
The MAS dogs need your love badly. We appeal to your kind hearts. The MAS shelter does not accept money but you can donate dog food, mats, shampoos and soaps, leash and collars or even sponsor medications and vaccinations. If you’re planning to have a dog, maybe you can consider adopting one from MAS as well.
For donations or inquiries, contact Help Mandaluyong Animal Shelter.
Photo Credit: Help Mandaluyong Animal Shelter
