The Animal Welfare Situation

By Anna Isabel C. Rodriguez

The author with just some of her pet dogs on a normal weekend.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way animals are treated,” Mahatma Gandhi said.

The young doktora smiles as she proudly shows this quote. We are in the City Hall, inside the busy Health office. Being interviewed is Dr. Karen Vicencio, City Vet, Parañaque’s one-woman Animal Welfare Division.

According to Section 7 of Republic Act 9482 or the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007, local government units (LGUs) are not only required by law to employ a veterinarian, they are also required to establish and maintain a city pound and a city veterinary office. The latter provisions have yet to see light as Parañaque struggles to implement RA 9482. In the meantime, Dra. Vicencio, seemingly misplaced in the City Health Office, looks to the future for possible programs and improvements.

Animal Welfare in the Back Seat

Republic Act 8485  of the Animal Welfare Act of 2008 calls for humane and proper treatment of animals, penalizes animal torture and neglect, and empowers the Bureau of Animal Industry to regulate animal handling through proper issuance of permits.

Why am I pro RH?

I am Pro RH because I know how it feels like to be a young girl growing up in a country where sex is taboo and the only semblance of sex ed we had were lessons on menstruation from sanitary napkins promoting their products in school.

I had a classmate who in high-school thought she could get pregnant if she held hands naked with a boy on a bed. I read of young girls getting pregnant at 14 because they didn't understand how it all worked.

So yes, I think it matters. It would have mattered to my classmate, to that pregnant 14 year old, and it certainly matters to me.

Dugtong DOGtong na Pag-asa: Isang Dokumentaryo

I have written previously on the Laguna Pitbulls (here and here) and it is no secret that this is an advocacy near and dear my heart. I believe that animals need our help and our love.

Meet Goldie.

Goldie is a beautiful pitbull with wide golden brown eyes.

Save the Laguna Pitbulls! (a Teaser Video)

A while back, I wrote about the Laguna Pitbulls and our experience in the rehabilitation site. My team and I are in the process of creating a documentary on this issue. Here is a teaser video:

Save the Laguna Pit-bulls!

The other day,  I visited the Laguna Pit-bull site.

I was amazed– at the sheer number of the dogs, at what a horrid ordeal they've gone through in the hands of men, and how positively delightful it is when these beautiful dogs look up at you with their bright, hopeful eyes and you know that there is still that capacity to love.