PAWS

Justice Celebrates Birthday at PARC



When Justice the dog first came to PARC, he was severely malnourished. A  newspaper reporter whose beat was the Department of Justice spotted him in the DOJ compound. The dog was sickly and unable to fend for himself.

Doc Wil, the PAWS shelter veterinarian, clearly remembers that day in May 2009 when Justice was first brought to PARC.

"He was unloaded from the van of the reporter, and one of the caretakers quickly put him on a leash to be walked to the dog quarantine kennels. But the dog was so weak and skinny that he collapsed right in front of the clinic. Our caretaker had to carry him the rest of the way."

The road to recovery had been sure but slow for the quiet dog. By October 2009, he had put on weight and was transferred to Dog Run 1, along with the other friendly, adoptable canines of PARC.

Adoption applicant Kate Contreras called PARC first to ask if we could recommend a dog to her. She already had one labrador and specified that the dog must be friendly to other dogs.

At the time of her call, Justice was at the PARC office, and PAWS volunteers were lamenting that the rescuer was not going to come back and adopt Justice, as she promised.

Justice lay quietly on the floor. He was definitely a laid-back dog, who avoided being walked as much as possible and just loved listening in to conversations at the office.

"Kate, when you come over, perhaps you'd like to take a look at Justice," Anna Cabrera, the PAWS Program Director suggested. "He seems to get along with every other dog and is always sitting on all fours. Some might think he is lazy, but we are convinced he simply is a deep-thinker who is content to sit and watch anything and anyone"

Justice got along well with Kate's other dog, Coby, and was indeed a perfect match for all the members of the Contreras family.

On May 29, 2010, Kate's car pulled in and we almost did not recognize Justice when he got down from the car. He was fat and he was walking happily alongside Coby, Kate's labrador.

Kate brought cake and pancit. When PAWS volunteers asked why, Kate said she wanted to celebrate Justice's "birthday".
"Since we do not know his real birthday, what better day to celebrate it than on the anniversary of his admission to PARC," Kate said.

The volunteers sang "Happy Birthday" and Kate blew out Justice's birthday candle for him.






We knew it was a new life for a new dog when we saw the happy expression on Justice's face.

We look forward to many  of our shelter alumni sharing their 'birthday' photos with us. It could be any day that the adopter chooses. It could be celebrated at home or at the PAWS shelter.

To adopt a shelter dog and give him a chance at a new life, please contact PAWS at 475-1688 or check out the Adoption Page of our website www.paws.org.ph

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Doris and Our Gentle Giant, Hagrid

He was found in an advanced state of malnourishment along Katipunan Avenue.

The massive dog hardly had  any fur left  on him and flies feasted on his stinking body. He had sagging skin and discharge coming from his eyes.   Someone had left him there to die. What other reason could there be for someone to leave a sick English mastiff on the sidewalk of Katipunan?

Hagrid  was weak from hunger, he could barely stand up when  a PAWS officer saw him

The PAWS officer who stopped to ask passers-by about the dog was informed that a jeepney driver "owned" it.

The same driver quickly denied ownership and said that the dog was given to him by an unknown man when PAWS started asking him questions.

The Shelter took in the gentle giant and  PAWS Adoption Head, Liza,a Harry Potter fan, aptly named him "Hagrid".

For months, Hagrid stayed in the dog quarantine area, always wagging his tail and greeting visitors with crinkled noses : the sticky discharge from his mangy skin would fill his kennel space with a smell that could drive a skunk away.

To test a new volunteer's mettle in cleaning kennels was to assign him or her to scrub THE KENNEL and to give THE DOG a bath.

Many baths later, after completing  tests and vaccinations, our shelter vet said that it was safe for Hagrid to be mixed with the other dogs of Dog Run 1.

So late March 2009, Hagrid timidly stepped into an enclosure where ten average-sized native dogs quickly huddled away from him in one corner of the Run.

It was a day of 'new things' for these shelter dogs - a portable kiddie pool had just been brought in so that they can cool off in the hot weather..and now, this giant hulk being made to join them!

"They rescued a pony and brought him in with us!" or so we thought we heard the dogs say.

For a few awkward minutes, Hagrid ran around the pool trying to make friends with the frightened PAWS shelter dogs. Parvati, the brave (white) one, was the first to assess that Hagrid was nothing more than an oversized puppy.

Once that was established, everything went back to normal in Dog Run 1. =)

But inwardly, shelter staff and volunteers feared whether  the curse of "big dogs" would continue and whether we would indeed be able to find Hagrid a good home. 

Large breeds are among the most difficult to place, requiring owners with plenty of yard space, time and a fair bit of experience with dogs. Memories of Buck, the shelter's Great Dane, who died unadopted in the shelter, were still clear in volunteers' minds

Our fears evaporated when Doris Cruz started walking Hagrid in April 2009.

It seemed as if it was love at first sight. Our long-time shelter patron and dog-rescuer, Doris, and our gentle giant, Hagrid - definitely a match made in heaven!

Last June 1, Doris Cruz took Hagrid home. She sent us the photo below yesterday.

Is it our imagination or is that the biggest doggie smile ever?

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Fabie and Angelina

By Fabie Ortiz

Dear fellow animal-lovers,

I was literally moved to tears when I read the poem, "I Rescued a Human Today." It was so touching. I could really relate with almost everything written on it because I was recently rescued by an adorable shelter cat named Angelina.

Angelina happens to be my favorite shelter cat at PAWS-PARC. She was originally named Vicky (from the warning "Be Careful" because she used to show signs of aggressive behavior). Thanks to good souls at PAWS like Heidi who patiently took care and rehabilitated her and eventually brought out the best in her. She became very tame and very "malambing." I renamed her Angelina after the stunning & famous Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie.

When I went to PAWS last November 8 for my weekly volunteer work, I could not find her. I thought she was already adopted or worse, something bad happened to her. I was crying. I finally found her at the quarantine area. She was sick.

PAWS officers Liza, Heidi, Gwen and Dr. Almoro requested me to foster her for 2 weeks so she could easily regain her strength. Before I knew it, I was bringing home Angelina plus a cage, a carrier, litter box, a plastic bag full of sawdust, cat food and medicine and even toys which PAWS provided. (HIndi ako makapaniwala! Napakabilis ng mga pangyayari at napakalakas ng convincing power ng mga taga-PAWS and of course my love for Angelina is the strongest force.)

After a week, Angelina has adjusted to my little home and has gotten well. As I have spent more time with her, I have discovered more of her endearing qualities which have made me love her even more. Now, I'm planning to adopt her for good.

Her name Angelina suits her well. She is so sweet. She even looks so innocent and naive (para syang cat version ni Maria Clara) She is like an angel who provides me company. She listens to my stories. She comforts me whenever I feel sad. She never fails to amuse me. Her hugs (especially when she rubs her face with my face) remove all my cares away. She even sometimes licks my face. She' s very "malambing." She likes to be rubbed on her neck. She won't eat unless I rub her neck first. She purrs a lot.

Angelina is not perfect. She is quite timid and I can say lazy. She doesn't like to exercise. All she wants to do is to sleep on my sofa the whole day, hahaha, how cute! She's actually doing me a favor because she doesn't jump around the house and break my house displays.

I was really surprised that once during lunchtime, she jumped on the dining table and got a small piece of chicken from my plate without me noticing it. I reprimanded her for that. But I love her just the same. I thank God for sending me an angel cat named Angelina. She's indeed a blessing.

I'm attaching some pictures of Geline, (my nickname for her) for you to see how adorable my angel is.

God bless you and your pets. MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Fabie Ortiz
Volunteer, PAWS

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Jasmine: Gone to the Farm                                                   

By Sherwin Castillo                                                                       
reposted from www.mefindhome.org

For some time now, I've been hearing some buzz about someone wanting to adopt shelter dog Jasmine who's currently dubbed as the longest-staying resident dog of the PAWS shelter (PARC).

But since Jasmine was still at the shelter last time I was there, I chose not to give any indication of such possibility yet on this blog (although other volunteers have been announcing it everywhere). After all, there is always that unlucky possibility of a botched adoption for some reason or another.

Imagine my delight and sigh of relief when I opened my inbox this morning and saw one email with subject heading "pics of Jasmine - finally home!" from PAWS' Liza Umayam.

Definitely and absolutely, this is something good to blog about.

Last Saturday (August 2), Jasmine bade goodbye to the animal shelter that has been her residence for about 3.5 years. She was picked up by her new parent, Marla Nicandro, amid the gloomy and rainy weather. Marla herself was even sick and was under heavy Biogesic + Neozep medication but she still decided to push through with her shelter visit.

Marla Nicandro is no stranger to PAWS as she is also volunteer who's very active in its Dr. Dog Program. She is the proud parent of one Dr. Dog named Bacchus.

And now thanks to Marla, Jasmine will be spending the rest of her life in a farm where she could be herself and play with other lucky dogs like her.

Below is a series of pictures and words by Marla on Jasmine's journey from shelter to HOME.

Hello all!

It was a dark, gloomy and wet day when I went to PARC yesterday morning to pick up Jasmine. I woke up with a fever that morning and almost postponed the trip (health-wise and weather-wise), but then I figured there was no point in that... popped a Biogesic and Neozep and headed for PARC.

I guess Jasmine got so used to seeing people come and go that seeing me yesterday morning wasn't a big thing. (On another note: I saw Jerby staring at me from the other dog house.. waah! someone please adopt him.)













Off to the farm we go... she seemed really excited in the car. And yes, she ended up "blessing" my trunk

Completely ignoring Ruffa, our lab pup. Glad to know she holds her own when Ruffa starts being the makulit puppy that she is.

Natalia (daughter of my parents' friends) decided to go around the farm with me and help familiarize Jasmine with the sights.




Marla promises to send more pics to show how Jasmine is faring in her new and wonderful farm home. Thank you very much Marla!


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From Zoe to Palma to Askat to Mengay to Hyacinth                                      

By Sherwin Castillo                                                                       
reposted from www.mefindhome.org


The author of this story is fellow PAWS volunteer Angelica Ocampo who recently got adopted by a former shelter cat named Zoe. She's now recipient to a generous amount of love and appreciation of the feline sort. Welcome to the club, Angelica! :)

Palma was the name we gave her on our way to the University of the Philippines that 20th of february 2008 as a tribute to the venue of her first stint as PAWS' shelter cat representative.

I did not really pay too much attention to this three-colored feline since being a dog person, I was busy petting and hugging ely, the sweet shelter dog.

But at the lecture, she never left my lap and promptly stole my heart and so I adopted her.

Friends suggested numerous names like Askat or Purrdy, even my mom wanted the name Menggay for her, and for a week after adopting her, she was still un-named.

PAWS volunteers like Liza Umayam gave numerous advice on how to feed and care for her, they were all very helpful.

Since her arrival here at home, she has been great. Before leaving for the office I make sure to give her enough food for the day, kibble being her favorite.

After a very hectic day at work, tired and all, we play, which she absolutely loves doing, and it somehow takes the stress or the sadness of the day away.

The only problem i've ecountered so far is this one day when i tried to change the kitty litter box from kusot to newspaper as newspaper is easier to clean. I got home after work and she pood and peed on the cushions as if to say "your comfort? what about mine?", she won that one.

I'm looking at her now and she's looking at me with those eyes, so cool and calm, the way cats should be. The other cats I've encountered hates being cuddled or kissed, but she accepts them placidly. The day I named her, I opened the window to my unit to see if she'll run away.

She jumped up on the window, watched the busy street, sniffed the air outside and sat back on the carpet. she knows where she belongs now, she is content and i am too. I named her Hyacinth.

Please adopt a pet from PAWS and give another dog or cat a chance to be loved and experience the fulfillment of being loved back unconditionally.

Want to adopt a cat? Visit the shelter and meet the shelter cats! There are over 70 waiting for you!!!



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Do Shelter Dogs Smile?                                                         

By Sherwin Castillo                                                                       
reposted from www.mefindhome.org

I remember about 2 years ago when I started volunteering and shooting pictures of the residents of the PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center (PARC), I often got requests from PAWS to take pictures of "smiling" shelter dogs.

While I often said yes to the requests, I distinctly recall that I failed to deliver that particular assignment week after week. I did catch a few "smiles" along the way but most of the stuff I kept producing would have given me the boot if they were paid gigs. All I kept getting were images of sad, bored dogs longing for something better.

The images on this post were sent to me by a reader who, with his family, have brought a couple of shelter dogs into their wonderful home. Jeremy Pedreña's photos of Missy and Tweety with his wife Julie and son JJ are photos that I would have loved to have taken.

There's a ton of material on the internet asserting that dogs smile as a very clever adaptive mechanism. Wolves pull back their lips into a smile as a submissive posture to dominant wolves. Pet dogs differ from wolves in that they use the smile to elicit favorable reactions from their human alphas.

If smiling gets them a warm hug or a nice pat on the head, why would they not do it, right? Alex Lieber of PetPlace.com believes that a dog genuinely smiles because he "associates the expression with something that makes him happy."

Do shelter dogs smile? Yes they do but since happiness is a commodity not very easy to come by in a shelter for homeless animals, dogs probably smile simply to satisfy a biological need (panting) or to maintain the peace in the shelter pack hierarchy.

There's something different about the smiles in Jeremy's photos compared to those that I get at the shelter.

Jeremy's images put mine to school!

Jeremy takes a picture of Julie with Missy and Tweety. Jeremy and Julie has a long history of loving animals. He tells me he chose Tweety because it was sort of love at first sight when they met at the shelter. He loved Tweety's playfulness and thought she was perfect for his active lifestyle.

Missy on the other hand was chosen by Julie because she wanted to give her another chance at a good life. Missy was abandoned at the shelter apparently because she was causing fights between a husband and wife.

The husband threatened to kill Missy so the wife decided to leave her at the shelter. Missy initially didn't cope very well with her new homeless life. She went into some separation-anxiety and fell ill. She was on her way to recovery when Julie decided to adopt her.


To most homeless dogs, finding a forever home is but a distant dream. Dream no more, Tweety.

Home is where the smile is.

The photo above is a photo I took weeks before Tweety was adopted. Do you see the difference?

Tweety was one of three dogs rescued from UP village. They used to be some of the Pasilyo Dogs (Corridor dogs) of PARC back when the dog quarantine was still under construction.


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Poypoy, the Frisbee-Catching Filipino Dog                                                         

By Sherwin Castillo                                                                       
reposted fromwww.mefindhome.org

In the recently concluded Alpo Frisbee Challenge, there was one dog that, in my opinion, stood out among all the contestants. There were the huge pedigreed canines like the Belgian Malinois, Labradors, German Shepherds which are some of the dog breeds that you would expect to see in such dog contests.

And then there was Poypoy.

Poypoy was the lone Filipino dog, known also as the "aspin" or "asong pinoy" (a preferred name over "askal" or "asong kalye"), that made it to the finals of the frisbee-catching tilt. Poypoy lost in the contest (he caught 14 frisbees and ranked 8th out of 11) but I think he won some ground in the struggle to uplift the image of his own Pinoy lineage, which is commonly perceived as an inferior breed to his imported counterparts.

A really good article about Poypoy is featured in today's issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (June 10, 2008).

It was written by none other than Poypoy's human companion and guardian, Nice Rodriguez.

It's one of those articles that you wished wouldn't end. Below are my favorite parts:

Poypoy came into my life unexpectedly. When I woke up to buy my breakfast one morning more than two years ago, he was there barely lifting his head, dying near my gate. When I asked whose puppy it was, the neighbors’ helpers said, the dog had been there for two days.

Then one early morning, when I let him pee, I found him all-bloodied with a big cut on his sprightly leg. There was also a lot of blood in the laundry area. He wanted to be with me and tried to open a sharp tin-edged back door and sliced himself good.

I panicked for I had never seen that much blood in my whole life. I knotted a plastic bag around his wound to catch the blood and carried him to a pedicab. I kept crying, “My dog’s hurt!”

When I lived in Toronto, I remember watching news on Canadian TV about a research showing that dogs had the IQ of a two-year-old toddler. So I raised Poypoy as a kid.

After he was housebroken, one of the first words he learned was “iwan” (Leave) because that was what I planned to do with him after I sorted out my own life. Of course, he knew what “sama” (come along) was. Besides “upo” (sit), we never did serious obedience training.

“Where’s your birdy?” I would ask him. He would raise one of his hind legs and showed what remained of his private parts. By then, I had also paid for his neutering (another P2,000) because I planned to leave him in a shelter where they asked that abandoned pets be fixed first.

After his “where’s your birdy” trick, it was impossible to keep Poypoy to myself anymore. He was already amusing people. He could do Bless, and do “complex” commands like Kiss Grandma and Get Plato.

Then a friend from the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (Paws) said that they would like to take Poypoy to Baguio for a “parade,” and that there would be a frisbee competition.

They wanted visibility for native dogs like Poypoy, particularly in that summer capital where there was still rampant sale of dog meat.

They lamented that aspins were most often absent in dog shows and that they wanted him to perform his tricks as Professor Poypoy in their pet therapy program Doctor Dog which they will hold in a Baguio hospital..

Although aspins had always been present in our streets and homes, it was so pretentious and snobbish not to see them in dog shows when they were just as intelligent, agile and beautiful. Like myself, they also demanded equal respect and awe.

I wish a lot more Filipinos would take up the challenge of training their aspins to improve their bonds and show them off. I used to be repulsed by the commercialism of dog events in the malls, but these were where Poypoy learned some of his most impressive stunts.


Want to train your very own companion aspin? Read the entire article and be inspired by how Nice did it.

Filipinos just need to realize that Filipino dogs are as clever and as pretty as any other dog breeds out there.

Adopt a Filipino shelter dog and see for yourself!