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THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS, DONORS
AND VOLUNTEERS WHO HELPED IN THE RESCUE & RELIEF
OPERATIONS FOR THE FLOOD VICTIMS DUE TO
MONSOON RAINS OR "HABAGAT"
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PAWS has responded to the request of several distraught pet owners who had to leave their pets behind on roofs or on the second floor of their houses during the flurry of evacuation.
Some were not allowed to bring their pets in cramped rescue boats because the boats had either pregnant women, people who were ill, or asthmatic kids whose parents did not want any animals on rescue boats.
While PETA took down most of the calls (news of PETA hotline for animals in distress quickly spread), PAWS consolidated the general master list based on Facebook reports or accounts sent to PAWS volunteers via text or email.
By Wednesday, PAWS had deployed two teams: 1 for Marikina and 1 for Pasig-Cainta.
On Thursday, all PAWS' spare cages were filled with evacuees - 12 dogs and 4 cats that PAWS volunteers had extracted or had to be taken to PARC by their humans as these owners looked for a drier, safer place for them.
As quickly as the rains and floods came, some areas became dry and went back to normal by Friday. "It was weird that when we entered Provident Village, the waters were still chest-high in some areas. After 2 to 3 hours of going around the village, the water in the same areas had gone down considerably on our way out.
Some areas had only mud where the water used to be. It's hard to believe that the same area could look so different in a span of a few hours," says May Felix-Razon, head of the PAWS Rescue and Disaster-Relief Team in Marikina. Over 1200 packs of repacked dog food and cat food were given to pet owners who chose to stay in their flooded homes with their pets.
While Pasig and Cainta floods had also gone down to knee or ankle level by Saturday, John Tangkeko relayed that he had to walk in chin-high waters to steer PAWS' small wooden boat in Angono Rizal on Tuesday, Aug 14.
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John was able to evacuate two senior shih tzus from upon the request of owner Virginia Dalisay who lived in Carebi Subdivision in Angono.
PAWS volunteer Noel Trinchera was kissed joyfully by two dogs upon his entrance to the flooded Countryside Pasig house of a lawyer pet-owner. The lawyer had sought PAWS' help in going back to his house where he left his dogs behind since Tuesday. Noel had to help push open the door of the house because various heavy pieces of furniture which were moved around by the flood blocked the main door.
By then, the dogs had gone without food for two days and had pooped all over the white leather sofa which was the only dry spot they could perch on.
The dogs were more overjoyed at seeing Noel and their owners and kept trying to lick their faces before 'politely' turning to the pet kibble we poured onto their bowls.
PAWS thanks donors who dropped off old towels, old newspapers, pet food, kennel cabs, cages and detergents, as well as those who gave ready-to-eat food for the volunteers.
PETA's Ashley Fruno joined in the second day of rescues and lamented that some animals could have saved themselves if they weren't left tied up or caged. "We have to remind pet owners- that if they are unable to evacuate with their pets, they have to leave them unchained and uncaged so that they at least have a chance to swim to safety," she says.
A new group- Philippine Animal Lovers Society or PALS - joined in the 3rd day of rescues and were able to recover a missing Maltese aptly named "Lucky".
Lucky's owner, Marie Salcedo, posted frantic FB messages asking rescuers in Pasig area to keep an eye out for the tiny white pooch. Social networks proved invaluable in the face of national crisis - it prompted PALS volunteers to go door-to-door, until they found Lucky with one of the neighbors.
Dr Wilford Almoro's team distributed pet relief goods in Malabon and Valenzuela."We had human relief items such as noodles and sardines for the pet owners as well," says team member Jonika Pinon, who also narrated how they had to be trained in using a slip leash as a muzzle in case they had to rescue a dog.
The Cainta team had to ask for strong swimmers for their team since the waters there were reportedly "lampas-tao" (6 to 7 ft-deep), but the only teams who really found themselves swimming were the Marikina and Angono rescue teams.
PAWS thanks all its brave volunteer-rescuers as well as those who provided vehicles and drivers like CARA, Luchie Diaz, Jennifer Ramirez, Therese Martinez, Oliver Tan of Pooch Park, Kenneth Kang, Rob Ceballos, Sheila Lloren and Julien Bourraux.
PAWS' relief distribution to pet owners in affected areas will continue for as long as it still has donated pet food to give out. So far, no one has donated feed for livestock for PAWS' planned relief distribution in Calumpit, Bulacan.
For those who want to financially support PAWS' disaster-relief and rescue efforts for the animals, you may deposit your donations directly to the account of "The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)" in the following banks:
PNB current account no. 378263800012 and BPI savings acct number 3943-0086-11
You may also donate online through paypal by clicking on the button below. Please leave a note "FOR THE ANIMAL VICTIMS OF FLOODING, AUGUST 2012"
For more photos, click https://picasaweb.google.com/adminpawsweb/HabagatFloodingAnimalRescueAndReliefOperationsAugust2012