Mandaluyong volunteers rue neglect of dog shelter

FOR SEVERAL years, the Mandaluyong Animal Shelter got by largely through the efforts of private volunteers. RICHARD A. REYES

It was supposed to be the perfect setup: Stray and abandoned dogs would be brought to the city pound, where the local government would look after them with the help of dedicated volunteers, until the animals got adopted.

But according to Help MAS (Mandaluyong Animal Shelter), a group of dog lovers, the situation at the facility was far from ideal.

“It’s supposed to be a collaborative effort but it’s not working,” Li-An Ascalon, the group’s head and founder, told the Inquirer in a recent interview.

Ascalon said that instead of a partnership where both sides work together to ensure the welfare of animals, Help MAS members ended up shouldering most of the Mandaluyong City government’s responsibilities.

“You are working with people who do not have animal welfare in mind,” Ascalon said, noting that in the nearly two years the volunteer group had been in existence, the local government had hardly shown the political will to make the partnership work.

This could be seen in the poor conditions at the facility in Barangay Addition Hills and the scant attention given to the animals when the volunteers were not around, she said.

Gone to the dogs

There were many instances when the place was left dirty and foul-smelling for days by its supposed caretakers. Leftover food littered the floor. The dogs were supposed to have regular baths, but such routines were hardly followed.

One Friday, Ascalon recalled, she and her fellow volunteers fed the dogs before going home. When she came back the following day, it dismayed her to see that the caretakers had yet to clean the feeding bowls of leftover food from the last meal.

“We’re already doing much of the work,” she said. “There are people who just weren’t doing their jobs.”

The group has even taken on the task of soliciting food for the over 20 animals at the shelter. At one point, Ascalon herself had to make the rounds of restaurants and cafeterias to gather scraps.

Several times, the animals were saved from starvation with the help of concerned citizens and animal welfare advocates who donated sacks of dog food after she posted urgent appeals on the Help MAS Facebook page.

It was also her group, not the City Veterinarian Office, that paved the way for the vaccination, spaying and neutering of the animals at the shelter.

HELP MAS volunteers place on one of the dogs at the shelter a microchip which will serve as its permanent identification card. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Sought for comment, Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos acknowledged that there had been “a few lapses” in the way the shelter was being run.

“I completely understand (the volunteers’) concerns. I thank them for bringing these problems to my attention,” Abalos said in a phone interview, adding he would be “taking full charge” of the shelter.

The mayor said he had asked city veterinarian Dr. Louie Encarnacion for a list of the shelter’s needs and that he would be visiting the place shortly to meet with the various stakeholders. He would also see to it that the dogs get an adequate supply of food every week.

“We already have a budget for it,” he said.

Ascalon welcomed Abalos’ assurance but said her group would like to see it translate into a long-term commitment.