The Amended Animal Welfare Act

For the past few months now, I have been in touch on and off with old schoolmates and have seen posts going viral over one particular topic that is quite close to my heart: animal welfare.

This is not the only cause I champion but I do choose my battles and while there are things that I would still disagree with regarding the matter, there are things that have struck me the most:

1. People seem to feel the need to rely on animal welfare groups to enforce the provisions of the law. For the record, this is a copy of the Animal Welfare Act (RA 8485) as posted on the website of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society. Portions of this act were amended in 2013 and the link to the amendments is here. Anyone can quote this act and demand justice for any animal they would like to seek justice for. Which brings me to the next phenomenon, which has been brought on by the popularity of social media shaming.
2. Getting an act of cruelty to go viral is not the solution. That is called armchair activism. Do I also repost or share those bits of news? Sometimes, yes, and lately, to point out why it's not exactly helping. Viral is viral. It creates awareness which is good. However, awareness shouldn't stop there. And that goes back to point #1.

Many times, in seeking justice for an animal, people have been known to say "Bring the matter up with PAWS!" Unfortunately, what they do not realise is that the organisation's hands are tied unless an actual witness to the act is willing to testify against the accused. And unless you are truly willing to stand as witness, the guilty party will always certainly go free and offenders/criminals will keep doing what they do.

People have criticised supporters of animal welfare as people who "only care about animals". This is not true. However, we often speak very loudly about these matters because the ones who need the defence cannot do much for their own cause. And really, I find the accusations of "you don't care about people at all" rather offensive because no one says that of defenders of children's rights, or women's rights, and I don't see how those causes are any different.

So if you honestly want to help, arm yourself with education. The tool is right there in the above links. It's the same thing any defender of the rights of other sectors of society would do.

There is no "one or the other"

...and I find it deeply offensive to be told I must--take note, MUST--choose between my son and fur babies. That may be the way in other families and I will not condemn you for that. Much*. But to tell me to do the same is unacceptable.

Keeping up with the times

I've raved before about the Belle de Jour planner and just recently signed up for their new project, the BDJ Box . It's their take on those boxed product samplers, pre-paid for, usually, and automatically shipped to clients so they can test samples of different products on the market to help novices (such as myself) explore new things, and introduce seekers, addicts--okay, enthusiasts ^_~--and pros to what's new.

My main purpose was to gain access to the reviews and tutorials but I'm still on the fence on whether or not I actually want to order the box itself.

Personal Care

Okay, this one is highly personal and quite intimate, and to be honest I wasn't even sure if I wanted to blog about this but well it's out there and there's really naught wrong with discussing hygiene.

But we'll still begin after the cut anyway. ^_~

Project WAHM Stage Two

It is now officially a life goal to be fully set up to be a Work-At-Home Mum or WAHM--thank you, Dainty Mom, for the term!--by the time my baby is a year old. That is my estimated time frame anyway since I've only just started working at picking out things I know I can do whilst (wiggle your toes if you also love using this rather archaic word!) managing the household and taking care of my family.

The first step I took was to apply for a freelance writing job. Wish me luck as I'm going through the final stages of application at the moment but I'm thinking positively and I believe I will pass. *crosses fingers*

Step two I took last Monday: I signed up to be a dealer for Human Nature.

Cosmetic Pride: Cruelty-free and Pinoy!

I have said that, knowing what I know now about animal welfare, at least for my cosmetic products, I want to switch to brands that would reflect the knowledge that I've gained since becoming a PAWS volunteer.

I'll be blogging about the work bit of it tonight--woot for setting schedules!--but for now, I shall fan girl about Human Nature products.

From Charlene Fernandez Bobis: Looks Matter, Even When Adopting?

This story is one told by my former university professor turned friend, Charlene Fernandez Bobis (shameless plug on her behalf, she is the author of Misadventures of a Disorganized Young Woman--go read it if you haven't yet!). She wrote this last month and I'm re-blogging it as a copy-pasted article since I don't believe it can be directly linked to. It's a very accurate description of how it feels to be an animal welfare organisation volunteer.

The work my mom and friends like Rosa Fontelera-Yong and Tanya Guerrero do is heartbreaking. Every few days they post appeals for help for abused and neglected animals, and invitations to adopt the same animals once the hard work of rehabilitating them is done.

Call for donations

The shelter animals at the Philippine Animal Welfare Society are in great need of old newspapers and old towels. Both are used as cage liners to help keep rescued cats dry, warm, and clean.

The shelter is open from Mondays to Saturdays, 10 am to 5 pm. Please visit http://paws.org.ph to view the map and directions to the shelter.

Warmest purrs of gratitude from the shelter cats!

Cruelty-free treat

This is a vanities post. Let's get that out of the way right now.

Normally I would post this in my vanities blog but I haven't managed to put tome in to set up my entries for there yet so this will have to go here for now. I'll try and make it make sense.

The brand on the left is a Korean one. They have all types of cosmetics, skin care and colours, the same way most brands do. But one thing made them stand out for me today and that's what today's entry is going to be about.

A birthday PAWrty

Except for our youngest cat, Mao Tien Lien, all our pets have officially been with us for a year now.

It may seem strange the celebrate the birthday of a pet but we do so in our house. There was even a time when we would make or sometimes buy pancit and give it to them for one of their meals. That is, until they got tired of their birthday pancit and eventually we learned the noodles weren't good for them after all. We've partially brought the tradition back though by replacing their rice with noodles for their birthday celebrations. Still the same no-salt diet but with a celebratory twist.

No rest for the wicked

The past two weeks I spent running around outside of town. This week, more specifically the later part of this week, I spent at the PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center.

Again, this is not a complaint, in fact, it was a very welcome though exhausting break. I'm actually amazed I am this tired considering I was a mere supporting character to the star of the show, Dr. Wilford Almoro, and the team of volunteer veterinarians assisting in the Spay Day yesterday, 24 February 2012.

Shelter Volunteering #1: Don't just say it--do it!

NOTE: The opinions expressed in this entry are purely my own and do not reflect those of other volunteers or the organization. Just so we're clear on that.

I spent last Saturday at a local animal shelter where I have been volunteering for the past year now and the kinds of people we encounter daily continue to amaze me.

I honestly think that one way to gauge the kind of person you're dealing with is how they deal with and/or react to animals. Not everyone likes animals, I know, but you don't have to like animals to treat them well as fellow creations of God.

Just typing that made me feel rather wishy-washy, I'll be honest. But I have seen people express concern over the situation of "poor animals on the street" and in the same breath go "why don't you do something about it?"