An animal’s life after rehab
There is life
after an injury. This is proven countless times by people who have
determination and positive attitude. This is also true for animals that are
living with disability, thanks to people who go out of their way to give God’s
creations a second shot at life.
The Aklan Animal
Rehabilitation Center (AARRC) owned by couple Michel van der Kleij and Neressa
van der Kleij-Toabe has been rescuing and rehabilitating dogs and cats for
eight years now.
Michel said it
all started with a stray cat named Mimi that decided to live with them at their
house in Kalibo, Aklan.
“Our home was not
suited for keeping a large number of pets. Soon after, we discovered kittens in
the middle of the street and some in the swamp next door, intentionally left
there by people,” Michel said.
It was when Mimi
disappeared a few years later that the couple realized that animals need
protection from humans.
“At that time, we started looking around for others in animal welfare and we sought cooperation with the Aklan State University,” he said.
“At that time, we started looking around for others in animal welfare and we sought cooperation with the Aklan State University,” he said.
It was there that
Michel discovered that the level of education for veterinary students was
wanting.
“So, that is also
an area that we need to see improvement in,” he said.
“Especially
skills such as diagnosis, practical surgery, and hygienic procedures could be
improved,” he added.
After animal
rescue, Michel’s team embarks on spaying and neutering projects for cats and
dogs, paid for by sponsors abroad and free for the owners. They shoulder part
of the expenses themselves.
The project’s
areas were Kalibo Airport, St. Gabriel Hospital and Barangay Andagao, Kalibo,
Aklan.
“At the same
time, we started building a clinic and special kennels at the back of our
house. Although we have a very small number of sponsors, we still are privately
funded; which is our singlemost limiting factor,” he said.
THE OPERATIONS
Michel said they
have around 60 dogs and 40 cats, all spayed or neutered.
He said that when
the animals come in, they are quarantined, dewormed and vaccinated. After they
are declared healthy after a month or so, these animals are allowed to join the
others.
“We monitor their
health everyday and we will get our vet to check or operate as required,” he
said.
“We specialise in
old and disabled pets, for which we get a wheelchair so they can still join the
2 daily walks to the beach,” he said.
“One such
disabled pets is a dog named Tina, who can no longer use her hind legs due to a
spinal injury. She was originally rescued from a dog meat transport by the
Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF) in Tarlac. However, AKF lacked the facilities
to care for her special needs and since Michel has close contacts with a small
company in his native Netherlands that manufacture dog wheelchairs, he offered
to take her in. Tina, who is an incredibly sweet dog and great with kids, now
has her wheelchair and often AARRC brings her as an ambassador on their
educational activities. Tina enjoys walking and playing along the beach in her
wheelchair,” he narrated.
“Maddy was found
by kind-hearted people as a puppy in Numancia, Aklan and brought to AARRC. She
was covered in mange, undernourished and so weak that she couldn't even stand
up anymore. AARRC's Angie took her under her wing and literally nourished her
back to life. A year later Maddy is a healthy, lively and active young dog. Of
course, Angie and Maddy are still inseparable,” he added.
Disabled dogs Tina and Bella with kids on the beach in Kalibo |
IGNORANCE
Michel said that
the biggest problem faced by animal welfare workers is ignorance by some
members of the human population.
“Ignorance of the
fact that animals are living creatures that feel pain, joy, fear and all
emotions that we have. Ignorance of the need to properly provide care for your
animals. Ignorance of the fact that we could not live without animals and
finally ignorance of the updated Animal Welfare Act,” he said.
To address this,
his team holds presentations in schools to inform children about animal
welfare.
They also hold
the same for police, so that they can implement the law by catching violators.
AARRC also
participate in events which highlight the joy of having animals, such as the
World Animal Day parade and Dog Show, organised by the Aklan Office of the
Provincial Veterinarian held every year in Kalibo.
Michel hopes to
find more sponsors for AARRC so that they could put up regular pet events in
Kalibo and Boracay.
“We are hoping
that we can keep working with the provincial and city governments so that we
can carry out the work and they provide us with some funding.”
EXPANSION
Despite the
financial limitations, AARRC is building a larger site in Linabuan Sur which is
eight kilometres from their house. They plan to offer animal laboratory
services which will promote AARRC among veterinarians in the wider region.
Catching feral cats at Kalibo Airport for spay/neuter |
HELPING PEOPLE,
TOO
Michel said that
oftentimes, he was asked why he is set on helping animals instead of people,
with some people highlight on the fact that they are “just” animals.
“Apart from the
fact that I believe that animals have equal rights to a decent life, my answer
is always that we are helping people too. We employ 6 individuals. We bring in
more money from abroad than most OFW, which is money spread through the
community. And of course we fight rabies and disease which contribute to public
health but also the happy feeling our tourists get when they see happy animals.
These are the tourists that come back and tell their friends. Just imagine what
happens if they see someone kick a sickly dog! They would instead think the
Philippines is inhabited by barbarians,” Michel said.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
With this, Michel
hopes that many will volunteer to help in this initiative.
“We need
volunteers. We would love to have more than the one we have now, but so far no
others have come forward,” he said.