To open up one’s home and heart for animals in need takes a lot of patience, compassion, and commitment. Unfortunately, it also comes with the price of having to exhaust so much resources to keep these animals healthy and in a safe environment.
When Janice Ong established her non-profit animal shelter called Home for the Wet Noses and Happy Paws in Liliw, Laguna in November 2016, she wasn’t prepared for how difficult of a job it was going to be. But she had a heart for rescuing poor strays and had made it her life’s mission to show them the love and care they deserved, driven by the painful loss she had experienced when her first rescue Ruth passed away. To Janice, the hardship was worth it just to see these animals get a second lease on life.
But Janice can only do so much on her own. She told When In Manila how each day felt like “waiting on a miracle” for companies and government agencies to extend their support for her shelter, which she had successfully registered with SEC back in 2019. With 127 dogs and 28 cats in the Home for the Wet Noses and Happy Paws, plus the 35 dogs and 20 cats that she takes care of at her own home, and no one to help her through the years has now caused her to struggle physically, emotionally, and financially.
She even shared how her shelter had to transfer seven times since its establishment. Soon, she will have to move again.
“The environment in Liliw is not suitable for them,” Janice lamented. “Also my own rescues and those I adopted at home need to be relocated [as well] as I am faced with complaints from new neighbors. That is how we badly need help from people who can help us reach people that can help. I am personally financially drained from [six years] in this advocacy.”
At the moment, her shelter needs immediate and continuous donations for food and medicines, as well as monetary aid for the construction of their new shelter that will either be located in Cavite or Batangas. Janice also hopes that more Filipinos would be more compassionate to those who have opened their homes for rescues and be more active in the fight against animal cruelty and neglect.
“I want to spread awareness to people and the government that we do exist and we need help. We need protection too from people who, instead of helping us, want us to stop doing the right thing. We don’t need to be seen as heroes because we are not. All we want is their understanding that we do this with our passion and compassion to helpless animals,” she shared.
Other than housing strays, Janice also trains young children in her community on how to rescue and rehabilitate animals, particularly cats. She also does clean-ups and stray feeding in order to promote animal welfare advocacy and love for environment. Her shelter is also prepared to help people whose pets are sick by providing them with pet medicine.
(ALSO READ: Help Adopt All the Rescued Cats of This Graduating Med Student Before He Returns to Home Country!)
If you want to learn more on how you can help Home for the Wet Noses and Happy Paws, check out their Facebook page.
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