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Sharing with Travellive about caring for stray dogs and cats in their shelter during social distancing, the groupHanoi Pet Adoption, FestivalDa Nang Animal RescueStationSaigon Time Dog and Cat RescueThis reveals a "common denominator": they are all facing difficulties and shortages of manpower and funding. However, above all, the most valuable thing about these volunteers is their loving hearts for animals, their perseverance, and their never-give-up spirit.
With the city under lockdown, relief efforts have become difficult.
The Da Nang Animal Rescue Association, established in 2013, operates on a foster care model, where dogs and cats are distributed to individual volunteers for care. After more than seven years of operation, the Association has rescued and found new homes for over 3,000 dogs and cats. Sharing about its activities during the pandemic, the Da Nang Animal Rescue Association stated: “The work of rescuing and caring for dogs and cats is facing many difficulties. Due to the pandemic, many volunteers from other provinces have had to return to their hometowns, temporarily suspending their activities, resulting in a significant shortage of personnel. Meanwhile, the number of dogs and cats has been overwhelming for the remaining volunteers, causing an overload.”
A kitten is being cared for at the Da Nang Animal Rescue Association.
Operating in Hanoi, the Hanoi Pet Adoption Group was established in 2015 by a group of young Vietnamese volunteers and some foreign friends. Over the years, the Group has helped rescue over 2,000 abandoned, stray, and abused dogs and cats, and find new homes for them.
However, during the pandemic, due to restrictions on going out, Hanoi Pet Adoption announced that they had temporarily suspended their rescue activities. “When we receive reports, all we can do is post messages, hoping that someone who loves dogs and cats nearby will come and take the animals home for temporary shelter or bring them to the nearest veterinary clinic.”
The group also shared that recently they have frequently received cases of dogs and cats being "intentionally" abandoned by their owners due to illness: "Knowing that we don't accept dogs and cats with owners, they pretend to be passersby who found them, then bring them to the group or leave them at the clinic."
Volunteers from Hanoi Pet Adoption rescued a cat in Hanoi.
Staff shortages seem to be a common situation for rescue shelters at this time. Uyen Nhu, a volunteer at the Saigon Time Dog and Cat Rescue Center, said: "Currently, the shelter is short of staff because our volunteers have gone to work at the field hospital. In addition, transporting dogs and cats to veterinary facilities is very difficult due to quarantine checkpoints."
Saigon Time was reportedly founded in 2015 in Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, with only 5 members. Currently, Uyen Nhu is a key member who has been active there for over 5 years.
Uyen Nhu - a key member at Saigon Time for over 5 years.
Silent sacrifices
The limitations in relief and manpower are making it difficult for members who remain to continue operating; they have to spend twice or three times as much time and effort as usual to keep things going.
The Da Nang Animal Rescue Association reported a significant decrease in the number of volunteers in the rescue and transportation team, causing considerable delays in rescue and transportation cases. This greatly affects the quality of care and the Association's ability to accept new cases. "The volunteers are juggling their main jobs with caring for animals with various illnesses and health conditions, which is gradually becoming a burden," a representative of the Association stated.
The volunteers had to juggle their main jobs with taking care of the puppies and kittens.
Hanoi Pet Adoption also shared its concerns during the pandemic: “The biggest worry is that volunteers from the group could be F0 or F1 cases, leading to the risk of the shelter having to close. Therefore, members are proactively minimizing travel as much as possible.”
The rescue team said they had considered several contingency plans, proactively stocking up on food and essential supplies for both volunteers and the dogs and cats. Until Hanoi implemented social distancing measures, some volunteers decided to stay at the shelter: “What is most commendable is that they decided to stay here for 14 days, both to comply with pandemic prevention regulations and to take care of the health of the dogs and cats.”
When rescue teams need to be rescued...
The lack of funding has also been a major obstacle for most relief stations in recent times. Some rescue teams are even on the verge of needing rescue.
Saigon Time shared that they are just trying to "take care of the animals as best they can, because they don't know what else to do." "For cases needing rescue, we will post on our Fanpage to ask for help from people nearby, but the costs depend on assistance from benefactors." In reality, the shelter's donation fund is still insufficient to care for all the dogs and cats at this time.
"Support from benefactors is also decreasing significantly, and the revenue of Pet Up (the organization's fundraising booth) is not as high as before, while the organization is bearing a huge amount of monthly expenses for medical treatment, medicine, food, and other supplies for the animals," said the Da Nang Animal Rescue Association.
Due to limited financial resources, the organization must carefully consider which dogs and cats to rescue, only accepting cases that truly need help at this time. At the same time, expenses will be carefully reviewed, prioritizing use for emergency cases.
Hanoi Pet Adoption also shared that finding owners for dogs and cats during this period is not easy, especially for foreign owners. “Foreign people are usually very supportive of adopting dogs and cats from rescue shelters. However, due to the pandemic, many have lost their jobs or even had to return to their home countries, making it difficult to secure the financial means to bring the animals back with them.”
Furthermore, most of the dogs and cats received are in very poor condition, resulting in high monthly veterinary bills. Not to mention, the weather this season is prone to changes, making dogs and cats susceptible to respiratory illnesses. Unable to take their pets to the vet, their only option is to connect with their familiar veterinarian for daily updates and to treat them themselves.
The security guard and his dog at the Hanoi Pet Adoption community center.
Volunteers at Hanoi Pet Adoption play music and sing to help cats relieve stress.
We humans are not the only "victims" of the pandemic; dogs and cats can also become lethargic, hungry, and in need of care and support to get through this period. We can only hope that the love and care of the people in the shelters will be strong and enduring enough to provide them with a solid foundation.
And if you can, share some love with them.
