After being a yoga instructor for three decades, animal rights advocate Rina Ortiz has finally found a bigger calling and a life-long passion that she has seamlessly intertwined with her personal and professional life.

As a co-founder of Biyaya Animal Care, an organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of animals in need, she knows that everything she is working hard for is not just a profession but something that she has embraced wholeheartedly.

“The animals mean so much to me, and to try to set things straight with the law, with the enforcement, with animal welfare, so it’s like gone full circle and another circle,” Ortiz told Daily Tribune in a PAIRFECT interview. “It might be hard for someone to visualize, but we’re so used to it.”

Ortiz embodies the name of her organization. When she was five years old she became a blessing to stray and abandoned animals who were in need of love and affection.

The journey

Although Ortiz has had decades of experience in rescuing and rehabilitating animals, it was only in 2022 that she professionalized her passion.

For a long time, she was involved in a program called Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR), a safe and humane method of managing and controlling feral and free-roaming street cats.

“During the pandemic, there were so many animals that were hungry because there was no trash to eat,” she said, adding that this realization prompted her to formalize her passion and become more proactive in making a difference.

However, it is not just hunger that they are trying to resolve regarding animal welfare.

Ortiz has acknowledged that a growing percentage of animals are being neglected, mistreated, and abused, which is often overlooked by the common folk.

“People have to realize that this is a crime,” Ortiz emphasized, sharing that the growing culture of being abusive to animals is never right and justifiable — and turning a blind eye and staying silent about animal cruelty is equally as grave an offense.

“What hit me the most was I can’t let them think that this is okay,” she continued. “A crime is a crime, and what I’m seeing through the years is the lack of respect for life, whether it’s an animal, a tree, or a human being.”

Biyaya Animal Care stands firm in making a positive change in animal welfare in the country, doing every means possible to rescue and protect neglected, lost, mistreated and abused animals.

Through this organization, Ortiz expresses her belief that everyone can do something, whether big or small, to protect and save animals from the harsh cruelties and unfair conditions that they are exposed to.

“Maybe we can fill in the gaps. It’s not only education but also having an education that uplifts,” she said.

“By sharing ideas and giving a safe space for other people to allow themselves to be vulnerable, I believe that animals can be a great bridge between people,” she added.

A life-long discovery

Some people might think she has it all figured out at her age.

However, for Ortiz, life is like an ongoing prayer that never ends.

At the peak of the pandemic, she found herself in a melancholic period where she just needed a bit of a push and a redirection: “During the pandemic, we lost a lot of friends, and I’m at a certain age now where you have a couple (of) good years left in terms of energy, so my husband said (that) you got to do what you love.”

And rightfully so, with the support of her husband and children, she fully embraces what she loves doing.

“When I started to do this and professionalize, have my own hospital and clinics, it’s a lot of work and it’s challenging, but it’s almost like binary opposites,” she said.

“You can’t understand one without understanding the other, and in many ways, you start to understand yourself,” she added.

However, Ortiz said that as much as she loves the honesty and truthfulness of animals, the warmth of human connection drives her to work hard and have more meaningful experiences with others.

She also shared that for those who are struggling with self-love or being vulnerable with other people, taking care of a pet allows you to unearth emotions and experiences you have never felt before.

“Whatever you can, just be a blessing, and find out what your blessings are and share them,” she said.