When love is unconditional, it has paws and fur, too

This is an article about love – unconditional love in four paws.

It begins in the late ‘90s, at a time when the world was younger, life was simpler and gardens were filled with strays. Nita Lichauco is a pet lover with no equivalent, who taught me about animal welfare -- over 25 years ago.

“We can do the interview in my house,” she said to me. Nervous as I was for my first writing assignment in a newspaper, I agreed.

Yes, it was about anything animals that began my life as a writer. And, yes, it was with Nita that I got my first taste of what it meant, back then and continues to mean, today, to live a life with animals.

“It is not hard to love them because they will love you first,” Nita said. “It does not matter where they come from as long as you let them into your life -- you will have love for always.”

We sat in her garden, surrounded by more stray cats than anything else. Each time a stray approached Nita, she would smile, whisper encouraging words and ask if the stray had eaten.

That is how I remember that first pet interview -- an interview that shaped my belief in unconditional love and animal welfare. “Because animals are the only creatures that give love — and ask for nothing in return,” Nita said.

Nita and the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) became part of my life 25 years ago. Though life takes many zigs and zags through the years, Nita and PAWS have remained a part of it -- then and now.

But that is getting ahead of my story.

Animal welfare

It was Muriel Jay, an Englishwoman residing in the Philippines, who wanted to do something for animals. So, together with like-minded friends, she started the Philippine Animal Welfare Society in 1954. Little did she know that this fledgling group would become the biggest and most beloved animal welfare organization in the country.

Sadly, Muriel left the Philippines to return to her home country, and PAWS became inactive. Still, the pioneer volunteers believed that PAWS had an important mission to complete.

Of course, it was Nita, whose home already served as a mini dog and cat shelter for PAWS’ rescues. Nita believed that changing attitudes toward animals would be best achieved through education.

In 1986, she officially incorporated PAWS as a charity NGO dedicated to ending animal cruelty and promoting animal welfare education. Nita attracted a new set of young volunteers who gathered at her home for weekly meetings to plan campaigns for the better treatment of animals.

Nita’s meeting with Don Manolo Lopez of MERALCO allowed PAWS to build its office and animal shelter in Quezon City. When its officers got a chance to intern in US shelters, the idea of adopting out rescued animals was born.

A life for those with paws

It’s been proven over and over again that caring for animals teaches us to be kind to one another. Today, Anna Cabrera heads PAWS, and just like Nita, Anna is a devoted animal lover who started with PAWS as a volunteer and eventually became its executive director.

She was with Nita when PAWS lobbied for the Animal Welfare Act, the very first animal welfare law in Southeast Asia, which was passed in 1998.

One of the things that has set PAWS apart all these years is its programs that address the root of the issues. PAWS believes in preventive actions, such as implementing a nationwide spay-neuter program to curb pet homelessness, filing criminal charges against animal offenders and spreading awareness about taking legal action to stop animal cruelty in its tracks.

PAWS promotes volunteerism among people, both young and old, who wish to do something for animals. PAWS’ volunteers help with various tasks at the shelter, assist in animal rescue operations and are also at the forefront of our educational efforts.

PAWS is also the longest-serving institutional member of the Committee on Animal Welfare. While most of the spotlight on animal welfare in the Philippines is on dog and cat issues, PAWS, as a committee member, has led to important wins for wild animals, farm animals and animals used for entertainment and experimentation.

PAWS has created a growing community that extends its circle of compassion to all kinds of animals.

Programs like “KabaliCAT” help maintain safe stray cat communities through a managed feeding and no-taming policy. There are the “Responsible Pet Guardianship” and “Kapon for All Pets” initiatives, which ensure that stray animal issues are addressed before animals end up in city pounds. There is also “The Better Chicken Option,” which aims to make farming conditions for billions of broiler chickens more humane.

A change of heart

By changing the hearts and minds of people, PAWS hopes to influence more individuals to make choices that create a significant impact on how animals are treated.

When people choose to adopt instead of buying a pet, they help stop puppy mills and the unregulated pet breeding industry.

When pet owners treat their Aspins as members of their family and not just as guard dogs, they are helping change the mindset that only purebred dogs deserve to be indoor pets.

It’s been 70 years, and there’s still so much to do and so much to fight for. Let us make PAWS’ vision a reality by working together and helping shape our nation to be kinder and more compassionate toward those who have no voice.

PAWS continues to help shape a nation that is kinder and more compassionate toward those who have no voice. This allows unconditional love to grow and helps us continue to walk together — on four paws and two feet.