A PAWSsion project four paws at a time

I started the organization six years ago because of an experience with dogs on death row at the Bacolod City Pound,” begins Malou Perez, founder PAWSsion Philippines. “The dogs were going to be put down, but not through euthanasia — by gunshot.”

Just as a background, putting dogs down by gunshot is an allowed practice in some pounds, but it must be done by a person assigned by the city dog pound.

That experience changed Perez forever. She is quick to admit, though, that as a fresh college graduate then, she had just started an online business, “which was my first passion project.”

Founded in October 2018, PAWSsion Project Philippines was put up with the hope, courage and lots of ‘unconditional loving’ by Malou and a few good friends.

“After that first pound rescue, numerous reports poured in one after another, which eventually led to the opening of a second shelter in Bulacan mid-2019,” Perez added. “Since then, the journey has led PAWSsion Project to more than 2,000 rescues, and thankfully over 1,000 rehomed animals.”

But what made this passion project so different?

“The opportunity to save the dogs really came at the right time,” Perez said. “My cup was overflowing and I had more than enough love to give to the animals. So, coming across that post on Facebook of the dogs on death row to be put down through gunshot – that was really a major turning point for me.”

Perez wasn’t even aware then that there were so many pounds in the country. She says, “I thought adoption was not an be an option here. It was something people abroad did.”

She soon learned about adoption and how it could be done here — fast-tracked lessons for her.

“My first experience in the pound was the day when I went to save those dogs from being put down by gunshot,” Perez add. “It was a major turning point in my life. It was my first time to go to a pound, and I was standing next to the hole where the dogs were supposed to be buried.”

After that first rescue operation, the post about it went viral. Perez started to receive so may messages, pictures, videos of other pounds in the country.

“I was scared and a hard time sleeping,” she said.

From passion to love

“It was the thought that after another week there was going to be another batch,” Malou said. “It was then that it dawned on me --- finally, the push to start PAWSsion.”

Today, six years later, Malou is no longer the newbie that she was back then. Yet, her love and devotion to the furry creatures continue to grow in leaps and bounds.

“So many pounds in the country don’t have a budget, so basically, as for the law, if one doesn’t get rescued or adopted, within three days to two weeks, they’re going to be killed,” she shared. “It’s even awful to leave them to die by starvation, and again it’s not even by euthanasia how they get put down. Some pounds may have a budget for euthanasia, but most of them do not, so they don’t do the standard euthanasia to kill them.”

She further explained: “Other pounds use gunshots; others use carbon monoxide. Others that aren’t really regulated use starvation. I’ve seen a lot of awful pounds and this is what really fuels me to get the word out because again people don’t adopt kasi hindi nila alam na ito pala yung (people don’t know that this is the) reality.”

It is Malou’s non-profit organization, PAWSsion Project, that sees its task to rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome abused and abandoned animals.

Six years over 2,000 dogs and cats

Around 2,000 dogs and cats have already been rescued, and as of now, they have 700 rescues stationed in Bacolod and Bulacan.

“The ultimate vision is that the day will come where we don’t have to rescue everyone because everyone is aware about the realities, everyone knows that they can actually adopt,” Malou shared. “I think so many people do not know that there are shelters that they can go and adopt rescues from so many people who do know that there are pounds in the country.”

That the task of rescuing strays is overwhelming is an understatement. The task is not an easy one. And, the sheer volume is overwhelming.

“It’s a lot of work especially since we’re nonprofit and we’re really donations based, that we do a lot of fundraisers, we sell merchandise — everything and anything, so we can raise funds for the rescues.”

“I have a day job, all of us are volunteers, we all have day jobs, we have students also so it’s kinda hard to juggle everything but if we could do this for a living, we would quit our jobs and do this fulltime,” she revealed. “We’re never too tired to rescue because it’s usually the awful reality around us. It really exhausts us but helping the rescues is like the most gratifying thing in the world.”

When Malou first started her ‘PAWSsion Project,’ she didn’t exactly know what to do, but the emotions she felt pushes her.

Fresh, if you could call it that, from an eight-year stint in the corporate world. When she started to follow her passion. A move that changed her life forever.

“I’m a marketing graduate and I learned everything for PAWSsion in the process of doing it and on the journey rehabilitating these rescues. It always keeps us on the go when we hear that people are inspired by the work,” Malou says. “I always encourage people to go to their local pound. I mean you feel so sorry for so many dogs you see on social media. Go outside your houses. There are so many strays that are in need of help.”

You can make a difference

“For the past six years, I’ve noticed that animal welfare is slowly getting the help that it needs. More and more people are choosing to adopt instead of buying. And then we are so grateful that there are opportunities like this,” Malou says. “People are becoming more aware, and there are companies reaching out to us, to do CSR programs.”

And while she is grateful for the opportunities given to her, the realities still remain. As much as Malou would love to save all the strays in the Philippines, she can only do so much.

“The reality is we cannot rescue all of them. There are more than 10 million strays in the country. Every day there are hundreds of thousands of dogs being killed in pounds. We can’t save all of them.”

Compassion is what makes an animal foundation continue to run.

“In the end, it’s all up to the community to do their part, especially since animals are in need of human compassion,” Malou shares. “Some of the people have been inspired by the work that we do, which is the fuel that keeps us going.”

“PAWSsion has taught me that there is always something that we can do,” Malou says. “It taught me that people are really compassionate and have a lot of empathy especially if they have been exposed to so much cruelty.”

And, although Malou is “conscious” about setting boundaries — she continues to express the empathy she feels for the animals that PAWSsion is unable to rescue.

At the end of the day, Malou shares, “Seeing our rescues live the best lives possible. Meeting the adopters, people who can afford to buy the most expensive breeds but now opt to adopt. Meeting people who once had a stigma for strays and now just love our rescues — that is what passion is really all about,” Malou continues. “We can learn a lot from the animals because they have this beautiful way of igniting that compassion in us.”