The city government of Taguig has launched a new program offering city residents, especially pet lovers, to adopt and bring home rescued stray dogs and those canines abandoned by their previous owners.
The adoption program, according to City Veterinary Office chief Alexis Siblag, aims to ensure the dogs are placed with permanent, responsible and loving families.
Nine of the 45 dogs currently at the Taguig City pound are now up for adoption.
Siblag assured the public the dogs for adoption have already been assessed and found to be free from any contagious disease. He added the dogs are not aggressive, making them ideal even for children.
The dogs have gotten used to the daily interaction with their caretakers, who have been looking after the animals at the pound 24 hours a day, he added.
“These dogs have been spayed and neutered to avoid reproduction, since one of the program’s purposes is to also control the animal population,” added Siblag.
Asked where these dogs came from, Siblag said they were either surrendered by the barangays who caught them as stray dogs, or came from owners who could not take care of them anymore.
Though most of these rescued dogs do not have names, Siblag said they tagged them based on their colors and the dates they were rescued.
Because of the increasing number of rescued dogs at the city pound and with the local government’s goal to find real homes for these pets, the City Veterinary Office released a set of guidelines for the dog adoption process in March.
However, Siblag stressed the CVO had been preparing the dogs for adoption since last year.
“The whole adoption process is free and open to all Taguigeños. Interested city residents need only to visit the Taguig City Veterinary Office, fill-out an application form, choose their desired dog, and submit themselves for a background check prior to the release of the animals,” Siblag explained.
He also pointed out the CVO is requiring all applicants to visit the pound at least three times to help them and the dog familiarize with each other.
Only the applicants who will meet the adoption criteria will be given the animals, Siblag said. Background investigation is very significant to the adoption process because some of the previous adopted dogs were butchered for meat, he added.
“These rescued dogs deserve new homes with caring families. This initiative expresses the intention of the city that every ‘bantay’ (a Filipino nickname for a guard dog) has a right to be taken care of,” Mayor Laarni Cayetano said.
As of June 2017, the CVO has rescued 14 dogs and 12 cats. The Taguig City pound also has a wide range of dog breeds — Dalmatian, Japanese Spitz, Shar Pei mix, Belgian Malinois mix, Rottweiler, and “aspins” or asong pinoy (literally, Filipino dogs), which make up 80 percent of the dog population in the pound. Not all dogs in the shelter will be offered for adoption, however.
Siblag said the sick dogs brought to their animal control facility would be treated first and assessed if they are healthy enough to be offered to the residents.
Those interested in adopting the dogs should visit the CVO at the city’s Model House along Cayetano Boulevard in Barangay Ususan, Taguig.
As mandated by the law to protect the animal welfare, the City Veterinary Office is also making house-to-house visits in all 28 barangays in the city to vaccinate pets and make life easier for their owners since 2014. The Taguig City Anti-Rabies Drive was also launched to intensify the city’s aim to eradicate rabies.
The city vet is also offering free spaying and neutering for dogs and cats to control the population of these animals.
