SAVE LIVES, SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR PET
Pet overpopulation is the number 1 cause of animal cruelty. When people are inconvenienced by too many cats or dogs, they turn to cruel dumping or releasing of their pets into the streets or sidewalks.
In these situations, dumped ex-housepets are at the highest risk of getting run over or targeted by cruel individuals.
It is with this in mind that animal welfare groups all over the world celebrate International Spay Day – an event intended to encourage people to spay or neuter their companion animals.
Strictly speaking, Spay Day is celebrated on the last Tuesday of February of every year but the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which launched the event, announced that Spay Day can be celebrated throughout the whole month of February.
MORE SPAYING in U.P. BAGUIO
UP Baguio community cats needed spaying and since Doc Wil Almoro was part of the delegation invited to Professor Vicky Costina’s book launching of “Those Who Love Cats”, he made the most out of the trip by spaying and neutering seven (7) of the campus cats.
Doc Wil improvised with existing classroom tables and chairs to create a makeshift operating table. The service-oriented veterinarian had to be very swift and resourceful in doing the surgeries in order to keep the procedure aseptic and safe for the feral cats.
Doc Wil prepares materials for surgery in a UP Baguio classroom
Kevin Anonuevo handles a sedated feral cat while Doc Wil Almoro performs on-site neuter surgery in a UP Baguio classroom
Cat traps were used to catch the feisty felines that Prof. Costina had been feeding for many months now at the university.
While the spay-neuter was ongoing, PAWS' Program Director Anna Cabrera and senior volunteer May Felix-Razon were doing the lecture for students in the conference hall.
Many of the students and teachers had interesting questions on animal welfare although the Q&A sessions after the lecture had to be cut short so that the students can proceed to the book launch.
The launch of "THOSE WHO LOVE CATS - A Cat Notebook" was a smashing success as well.
Donning cat make-up and getting right into their catty characters, Costina’s Western Literature class did a very entertaining number with T.S. Elliot’s famous “Naming of A Cat”
Another student, Bernadette Villena, sang her own composition “Pusakal” – whose very acoustic and catchy tune led the rest of the audience to sing along with her towards the very end.
Adorable ten-year-old Mika Mapalo read her touching and funny essay about her family’s rescued pet cats. Even the Baguio Community Choir performed a classical “animal” song.
The way Professor Vicky was feted at the launch showed just how much she is loved and respected by her colleagues and her students. Addressing her students in the audience, she apologized for her “general unpreparedness” in her classes because she was too consumed at times by her dedication to feeding and rescuing cats.
But as in her written work, Prof Costina’s brilliance and passion for English and literature shines through in her speech.
UP Baguio is lucky to have an animal advocate in their midst – one who writes and teaches well.