Abandoned dogs and cats rescued, fostered by volunteers
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Marvin Manalac and his wife Julia are in the forefront of small-animal protection, founding Jaiya’s Animal Rescue in 2009 in Shanghai.
Since then, the British couple and volunteers have rescued more than 900 stray and abandoned animals, mainly cats and dogs, but also some hamsters, birds, rabbits and two pigs.
Jaiya’s Animal Rescue or JAR is a non-pofit shelter and care center run by volunteer expats and Chinese. It also tries to find homes for small animals.
JAR was named in memory of Manalac’s baby daughter, Jaiya Kristina who died of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) in 2009.
In 2005 Manalac toured China for three weeks. He fell in love with the country, quit his IT engineering job in London and moved to Shanghai a year later. He is now a preschool art director for an international bilingual school.
“In the past seven years, I have seen improvements in animal care and welfare. There’s always room for improvement but it will take time,” Manalac told Shanghai Daily in a telephone interview. He said other groups, rescuers and individuals should collaborate to made an impact gradually but surely.
At first the couple started rescuing and fostering animals in their home. They volunteered for other rescue groups and saw the need for a platform to help rescuers reach further into the community and connect with expats interested in volunteering, fostering and adopting animals.
JAR was born.
It hosts two adoption days a month, one at Papas Bierstube Restaurant on Hongmei Road, the other at Cool Docks in Huangpu District.
On October 20, it will hold an adoption day in Pudong New Area.
“We are committed and compassionate in helping animals as much as we can,” Manalac said.
He remembers when he and volunteers were called in to rescue six German shepherd guard dogs abandoned at a construction site in Puxi area.
They spent eight hours rounding them all up, then transporting them across town to the vet. They had to find a shelter for them all until they could find permanent homes. “Fortunately, they all have loving homes,” Manalac said.
“It is difficult to balance work and running a rescue group, however, this is in memory of our daughter and it is very meaningful for us to carry on and do our best to help.”
The family has four dogs and three cats. They used to have two lizards, a hamster and fish as well.
Many people rescue animals but are unable to carry on and support the rescued animals. Some people get animals on a whim without clearly thinking things through, he said.
“When they realize there are responsibilities involved and, or the animals is too much for them to handle, they abandon them outside to fend for themselves,” Manalac said.
JAR itself does not have a shelter or physical address.
“We rely on the network of our rescuers and foster carers that we are always seeking. There are never enough,” he said.
More and more people have companion animals and care about animal welfare, he said.
“We will keep doing what we believe in and do what we can to support animals in need,” he said.
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