City pound uses Facebook to offer stray dogs, cats for adoption

A SECOND CHANCE. A Cebu City Pound employee attends to a stray dog being prepared for adoption. (CDN Photo/Kristal A. Eduyan)

Through their Facebook page, the Cebu City Pound managed to turn over nearly a thousand stray dogs and cats to the care of families for the past three years.

“Facebook helped us reach out to families willing to give these cats and dogs a second chance,” Jessica Maribojoc, Cebu City Pound veterinarian said.

A Cebu City ordinance requires that pets that end up  unclaimed by their owners for three days undergo euthanasia or mercy killing.

Maribojoc said that instead of resorting to this right away, the staff found ways to help  find new homes for dogs through a  Facebook page  set up in 2010.

Vaccination
The Facebook page, which posts  photos of dogs and cats,  has 4,267 “likes”.

“These pets were already given cute names and were treated well in the pound,” said Maribojoc.

You have to set an appointment with the staff to inquire about adoption   but walk-in customers are also welcome in the pound.

Other pet owners are also invited to bring their animals for rabies vaccinations, deworming, neutering or spaying (sterilization).

Maribojoc said they  also  respond to requests for vaccination of pets from barangays.

Instead of wire cages, Maribojoc said nets are used to capture stray animals on the street in order to avoid bruising the necks of dogs and cats that are loaded onto trucks.

At the pound, workers  separate the animals and place them in  an open  yard   in order for them to get used to the place thus reducing their hostility, Maribojoc said.

“We have our procedures to determine whether an animal is  safe to be adopted by future owners,” she said.

The Cebu City Pound set    qualifications for  people interested to bring home  a stray dog or cat.

The first requirement, Maribojoc said, is that he or she “has to be a pet lover” and  at least 18 years old.

Applicants have to  fill up a questionnaire for the staff to  evaluate and assess the potential  of the individual.

Adoption fee
“Then they meet the adoptable pets. You can select the cat or the dog that would complement you and your home”.

An adoption fee of P150 is charged.

The payment already covers the vaccination for rabies, spaying and neutering, deworming, and a dog collar.

Maribojoc said they brief  new owners on “how to responsibly handle and provide desirable homes for those animals impounded within and from outside Cebu City.”

Appointment
Theresa Japsay, one of the new pet owners, was thankful to the Cebu City Pound.

“Many people are adopting from the pound because the payment is only  P150 and the pets are conditioned before adoption,” she said.

Another new pet owner, Laura Taullo, said she was happy to adopt a stray dog named “Bogart.”

She said she changed  the dog’s name to Bruno because he wouldn’t  respond to his previous name.

Bruno playfully wags his tail now whenver he hears his name and he looks happy with her family, said Taullo./ Kristal A. Eduyan, Palompon Institute of Technology Intern

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