A dog, with its mouth tied shut with a plastic string, was seen running wildly on the village road.
Earlier, the Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF) received an urgent and desperate private message: a couple of men in a tricycle were going around a village in Laguna snatching dogs.
“They look maniacal doing it, says the tipster, “ according to Greg Salido Quimpo, AKF’s campaign manager.
AKF suspected that the dog meat traders were hurriedly filling up delivery to areas in Northern Luzon. The trip to the North, Quimpo said, was expected to be late that night or early the next day.
Luckily, an AKF undercover investigator was in Batangas on that fateful day.
“What transpired in the following hours disappointed AKF but, at the same time, made them celebrate a wonderful event. While on his way to the village, the AKF investigator received a message that the dog snatching has stopped but a dog was running around with his muzzle tightly tied shut, “ Quimpo said.
Luckily, the tipster's group has cornered the dog and was already guarding it.
“They were helpless to do anything except to corner the dog and not let the dog loose, “ Quimpo said.
The dog they named Luis was calm but in pain.
Luis was “obviously in great distress when the investigator arrived at the scene and he had to act quickly because the injury on the dog's snout looked painful, “ Quimpo said.
Quimpo said: “ the skin on Luis’ snout was greatly disfigured and the upper gums were bleeding and looked to have been damaged badly.”
“The AKF investigator is trained to handle situations like this and he was able to cut the plastic string that was forcefully tied to the dog's muzzle and got him to calmly sit on the back seat on their way to AKF's sanctuary in Capas, Tarlac,” Quimpo said.
To this day, Luis, the dog meat trade survivor, is “the only rescued dog that AKF knows who saved himself from being slaughtered by escaping the dog traders,” Quimpo said.
“Obviously, he struggled so hard to get free causing himself further injuries that permanently disfigured his face, “ Quimpo added.
AKF built its sanctuary in 2006 on leased property in Capas, Tarlac to give dogs who have been rescued from being slaughtered a new lease on life, Quimpo said.
Quimpo said, “AKF believes that once the traumatized dogs are rehabilitated, loving families will eventually adopt them.”
As of this date, AKF has saved almost 10,000 dogs from being slaughtered since it started its End The Dog Meat Trade campaign in 2002. Nearly half of the dogs have been rehomed or adopted since 2006, Quimpo said.
“The rest have naturally lived a full life at the sanctuary and Luis will, too. He is now one of the friendliest survivors at the sanctuary and, with a face that looks different from the rest, he stands out, “ Quimpo said.
“Nobody has inquired about his availability (for adoption) but AKF feels Luis should stay with them if only to remind people the kind of painful cruelty these dogs go through and, with the right company, they can be the most loving and affectionate dogs anyone can encounter,“ Quimpo stressed.
Just last Monday, 17 slaughter-bound dogs were rescued by AKF and the CIDG of the Philippine National Police, in coordination with the International Aid for the Protection and Welfare of Animals (IAPWA), in Gumaca, Quezon
The raid exposed an employee of the dog pound as the one behind the sale of dogs to local butchers.
“This recent raid with the CIDG exposed a #DogPound employee who was deliberately selling impounded strays to local dog butchers as an easy, but a cruel way of discarding them. A total of 17 dogs were rescued and will be rehabilitated in our Capas Rescue Center, “Quimpo said.
AKF needs help to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome dogs who were victims of dog meat traders.
Please donate for AKF to continue its work:
*BPI: AKF Inc. (1681 0015 88)
*RCBC: Animal Kingdom Foundation (1046 0083 64)
*BDO: Animal Kingdom Foundation (0069 1011 0365)
*Paypal: heidimc10@yahoo.com
*M. Lhuillier: Mention 'Animal Kingdom Found
For information that may lead to saving dogs from slaughter and dog meat traders, please contact AKF thru their social media accounts: AKFanimalrescue on Facebook, www.animalkingdomfoundation.org.ph, Instagram and Twitter, and through email at akfadvocates@gmail.com. You can contact them through mobile: 09399142403 and 405.