My family has been quite busy moving things to our new home (we’re sleeping there soon! Yay!), so unfortunately, I wasn’t able to blog this sooner. I just hope it’s not too late.

A few days ago, I received an email in the mailing list from Nice Rodriguez telling us about Rene Jose’s show which talked about CARA’s catch/spay/release program for cats and dogs.

I am just wondering if someone else watched UNTV’s Good Morning Kuya show this morning. One of the hosts Rene Jose was reacting to CARA’s catch/spay/release program, saying it’s not right to catch the strays, neuter them (kapon) and release them back in the streets. And when he asked around for the other minor hosts/guests to give their opinions, nobody opposed him. There were no advantages offered about spaying and neutering of stray cats and dogs.

I’ve been watching the program for the last few months because I find their political commentaries refreshing, enlightening and funny. I am just bothered because first of all, nobody in the show seemed to be interested in the topic. They didn’t really care about all the cats and dogs out in the streets, with only one commentator worrying more that he might drive over a stray at night and thus, endanger his own life. Mr. Jose seemed to be more concerned about emasculating the tomcats since the sterilization process appeared unthinkable for him–almost like it’s cutting his own balls!

I know the show is sexist at times but it’s still the best show to eavesdrop about the country’s affairs. I am only sad because we seem to be very far from being a compassionate society. I find Mr. Jose almost encyclopedic with his knowledge and commentaries on several topics in the show, and to learn that he vehemently opposes neutering and spaying of stray animals (like it’s a sin against the Pope) is worrisome, and there could be many like-minded folks like him out there. Sadly, he didn’t even bother suggesting an alternative to the stray population problem.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch the show. Heck, I don’t watch Rene Jose’s show at all, to tell you the truth. Political debates and talks usually annoy me. But, like any other form of media, it is nevertheless effective.

The problem I have with the commentary regarding the spaying and neutering of animals is not the commentary per se. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. You don’t think it’s good for the animal population, fine. But the thing is, being able to say that on TV is a different thing—you get the “power” to convince other people.

That is why journalists have the responsibility to deliver accurate information.

It is true that the humanity of spaying and neutering remains debatable. But not to also present its advantages is quite one-sided, and uninformed.

The damage is done. Maybe there are a number of people who believed what was discussed on the show. Maybe not. But no use complaining. We might not have the advantage of television reach, but we do have one medium readily within our reach: the internet.

I think some of you would know that I am a blogging advocate. Dog-lover, but also a blogging advocate Blogging has already helped a lot of advocacies on the Internet—the Blog and Soul Movement, Filipina Images, and Bloggers’ Kapihan just to name a few. These groups try their best to actually bring about their advocacies through action. A person can complain all he/she wants, but I honestly feel that action is much more effective.

I strongly suggest that dog-lovers informed about spaying and neutering help spread information through their blogs.

Allow me to start. Here’s my take

As soon as we get settled down on our new home, I’d have Harry and Choknat neutered. We don’t breed dogs, but we already have a lot of them. And honestly, my dad and I get headaches every time mating season nears. The dogs just go crazy. We needed to isolate the female dog in heat. But if they’re successful, we get another problem of what to do with the puppies

This is Moy-moy. He’s just about to get neutered in this photo. More details on his parents’ blog at The Animal Doctor

Neutering would definitely be an advantage in our pets’ case. But I think my opinion also applies to CARA’s catch/spay/release program as well.

There will always be the risks of surgical complications and other possible physiological disadvantages, but I believe that spaying and neutering stray animals are actually quite a humane way of controlling the animal population. It’s definitely cheaper than catching the animals, rehabilitating them, and putting them up for adoption (unless of course we have a hell lot more organizations like PAWS around), and by far more humane than euthanasia.

I don’t know… But I just don’t like euthanasia that much. Before Sheero passed away, I was willing to do anything just to avoid having her put down at all costs. What more a dog or cat who wasn’t even sick? I would rather have the street animals devoid of a sex life than putting them down.

What about you? What do you think?

Shantee and Peter met a LOT new “friends,” though I don’t think Shantee liked the alligator at all. Hehe. We have more behind-the-scenes photos with Shantee’s new animal friends, but posting them before the feature could ruin the surprise So for now, we’ll just show you a few snapshots of Shantee’s first ever (and probably the last) trip to Manila Zoo.

Normally, pets aren’t allowed within Manila Zoo. And with good reason—doing so could turn nasty for your pet and the zoo animal. You don’t know how the animals would react to each other, and that’s a risk that the zoo doesn’t want to take. Bringing Shantee and the other pet animals was a special case—Rated K had to get a permission from the zoo and reserve an entire area for their event.

To be honest, Marc and I only let Shantee mingle with the pets brought in for the event. We only took pictures with the zoo animals we passed by on the way to the reserved venue.

Ok, I’ll have to admit that we were worried Shantee would pick up illness from the other animals—they weren’t really well taken-care of. The state of the animals in Manila Zoo is a far cry from those healthy animals in Zoobic. And yes, this may sound really snobby, but Marc and I also didn’t want Shantee get her paws dirty. There weren’t any trash on the ground, but the walkways were quite dusty. I would be the one carrying Shantee during the blessing, and I didn’t want getting dirt on me.

As an animal-lover, mingling with animals is always a treat. But I was torn between pity and fascination when I looked at some of the animals at Manila Zoo—I wanted to take home some of the monkeys and bring them to the vet or something. It’s the same pity that strengthened my resolve to work even harder so I’d become rich enough to have the resources to rescue and rehabilitate sickly and abused animals. That’s actually one of the reasons why we have so many dogs here at home—some of our dogs just showed up at our doorstep one day seeking shelter and food.

My experience last Thursday was the perfect example of “bittersweet”—a mixture of happiness and sadness. It was a sad thing seeing the zoo animals needing more care than they seem to be receiving, but meeting fellow animal-lovers and their pets was an incredible experience—you can just see the love emanating between the handlers and their pets. And that, is a rare moment that I’d love to see again and again

Many thanks to the Rated K crew for giving our pets a moment in the spotlight and bringing together this wonderful group of people!

That’s me and Harry about two years ago. I took using my camera phone, so pardon the awful quality. I know we both look silly, but it’s the only photo that I think I actually resembled my pet!

Sheero and I were watching Ambush Make-Over at the Lifestyle Network last night, which featured a lady who desperately needed a make-over because she already resembled her dog (funny though, the party she was going to be prepped up for was her dog’s party). They showed a photo of her and the dog side by side, and I must say, yeah they do look a like!

I usually see owner-pet resemblance on TV (the Ambush Make-Over thing wasn’t the first). One was on CSI: New York (Season 3 episode, “Not What It Looks Like”), where Det. Danny Messer brought in his dog at the lab for an experiment on sound waves. It’s a fictional show, but they really did look alike. Another one was on this vet show at the Animal Planet channel, where a lady whose spoiled brat of a dog didn’t want to drink water for days—they had the same hairdo.

I think it’s cute that people hang out with their pets so much that they sometimes end up resembling them. Well, that is, you’re willing to accept the fact that some people will find it funny (like me! hehe).

So… Have you and your dog looked in the mirror lately? Do you look alike (or at least a tad bit similar)?

Jayvee’s dog, Hondo, is a male, while Marrku’s, Barbie, is female. I don’t think Sheero would have any problems getting along with Hondo, unless Hondo has domination problems. But just thinking about Sheero and Barbie in one place, I can already picture total disaster. Two spoiled females in one place? Oh my. And to think, they even look a like.

Let’s see how this one plays out. I just hope Sheero comes home in one piece!