“When you adopt an animal, you create a little miracle. You right a little bit of what’s gone wrong in this harebrained planet of ours. You feel like every superhero rolled into one, because you took something dark and awful and made it light again.”–Carol Leifer

It’s alarming at times (and sometimes really depressing) how little people in the Philippines know about pet care. Most of the time, families take dogs to their homes with the idea that all they have to do is to give it a place to sleep and give it food and that’s it. They have no idea of the responsibilities that they must prepare for before the little critter gets home.

I love my pets to little bitty bits. They’ve been with me since they were three months old, and they’re 5 years old now. It’s amazing how much affection pets are capable of giving–even when you neglect them, or scold them, or forget to feed them. They love you nonetheless. Even I am not a perfect owner. But what I see almost every day–dogs so thin that their bones show through their skins, dogs cramped in cages that are obviously too small for them, dogs run over and their bodies left to decay on the streets–is heartbreaking. You can’t help but lose faith in humanity a little every time you see a person abusing an innocent, helpless creature.

I hope one day I can manage to adopt even just one stray animal and be able to give it a happy, loving home. I believe that this little act of kindness is enough to make a difference and, as miss Leifer rightfully says, create a little miracle.