A DOG’S CHANCE
Sheer number of homeless animals too much for shelters to handle
Le Le wags her tail when people approach her. At first glance she appears like any normal dog. She is energetic and has inquisitive eyes. But something is wrong — Le Le has no hind legs and can only drag herself forward using her two front paws.
Other than this disability, the dog is healthy, but not because of the care and attention of a doting owner. Le Le is homeless. She is living in a large animal shelter just outside Wuxi, Jiangsu province.
The shelter is run by Ji Ting, who opened the facility in 2014, motivated only by a love of animals and concern over the plight of the many homeless dogs in Wuxi. He currently cares for 150 dogs full-time, with the help of two staff members and local volunteers.
Le Le, it turns out, was abandoned by her owners and lost her legs after being hit by a car. After being nursed back to health by Ji, she is getting proper care and attention.
Her story is depressingly typical of the dogs at the shelter. Many have some kind of disability, including missing legs and eyes, and some have been at the receiving end of the most appalling cruelty. One dog lost his leg after being thrown out a window.
The sheer number of dogs and the low interest in adoption means that the shelter is where most of them will end their days.
The animal shelter in Wuxi receives no government funding and relies entirely on the generosity of donors and the work of volunteers to keep going.
While Ji aims to help any dog that is homeless, he can usually only take animals that are in serious condition.
“Because of limited space here, we can only take dogs in very poor health. There are three pet hospitals that give us a discount on veterinary treatment,” Ji said.
Weather factor
As the weather gets warmer, more stray dogs begin to appear on streets around the country. Warm temperatures mean better conditions for survival.
Throughout China there is little provision for these unwanted animals. Although the law on wildlife protection — which is in effect since this year — provides some limited protection for domestic animals, concrete and detailed measures are still lacking. Most services for homeless dogs are provided by charities.
But providing shelter for unwanted dogs is only a stopgap solution. Once a dog has been rescued, the difficult process of finding a new home begins.
Ji tries to rehome the dogs by advertising new arrivals on his WeChat and Sina Weibo accounts.
But it is difficult to find new homes for the dogs. Many people looking for pets are put off by the physical problems of the animals in the shelter.
When someone does want to adopt one, Ji collects a deposit from the new owner and after a period of time conducts checks to ensure the animal is being cared for appropriately. The deposit is then returned. Ji has good reason for this. “We brought in an inspection system after discovering that some people were adopting dogs simply to eat them,” Ji said.
Others, without the resources of Ji’s shelter are also trying to alleviate the problem.
One group is Wuxi’s animal fostering network. The group has no animal shelter of its own. Instead, it runs a fostering network with around 1,000 members, including a team of 10 people who regularly rescue dogs — and occasionally cats — from the streets and find foster care for them until a permanent home can be found.
The group was set up about six years ago and aims to have its own shelter in the future, but for now members can only try to find permanent homes for the animals.
Kanako Uehara, a Japanese woman who has lived in China for 14 years, first came across the group when she was thinking about buying a cat. A friend had suggested adopting one instead, and after searching for information she came to know several members of the group.
Over time Uehara became involved with the group and is now an active member with two adopted dogs of her own. She stresses that raising money is not the group’s biggest problem.
“Money is not so important. Adoption is the most important thing,” she said. “Some of our members are currently fostering over 20 animals.”
Considering China’s rising living standards and breakneck economic development, it is perhaps surprising that this problem is still so preva-