Theme: Be with you all my life, I do.
Organizer: Nanjing Ping’an A’fu Homeless Animals Shelter, Jiangsu Province, China
Assistant Organizer: Asian Animals Protection Foundation
Place: Primary School of Phoenix Road, Gu Lou District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China

In order to improve the community environment of raising pets and change people’sminds of treating animals, a publicizing activity entitled as Care for Your Animals and Be a Responsible Master was held on October 4th, 2006, the World Animas’ Day.

More than a century ago, an Italian missionary San Frances proposed that human beings should express their thanks to animals that bring them happiness and love on October 4th each year. In order to memorize this great man, the October 4th has been defined as World Animals’ Day since then. Therefore, October 4th has been considered as the best moment for people to express their gratitude to animals as well as the best occasion to call on public attention to animals’ poor living environment. Then on October 4th each year, people all over the world are holding different kinds of celebration activities to express respect to those loyal animals.

Background information:
As raising pets gains increasingly popularity, the number of families raising cats and dogs and pets-lovers have increased rapidly. As a result, more and more people have accepted the idea of considering pets as friends or family members. However, at the same time, some problems appear together with the increasing number of the raised pets. For example, being lacking a sense of responsibility and knowledge of raising pets, more and more homeless animals appear, which is detrimental to environmental sanitation and causes the neighborhood conflicts.

Objectives:
• Publicize the idea of being a responsible master and let the master know correct raising knowledge and methods. Decrease the number of abandoned animals and increase the harmony between pet-masters and non-pet-masters.
• Promote the status of cats and dogs inside the family as the best company and assistant. Influence and change peoples’ notion of treating animals. Stop the custom to eat cats and dogs.
• Publicize via mass media to promote the animal welfare laws.

Outlines:
---Find out the families with pets raised over a decade and give some souvenirs
---“Writing contest on the theme of World Animals’ Day (collected via web site. Themost touching article will be read on the street exhibition, and the author will be given some reward.
---The competition of Dogs looks most like their masters and reward ceremony.
----The shows of versatile dogs
----Sign for refusing to eat cats and dogs (from dog-lovers)
----Dogs leave their claws to sign on the slogan Don’t Eat Us.

The photos taken of the show

1. Preparation
Earlier at 7 am, the volunteers arrived at the primary school to do some preparations.

2. Beginning

The first contestant of the writing competition arrived. She is the mother of Xiao Guai (which means docile in English). You could not imagine how bad dermatitis this homeless dog once had. And we are wondering what its ex-master will think about when he or she sees it

Another dog raised over 10 years arrives.

Little volunteer wears scarf for the dog.

3. The show time
The doctor from Ping An A Fu is checking the disease of dogs, and provides some consultancy.

The dogs live with masters over 10 years.

The dogs participate for the competition of most alike dogs with the masters.

The master with most alike dog was interviewed by media.

The show of dog from homeless shelter

The disabled but strong dog is still living happily.

4. Signature
The claw prints of dogs on the slogan Don’t Eat Us

Sign on the slogan of Treating Animals Well

5. Ending
Dogs participate in the street exhibition

The activity wins a complete success.

Introduction on Nanjing Ping’an A’Fu Homeless Animals Shelter
Nanjing Ping’an A’Fu Homeless Animals Shelter was founded by Ms. Ha Wen Jin in 2002. It is a personal sponsored homeless animals protection organization. The principles of this shelter are:
  cherish the life
  respect the life
  protect animals
  keep the rights of animals
  carry forward the humanitarian spirit
  fight against the killing, maltreat, abandon of the animals

It is expected to unite all people who care about the animals from all lines of this society, so that we could provide a happy land for the homeless animals with our dedicated efforts.

Ms. Ha Wen Jin started to adopt the abandoned animals more than ten years ago. To rescue these homeless animals, she gave up her prosperous business resolutely three years ago, and founded this shelter with all properties she had. Not caring about the unfair criticism about herself, she devoted herself to the saving and protection of the homeless animals. Some citizens who love the animals also join her to become the volunteers.

The Shelter has to overcome many difficulties to maintain the normal running of the base, and to continue the protection of homeless animals. The Shelter was firstly founded at Wu Tiao Lane, then moved to Tie Xin Bridge, and then changed again to Xin Dian at Jiang Pu. Recently due to the misunderstanding and opposition from the local citizens of Xin Dian, the base has to move once again to Tang Quan, another village at Jiang Pu. The number of animals is also increased from around ten to currently more than 4 hundred dogs and dozens of cats. These pity animals were abandoned by irresponsible ex-master, and wandered in the city, then rescued by the Shelter and kind volunteers. There are so many animals lived in the Shelter, to make them live happily, to maintain the Shelter, all of us are always trying our best.

Because of different national conditions, the idea of protecting the animals is not recognized by most people in China. There is not any support from our government; the Shelter is running under personal spontaneous contribution. But these contributions could not meet all requirements of daily running. The most difficult problem we have now is the money to maintain daily cost and the construction of the base. Every month it takes at least 17,000 to 18,000 yuan to keep the normal living of hundreds of animals. These costs include food like meat, rice, oil, vegetables, fruits; the salary paid for raisers; water; electricity; firewood; medical fees for animals; car for transmitting food and dogs between Nanjing and Jiang Pu town; bed, quilts, cushions; sterilization and cleaning of dogs; and the buying and repair of facilities, and so on. Buying and building new base cost more than 200,000 yuan, Ms. Ha and other volunteers contributed all their savings, but still has the debt more than 100,000 yuan. But we have no complaints on this because we hope it could be a forever happy land for homeless animals.

However, the rescue and the raising of so many homeless animals for such a long time could not be fulfilled by limited salary of one or several persons. The burden becomes heavier and heavier, and each day of the Shelter is kept under too much pressure. Even under this painful situation, we never thought of giving it up, because when you see the frightened and helpless eye-lights of the homeless animals, the small body crouched in the cold weather, and the hiding from beat and maltreating of some people, you will firm your determination to provide a warm shelter for them. So even there are still many difficulties, we will still hold on.

It is appealed for all animal-lovers from all lines to join us and provide a better place for homeless animals. Let’s get united together to provide more helps for the Shelter. With more support and love we receive, more stable the Shelter will be, more prosperous the animal protection activity will be. So let’s come and hand in hand!

We would like to extend our sincerely appreciation to everyone who cares and helps the Shelter. Thank you very much!

Nanjing Ping’an A’Fu Homeless Animals Shelter
http://b182074.xici.net

Photos and texts: Yan Feng, Duan Yi Chao, Chen Di

The introduction to Nanjing Ping’an A’Fu Homeless Animals Shelter is provided by Shelter

All rights reserved by Shelter.