If you go to any shopping mall like Sanlitun and Solana, you’ll always be able to see some pet shops where tiny puppies are locked in a small glass cages and crying and howling as if they feel suffocated.
Did you know that most of those puppies and kittens are from a breeding factory, a place where parent dogs repeat pregnancy and birth until the end of their lives? After 40 days they give birth to their babies, people take their babies to the pet shop and that’s how the puppies are displayed at a pet shop.
Rather than visiting a pet shop, there is a more animal-friendly way to get a dog, which is an animal shelter, where lots of abandoned dogs live. I met Priscilla Shi, who asks for donations for dogs instead of presents for her birthday and helps one of the animal shelters in Beijing, to talk about the animal shelter and some ways to help abandoned dogs.
How long have you been asking for donations for dogs instead of presents for your birthday?
I’ve been doing the birthday fundraising for this dog shelter since 2018. Every year 3 to 4 days before my birthday, I start asking people for money on WeChat instead of buying me presents, I want them in cash. So, people would actually send me the money or hongbao. The majority of it I donate to this dog shelter that I volunteered at. It’s actually run by my friend. So, I donate partially the money to the shelter and the rest I buy dog foods or send it to the temple where they rescue a lot of homeless dogs.
How much did you raise this past birthday?
Some people give me RMB 50, RMB 100, or RMB 1,000. So, when I started in 2018, I think the total raised money was RMB 4,000. And then this year, two weeks ago I raised over RMB 10,000.
Why did you decide to do that?
It was just all of a sudden, just a weird thought because before. My friends and family members would give me a birthday present that I had no need for; it could be like perfumes, lipsticks, and a weird toy that’s just sitting there and collecting dust. So, that year I actually wanted to raise money for something I really care about. At that moment, when I was in the states, I had adopted a dog. It was just a local animal shelter in Chicago actually a kill shelter, so dogs that don’t get adopted will get euthanasia.
How does the animal shelter work in china? Is there support from the government?
The shelter I have contacted is called Ran Ran’s Courtyard and it’s not supported by the government or any organizations. Ran Ran and her family just started it. Instead of buying dog food, they have to cook for the dogs because the food would be way expensive for 1,000 plus dogs. She just keeps accepting the new dogs; some people drop the dogs by their gate, some people see and bring them in for treatment, and Ran Ran herself sees a lost dog that has no owner.
How many dogs are there currently in the shelter?
They started with 400 dogs and now it’s over 1,500.
Is there a dog adopting system in place at the shelter?
People who usually hear about the adoption mouth to mouth; people spread them among themselves. When they come to the courtyard there are a lot of gates and separate rooms for puppies, senior dogs, and paralyzed dogs. They’re all for free when you decide to adopt, but she checks your background, living environment, and income and follows up after every month in the beginning and after that changes to half a year and once a year.
How much money does it take to run the shelter annually?
For only food, it costs about RMB 2,980,800 annually. With everything altogether including workers, rents, and medical expenses, it’s roughly RMB 4,500,000 a year
How do you help the dogs in the animal shelter?
I visited the shelter in the 2018 summer after I donated. I cleaned the shelter a bit and fed the dogs there.
What’s your ultimate goal for the abandoned dog or the animal shelter?
I want to raise awareness of adoption. Raising a dog is a lot of work, and time-consuming, it’s at least about 15 years of commitment so people shouldn’t just do it because they think it’s the right thing to do. I want people to know that instead of buying a dog, an adoption is also an option. Even if you can’t adopt a dog at this moment, you can contribute to and support abandoned dogs. If there is one person that I can convince to adopt, that would make a huge difference.
Is there a way for people to help support the shelter or get involved in helping?
I transferred all the hongbao to Ran Ran’s account. All the donations can go towards her like food, toys, blankets, and medical bills. Here is the QR code of Ran Ran:
Images: Priscilla Shi
