LAGUNA - Amid community pantries springing up left and right, a few mobile stalls in Biñan and Sta. Rosa stand out from the rest. Instead of the usual rice, canned goods, and vegetables, the tables offer packs of food for dogs and cats.
These are the mobile pet stalls set up by Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF) under its #BARKyanihan Project, inspired by the good hoomans of Maginhawa.
The group set up the mobile pet stations in Barangays Soro-Soro and Tubigan in Biñan on April 21 and in Barangay Dita in Sta. Rosa on April 22. The project aims to assist pet owners in feeding their cats and dogs amid the pandemic.
"Everyone we've worked with is very supportive and grateful. Most are initially surprised that there is ayuda (assistance) for pets," AKF lead volunteer Jade Aubrey S. Cabrera told the Manila Bulletin.
According to Cabrera, it is heart-warming to see pet owners go to great lengths to provide food for their beloved cats and dogs.
"We've encountered beneficiaries who are 30 to 60 mins away but are willing to travel just to get pet ayuda. Most of them have limited or no income due to the pandemic," Cabrera said.
"Another story is of a beneficiary who had to commute to get to our first barangay only to miss us. So he had to commute another 15 mins to catch up with AKF volunteers in another barangay," she recalled.
Aside from the mobile stations in Laguna, AKF also has stalls in Makati, Manila, Mandaluyong, Pasay, Taguig, Tarlac City, Valenzuela, Novaliches, and in Roxas District in Quezon City.