It's no secret that 2020 was probably the worst year of our lifetime. On January 12th, the people of Batangas (and to an extent the whole of Luzon) took a scary turn when Taal, one the country's most active volcanoes erupted. On January 13th, the ashfall reached Manila, filling streets with dark particles causing unrest among citizens and officially starting the trend of facemasks pre-COVID.
Right away, the vicinity of the volcano was given high alert levels, restricting anyone to be near the 14 km-radius of the crater. Much like its most recent eruption 1977, people were not the only ones affected by the ashes and subsequent exodus order. Due to the emergency of the situation and sheer logistics of evacuation areas, residents were not allowed to evacuate their animal companions, leaving them behind in unpredictable hazards—a scenario all too common unfortunately, based on the years I have witnessed as a PAWS volunteer. With little ability to escape (some where chained or caged), fend, or even feed themselves, the animals suffer burns and other injuries as a result of inhaling or ingesting ash. And the most unlucky of them, well, were left on the volcano's island to perish. The horses that carried tourists around the crater, the pet dogs and cats of inhabitants around Taal were deemed unrescuable at that point. A few renegade organizations tried to rescue some of them, but all of this is of course against the LGU's protocol, as the danger zone's completely buried in volcanic ash. It's a thought too heavy to even think about so I'll just focus on the relief operations that were conducted to alleviate these poor animals' plight.
Relief Operations
Since the animals are technically owned, PAWS deemed it inappropriate to "rescue" them and opted instead to distribute provisions. One thing I learned and actually appreciate about the organizations is that it considers legalities and a harmonious relationship with LGUs for the greater good. Executive director Anna Cabrera has shared in several occasions how they had to learn that the hard way from past disaster operations.
Flights were cancelled and travel time by road was about 5 hours so everyday, assigned volunteers would travel before sunrise to beat traffic, many opting to sleep on the way. On my first day, we reached the nearest allowable location Agoncillo, completely gray. Trees, grasses, and water sources no longer provide safe consumption for animals. The majority of people have already left, but goats, chickens, dogs, cows, and carabaos, which most likely are sources of income for them, were still there. It was a sordid scene to behold, and a perfect chance for the public to raise awareness about the situation.
Donated animal food were prepared immediately by the team, to the relief of the emaciated animals, who visibly have not had proper nutrition for days. Social media channels have time and again proven to be perfect channels to reach out to people and ask for donations, which have been overwhelming. Every day, sacks of feeds, canned dog food and cat food (even relief goods for humans) rained the shelter, a heartwarming sight to see. Each piece of help is a piece of kindness from strangers triggered with compassion and desire to save lives despite their busy lives.
Of course, I could not take a leave off work for extended periods so volunteers had to rotate to cover more ground each day. Times like these I really feel thankful for all the heavy lifting I did at the gym since I was capable of lifting liters of drinkable water and sacks of dog food all day.
One of the highlights of the operations was the horses from the island rescued by their owners at the very beginning of the eruption. They were subsequently placed on a rudimentary horse shelter at the backyard of city veterinary office. Volunteers from different organizations lent helping hands through labor and donations, and learned quite a lot about dealing with horses, who apparently are not as timid as they look in the movies. Some can be quite aggressive and are almost always ready to kick with their hind legs, so extreme caution was strictly observed when feeding or cleaning up after them.
Some residents also reached out to us, asking for help in reuniting with their pets, lacking the gears and transportation to do so. On one of my trips, we accompanied a pet owner who needed help in extracting several dogs into his temporary home in the city. Yes, moments like these can quite easily be perceived as a disaster in many ways, but it is still important to realize that in trying times we get to summon our strongest assets, which is kindness in all forms of life. And that is what I choose to focus more.
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