Young woman runs foster home for neglected animals

A young woman in HCM City has made it her responsibility to take care of dozens of sick and disabled dogs and cats that have become lost or were abandoned by their owners.

Tran Uyen Nhu, born in 1992, has rented a small house in Binh Chanh District as a foster home for the animals. "I have sheltered 37 dogs and 15 cats now. Most of them are blind or lost their legs and there are old dogs that seemed to have been abandoned by their owners," she said.

Nhu was once a member of a dogs and cats rescue group but the group disbanded gradually due to lack of funding and many members showed reluctance to work with sick dogs. Only Nhu and her boyfriend remained to keep helping the animals.

Nhu said many people told her to give up after seeing the gruesome injuries or fear of infections from the sick animals. "I'll have the dogs and cats take their last breath inside a home over dying on the streets or at a slaughter house," she said.

Trung, Nhu's boyfriend, said, "I was afraid of dogs because I was bitten when I was small. But after knowing Nhu, my fear disappeared. Now I help her travel around the city or go to other provinces to help the dogs and cats. Some people wonder why we take the sick dogs and whether we would sell them to slaughter houses. I just feel sad."

He went on to say that Nhu really loved and was devoted to the shelter. "Nhu loves the animals more than me. She told me that she'd drop me but never abandon the sick animals."

From 8am to 5pm, Nhu never fails to arrive to clean the cages and feed the dogs and cats that she has found in HCM City and other provinces as far flung as Ca Mau and Binh Thuan. Nhu and her friends have created a make-shift device to help a dog named Ka move around more easily. He was run over by a car and half of his body has been left paralysed.