Huynh Thi Nhu Quyen, 44, is now taking care of over 500 dogs and cats at a large quiet home in HCM City's suburban district of Hoc Mon. She describes the animals which she calls her ‘babies'. They were all brought from different slaughterhouses in the area.
Quyen said that she started doing the work five years ago after her pet dog went missing.
"While looking for my dog, I saw some abandoned dogs and cats on the road and I brought them home," she recalled. "I also came to some slaughterhouses where I thought my dog might have been caught and sold to, and I saw many dogs and cats being kept there waiting to be slaughtered. They all looked so poor. And I decided to save all of them out by paying the slaughter owners."
Quyen failed to find her pet dog but brought home 47 dogs and cats from the first slaughterhouses she visited. She paid VND1 million (USD 44) to the slaughterhouses for each dog.
"I continued and brought 48 dogs and cats home on the second day I went to some other slaughterhouses to find my dog," the woman shared. "I couldn't choose these ones and leave others behind but saved all of them."
As the number of dogs and cats joining her home increased, the woman hired a 2,000-square-metre land plot away from the residential areas to build a house for them. She opened a noodle restaurant to earn more money to support the animals.
"I used to be a housewife," she said. "But now I have so many children so I have to try to earn money to support them. Sometimes I receive donations from other people who understand and support my work."
Quyen shared that many people called her a mad woman doing crazy work but she didn't care.
"I'm only concentrating on my work which I find helpful and ignoring all the bad words they are saying about me," she said. "Many people don't understand me but luckily I receive understanding and support from my family, especially my husband who usually joins me to take care of the animals."
Quyen's husband feeds the cats
Talking about Quyen's work, her husband Vu Xuan Thai Son said that at first, he was worried for her when seeing her devoting so much time and money to saving the dogs and cats. But when living beside them, Son also developed a love and helped her take care of them.
Quyen has also received lots of support from a local man Nguyen Phuoc Tri over the past four years. The 60-year-old man comes to the house everyday to help clean the house and feed the animals.
Nguyen Huu Tri helps Quyen take care of the animals
"Tri has volunteered to join me taking care of the animals over the past four years," she said.
The animals are fed rice and meat twice daily. They are also given dry food.
"They eat up to 65 kilos of rice and 20 kilos of pork daily," Quyen shared.
The woman visits the dogs every afternoon after completing her work at the restaurant.
When asked how long she will continue with this work, Quyen said that she will take care of them until they die.
"At present, I can’t afford to receive more due to limited finances," she said. "I can only take care of these babies and after they die, I will close the house. But I hope that my work will help inspire other animal lovers to continue my work or make better efforts to save and protect them."
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