admin     2015年4月22日 16:59

Portrait of BFC Rescuer Meihui, April 2015 Rescuing animals in China is no easy task. However, Meihui (34) a long time rescuer with Best Friends China, has been rescuing for ten years and has no plans to stop. A native from Jiangsu province, she now owns and single handedly runs a rescue shelter, housing 40 dogs and 40 cats. Like many Shanghai rescuers, she never planned on becoming a full-time rescuer. But one night ten years ago, she stumbled across an injured and abandoned puppy in the streets and the rescuing began. That puppy would turn out to be the first of many, as she has now rescued more than 200 dogs. Best Friends China has helped Meihui find permanent homes for many of these rescues through it’s regular adoption days throughout the city. On such days, she will drive for over 2 hours with a car full of dogs to give them a chance at a new life. Her compassion and love for those dogs knows no limit, and she spends an average of 15 000 RMB per month to feed, care for and provide the health care they require and deserve. All rescues are fully vaccinated, as she knows perfectly well the risks for her pack, with deadly canine viruses like distemper or parvovirus being extremley common in China, even in the big cities. Portrait of BFC Rescuer Meihui, April 2015 In addition to adoption events Meihui is also a part of the recently launched Best Friends China Foster campaign. Around a dozen of her dogs are currently registered to find temporary families with this program. Three of her dogs are currently being fostered as part of the BFC program, with some of them already being adopted by their foster families too! (If you would like to foster one of Meihui’s dogs, please drop us a quick email at bestfriendschina@hotmail.com.) While Meihui sets an incredible example for many rescuers and animals lovers, unfortunately, it’s hard for Meihui to be fully understood by her family, or some Chinese locals sometimes. In a world driven by social ambition and money, her selfless attitude towards animals still surprises many. Why would a sane woman work 6 or 7 hours a day in a shelter, after working hours, when her life would be so much simpler without this burden? The answer is that she doesn’t know how NOT to do it, and she can’t sleep well at night if she knows there is an animal in need of rescue close to her. Aside from caring for the shelter dogs and cats, her days are also filled by visits to her local vet, rescue work and as a point of contact for people to reach out when an injured dog is spotted in the streets of her city. In an effort to control the stray population in her town, Meihui is also paying for neutering/spaying operations for all of rescues, as soon as their age allows it. Portrait of BFC Rescuer Meihui, April 2015 The most rewarding part of her rescue job she says, is the joy of knowing that some of her dogs are out of the shelter, receiving the love they deserve in the warmth of a home. -“It makes me so happy when a dog I have rescued finally finds their forever home and a loving family to care for them for the rest of their lives. It’s a new lease of life for all of them and some of my rescues have even now moved abroad with their new owners”. - Regarding her work with Best Friends China, Meihui smiles and says “”-Best Friends China is a great source of support and help in finding adoptive and foster homes for my dogs. Many dogs and cats have now found their new homes through either a Best Friends China Adoption Day, their foster program, their vast and still growing network and advertisement on their website www.bestfriendschina.org. They are a very active animal lovers community here in Shanghai, and are even throwing a special Adoption Day for my dogs at The Apartment (Yongfu Lu) on Sunday 26 April 2015!”. – Portrait of BFC Rescuer Meihui, April 2015