Marvin Manalac Founder of Jaiya’s Animal Rescue

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on Friday, May 21, 2010 12:00 AM

Why did you decide to start Jaiya's Animal Rescue?

With the amount of stray, abused and abandoned animals that we have seen, we wanted to do something to help. My wife and I love animals and if we had a chance, we would love to open an animal sanctuary. Through JAR, we have met wonderful people and have raised awareness about animal care and compassion. We have lovely and dedicated rescuers and volunteers, and we're growing.

Are there more cats or dogs recued by JAR?

For every cat that we have rescued, we have saved 3 to 4 dogs. For whatever reason, we seem to generate more dogs than cats!

Do you yourself have pets?

My wife and I have three adorable dogs, two loving cats and two lizards, and of course, they were all once stray animals. There was a point when we had 6 dogs and a cat living in our home!

Have you always been an animal lover?

At a young age, I was always around animals, like dogs and cats. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance in owning a pet when I was living in London, so any chance I had in looking after a dog I jumped at it. Julia, my wife, has also always been an animal lover from the time she was six years old and she was handling dogs in dog shows. My wife and I support an Animal Rescue Organization in the UK called Dogs Trust and PETA.

If you were an animal, which would you be?

If I was an animal, I would be a dog. I would be a St. Bernard because I love to help people and be adorable at the same time!

When you're not saving our four-footed friends, what do you do to enjoy Shanghai?

I love to spend time with my family, visit friends and dine out. I do like to keep myself busy by offering my services - be it web designing, marketing and advertising consulting, tutoring - and supporting people and other organizations. My aim though is to help as many animals as I can whilst I am living here in Shanghai. I do hope in time that animal welfare is implemented.