DVMF urges public to adopt dog or cat

CEBU, Philippines — Aside from urging parents in crisis to consider legal adoption rather than abandoning their newborns, the Cebu City Government—through its Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF)—is also calling on Cebuanos to extend compassion to animals by adopting a dog or a cat.

Mayor Nestor Archival, in a recent appeal following the discovery of an abandoned infant in Barangay Kamputhaw, reminded the public that “no circumstance should strip a newborn of the right to care and protection.”

He emphasized that the city’s Department of Social Welfare and Services is ready to assist struggling parents with counseling, financial support, and legal adoption processes, underscoring that abandonment is never the answer.

This message of compassion resonates with the DVMF’s ongoing campaign to find loving homes for rescued pets. The said office has reported a string of successful adoptions in recent weeks, including Emil the cat, who was welcomed by a family in Talamban, and Fan-fan the cat, who found a home with a teacher in Barangay Pung-ol.

Each adoption is accompanied by veterinary care—vaccinations, supplements, and neutering—to ensure the animals begin their new lives healthy and safe.

For those ready to adopt, the process is straightforward: undergo an interview and screening, present a valid ID, sign the adoption agreement, and pay a modest fee of ?200, which covers initial veterinary services.

Stories of adoption continue to inspire

A resident of Barangay Kinasang-an had also recently welcomed a pup named Vet, who now joins his household as a companion to his existing dog.

Meanwhile, Mara, a gentle two-year-old cat, remains patiently waiting for a family to call her own, already spayed and vaccinated, prepared for a new chapter filled with warmth and care along with the other kittens and puppies under DVMF’s care. Volunteers willing to provide temporary shelter are also encouraged to step forward. Those who wish to adopt or foster may visit the DVMF office. — (FREEMAN)