Twenty years ago, Wen Junhong took the first leap by rescuing a stray dog in southwest China. Ever since then, her life has changed tremendously.
According to Harian Metro, the 68-year-old woman now lives in her home with 1,300 dogs and that number is unlikely to remain just there.
Wen admits, after taking in the first dog, a very gentle and quiet Pekinese dog which she named Wenjing, she could not stop taking in strays under her care.
She said she was convinced to take in stray dogs because she worries that these dogs may get involved in accidents or may be killed for their meat.
“It is important to take care of these stray dogs. We must respect life and the earth, not only for humans but also for all animals,” she said.
Wen does not only rescue strays but also other animals that are dumped in the front yard of her house. She shares her home with not only dogs but also 100 cats, four horses and a number of rabbits and birds.
Her daily routine starts as early as 4am where she cleans 20 to 30 barrels of dog waste, in addition to having to cook more than 500 kilograms of rice, meat and vegetables for her pets.
In her house, a number of adult dogs are left free, while the small dogs are usually left in the barn.
“If all the dogs are released, they will ‘fight’,” said Wen, who is currently assisted by six employees.
Despite her deep love for animals, even with the help of her employees, Wen admits keeping strays is a challenging task.
“It’s very difficult,” she explained. “The space for them is getting smaller.”
Each room in the two-storey house is filled with cages, piled on top of each other. The house is also surrounded by a fence and a locked gate due to the grievances of neighbours and locals.
Wen financed the expenses of managing all the stray animals with the proceeds from the sale of her previous apartment, making a loan of up to 60,000 yuan (RM37,361), as well as her pension money and savings while working as an environmental technician.
She also receives donations from the public after her story was spread on social media with the nickname ‘Chongqing Auntie Wen’.
Keeping dogs was previously termed a ‘bourgeois’ hobby and was banned under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Founder, Chairman Mao.
However, it has changed dramatically in recent times and pet ownership is on the rise in China.
The country also still does not have animal welfare laws at the national level and there are tens of millions of stray dogs and cats easily found on every street in the country, according to AnimalsAsia.
Stray animals are rarely sterilized in China, it exacerbates the problem of dumping the animals on the streets thus putting pressure on the animal rescue centres that lack funds.
Also Read: Severely Injured Dog Dumped in Plastic Bag By Two Men & Left To Die in Kajang
