Carla Abellana
For those interested in having pets, Carla Abellana, an animal welfare advocate, suggests looking into adopting shelter dogs or cats that are in need of new homes.
In her recent video blog, the actress related that, last month, she adopted two “aspins” (asong Pinoy) from the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), where she’s a volunteer. “The dogs were rescued from their previous owners, who passed away. They were traumatized and aloof at first; they were shy and would just hide in a corner,” Carla said of her new fur babies, which she named Wing and Fly. “But eventually, they mellowed down after undergoing rehabilitation.”
Carla used to have two dogs: Sunny, a Corgi; and Patches, Jack Russell Terrier. Unfortunately, Sunny passed away in 2018 due to multiple illnesses. And since then, she has been apprehensive about getting a new one. “I didn’t want to have more dogs since my beloved Corgi died in 2018. It took a while for me to grieve and move on,” admitted the Kapuso star, who currently stars in the primetime drama “Love of My Life.”
This time, she felt she was ready. “I fell in love with Wing and Fly the moment I saw their photos on PAWS’ social media page. They have such expressive eyes,” she recalled. “I don’t have a lot of space for more dogs, but I also felt like Patches needs company and someone to play with.”
After a couple of visits to Fly and Wing, Carla initiated the adoption process. “It was a big step for me and something I thought about carefully,” she said. “I went through all the steps. Just because I’m a volunteer doesn’t mean I could just go there and have the dogs.”
“I highly encourage people to adopt. It would be nice if we could give cats and dogs love… a new family and home,” she added. —ALLAN POLICARPIO