The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), together with the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) launched a new program that will provide animal-assisted therapy to children and women in the agency’s residential care facilities.
In the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed on Sunday (October 6) at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall in Pasay City, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian and PAWS Executive Director Anna Cabrera formalized the implementation of ‘Angel Pets’.
“A lot of people were wondering because you saw a lot of people wearing red vests, running around na may DSWD. It doesnt seem the type of event that you will see DSWD. You see us in calamities, doing relief work… There are more commonalities to PAWS and DSWD than people think,” Secretary Gatchalian said in his speech as he introduced the Angel Pets program.
The Angel Pets, in collaboration with PAWS’ Dr. Dog Program, aims to improve the emotional and psychological welfare of the agency’s clients, particularly the young girls at the Marillac Hills – National Training School for Girls (NTSG) in Muntinlupa City, and women at the Sanctuary Center in Mandaluyong City, the two pilot CRCFs for the program implementation.
“First, like PAWS, DSWD wants to create a better place for all of us, whether you are a two-legged individual or a four-legged fellow. Two, we always believe that, like PAWS, DSWD fights for those who cannot speak for themselves” the DSWD chief explained.
The Marillac Hills – NTSG is a center that provides residential care and rehabilitation to minor girls ages 7-17 years old, who are survivors of sexual abuse, human trafficking, and children in conflict with the law.
The Sanctuary Center is a 24-hour residential care facility which serves as a place of refuge and home for abandoned, neglected, and unattached adult women with improved psycho-social disability, ages 18 and above.
“Like our four-legged friends, our clients have undergone exploitation, abuse, they have been hurt, and they are going through trauma,” Secretary Gatchalian pointed out.
According to the DSWD chief, the Angel Pets is a cutting edge program that will enlist Dr. Dogs to do the therapy for the agency’s clients.
“There are so many anecdotal stories of how pets can calm us down and how therapeutic it is to have pets. Pero nobody has actually documented it in a long-term research in the Philippines… Hopefully this research can help us better understand how pets can actually heal, not only those undergoing severe trauma, but also help us in managing work-life balance,” the DSWD chief stressed.
Angel Pets is an intervention strategy centered on the animal-assisted therapy program. It is designed to aid rehabilitation and reintegration in vulnerable groups by incorporating positive and enjoyable animal interactions into therapeutic and supportive processes in selected DSWD centers and residential care facilities.
“We also believe that there are lot of good doers inside PAWS and there are lot of good doers inside DSWD. Magkaiba lang siguro yung kliyente natin but basically, like I said, we are trying to make a better place for everybody,” Secretary Gatchalian said.
The Angel Pets program includes a set of animal-assisted interventions focused on improving the individual’s psychological well-being through interaction with volunteer Dr. Dogs.
The DSWD has a total of 76 CRCFs nationwide which are owned and managed by the agency and catering to all sectors-from children to older persons.
“These are care facilities that house abused, neglected women, children, senior citizens, and people with disability,” said Secretary Gatchalian.
