Pets With Owners Taken By COVID-19 Are Getting Rescued In Indonesia
The programme, dubbed "AD-19", was launched by rights group Animal Defenders last month.
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At the time of writing, Indonesia has recorded over 3.8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, while the death toll is currently in excess of 120,000
However, many experts believe the actual number is much higher, with Indonesian president Joko Widodo admitting early on that his government withholds certain information from the public "as to not create a panic", reported The Jakarta Post.
The situation on the ground concurs with this belief, with record hospitalisations and a laggard vaccine rollout severely blunting their pandemic response.
As a direct consequence of this, many furry friends have been left to fend for themselves, prompting a volunteer group to take action
According to a Reuters report, Gledis is one such victim. The four-year-old pitbull was left by her owner after they tested positive for COVID-19.
The dog was home alone without food or water for two full days, before a group of volunteers found her. The group, Animal Defender, are based in Bogor, West Java and have been running a pet rescue operation for more than a month.
The group seeks to help pets, through a programme dubbed "AD-19", that are left in limbo after their owners are hospitalised or placed in isolation, and ensure they get the care they deserve in the meantime.
The group runs a shelter, which currently has over 200 four-legged inhabitants
Image via Adi Kurniawan/Reuters
Animal Defender founder Doni Herdaru Tona said that all pets picked up by the group receive checkups from a veterinarian before they get admitted. In the last month alone, they have added 40 new pets.
He estimates that the shelter costs roughly IDR120 million a month to operate, which roughly converts to RM35,000.
The group finances the endeavour via sales of homemade food and clothes for cats and dogs. Doni stresses that no donations or payments are accepted from the pet owners themselves.
Doni says that they will do everything according to the owner's request
"The type of help the pet receives depends on the owner's wishes," he says. "Either we evacuate (them) and take care of the pets permanently, or we take care of them temporarily."
Gledis' owners requested for the latter option.
The care the pets receive include ensuring they are well-fed and bathed, on top of cleaning their cages regularly so they are comfortable.
The pets are typically returned once their owners recover from COVID-19.
Unfortunately, many owners don't survive.
Doni says his biggest worry isn't contracting COVID-19, it's that the rescued animals will never return to their homes.
"The scariest part is, our mobile phones is (sic) mostly filled by reports of owners who had passed away."
Recently, a group of BTS fans from Indonesia organised an independent vaccination programme to help improve the dire situation:
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