Dear Ma'am:

Thank you so much for your swift response as well as Ms. Tessa's very timely reaction to the plight of Rudolph the Deer.

I completely agree that a letter from PAWS to Dr. Cortez, the Medical Director of East Avenue Medical Center would be very appropriate. I would urge PAWS to have the letter received by at least December 30, as the Palace has declared December 28 to 30, 2010 as the only remaining working days of the year (please see: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/12/malacanang-advisory-december-holidays.html).

Rudolph the Deer was tied up to a very short leash in the back of the EAMC compound so if it is at all feasible (Ms. Tessa suggested in a text that there was a possibility that an institution such as Central Luzon State University might be able to adopt Rudolph the Deer), it would be ideal if Rudolph was sent to another place where he can roam freely as he was meant to.

While I do not have concrete evidence that Rudolph will soon become finger food, I was brought to the security guard compound where I had the feeling that those guys were already in full party mode which usually means all-out libations with beer, revelry and food (i.e., finger food); so the earlier the letter reaches EAMC before the critical date of December 31, 2010, the better so as to put a stay on Rudolph's possible "execution."

At any rate, please keep me posted about what transpires next. I would also like to take this opportunity to request if I can interview you in your office about PAWS current programs for 2011. Many of the Diliman Diary's readers are from the Diliman area and may be interested in the issues of animal welfare and the environment.

Thank you very much.

Mabuhay! Have a Great Day!
Chanda R. Shahani
Editor
The Diliman Diary


--- On Tue, 12/28/10, paws paws  wrote:

From: paws paws
Subject: Re: Rudolph the Deer
To: "diliman diary"
Cc: tsalazarph@yahoo.com
Date: Tuesday, December 28, 2010, 9:16 AM

Dear Chanda,
 
Thanks to you and special thanks to Tessa for her quick action on this case. PAWS is swamped with cases of checking on so many cat and dog cruelties - and it is only I (a commuter) and two volunteers with cars who can go check (when these volunteers do not have work).  We usually leave the PAWS van with the shelter to get construction or medical supplies or to shuttle animals from the shelter to more well-equipped clinics as the need arises (Doc Wil is all alone caring for about 300 rescued animals in a clinic without an x-ray and other more advanced equipment).  We really, really appreciate volunteers who can go and immediately check on reported animals and talk to people on our behalf. Thank you. =)
 
Re: Rudolph - As there is currently no cruelty/neglect and the animal appears to be, as you say, in good health, I can write to the medical director to appeal to him not to make Rudolph into pulutan (what should I mention is making us think that he is going to be pulutan?)
.. and to let him live out the rest of his days in that area. Is this ok?
 
Please let me know. (My mobile number is 09178315970)
 
Thanks.

 
 
Anna Hashim-Cabrera
Program Director
The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
Telefax: 475-1688  Office hrs: Mon to Sat 10am to 5pm
Please spay or neuter your pets.
Help shelter animals by adopting, volunteering or by making a contribution:
PAWS' BPI Account Number
3944-0021-61


--- On Mon, 12/27/10, diliman diary  wrote:

From: diliman diary
Subject: Rudolph the Deer
To: philpaws@yahoo.com
Cc: tsalazarph@yahoo.com, dilimandiary@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, 27 December, 2010, 6:16 PM

Dear Sir or Madame:

I had earlier emailed to your good office (PAWS) the link to a brief dispatch I had uploaded in the Diliman Diary about a deer I had stumbled across while walking along East Avenue on the way to U.P. Diliman (Please refer again to tha atached link at:http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/12/merry-christmas-to-all-and.html).

I had come across "Rudolph" the deer on December 23. Today, I received a text from Ms. Tessa, one of your volunteers asking about updates to the case, so I decided to travel back to East Avenue today to check up on Rudolph. Ms. Tessa advised me to be very diplomatic, ask them not to hurt the deer, but to invoke RA 8485 as my basis for interest in th deer's welfare. I did my best to follow all these instructions to the letter.

When I got there, I discovered that the deer was not located as the SSS compound at East Avenue in Diliman (that was a mistake on my part and I have corrected my dispatch in the Diliman Diary to reflect this), but at the adjacent East Avenue Medical Center, also located at East Avenue, Diliman, Q.C.

I was intercepted by some security guards, and I explained to them that I wanted to check up on the deer, because it was no longer visible from the main road. The guards were very courteous, but they did not allow me to take pictures of Rudolph the deer, although they did let me visit him (he looked outwardly health as of today). I was able to take pictures of Rudolph last December 23, because he was visible from the main road back then. The guards asked me what my purpose was, and I said I was representing the weblog, Diliman Diary, but that I was also coordinating with PAWS. I gave the guards a copy of RA 8485 and asked them who was the owner of the deer. They told me the owner was the Director of East Avenue Medical Center. I asked them if it was okay if a letter was written to the Director, asking for custody of the deer (although I would not know what to do with it, but I am assuming PAWS has a better grasp of what to do inasmuch as relocating a wild animal is concerned once custody is obtained), and they advised that the letter should be addressed to the following:

Roland L. Cortez, M.D.
Medical Director
East Avenue Medical Center
East Avenue, Q.C.

Trunk Line: 928-0611

Please advise me what to do next as I am just a humble blogger. I am willing to help, but I think my efforts would have more teeth if any organization with the stature of PAWS was involved. I hope Rudolph is not sacrificed for some New Year's celebration, which is a distinct possibility in our macho, alcohol-fueled Pinoy culture.

Hoping for the best.

Best regards,


Chanda Shahani


Mabuhay! Have a Great Day!
Chanda R. Shahani
Editor
The Diliman Diary