an old issue,still many people don't know

*post from paws' yahoo group here's the link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/whatsuppaws/message/2314

Chita Manalili wrote:

To whom it may concern:

I am Ma. Chita Narvasa-Manalili a Quezon City resident and an employee of the Social Security System. I have a concern regarding a complaint involving a Victory Liner Bus conductor. The incident happened today April 13, 2008 (Sunday). My sister, her husband, and her daughter went home to the province in Pangasinan early this morning on board an airconditioned Victory Liner Bus. Along with them is a young half-breed labrador dog. My sister secured the dog in a box (with a huge hole enough for the dog to have a breathing room) just to make sure that the dog won't mess inside the bus. So before boarding the bus, my sister thought that they could actually get the dog inside the bus with them and even willing to pay extra just to get the dog inside with them. however, this irresponsible bus conductor told them that pets such as dogs are not allowed to get in the bus. so the bus conductor instead placed the dog inside the compartment of the bus- take note: the compartment of the bus definitely has no breathing room! the bus conductor even reassured my sister that the dog will survive inside the compartment for he done so several times! My sister, left with no other choice gave in to the idea of the bus conductor trusting that their dog will survive the 6 hour drive inside the compartment. upon learning that through a text message from my sister, i immediately tasked her to check their dog during their stop over. Unfortunately, the dog had died i guess even before they reached their stop over in Tarlac. i was so furious with the incident and i felt pity for the dog. i called Victory Liner and voiced out the incident. the lady i spoke with told me that pets are not allowed in their airconditioned buses, but are allowed to get in the ordinary buses- how come the bus conductor didn't inform my sister about that? or they could have left the dog in the terminal and instead have someone from us pick up the dog...? i am really disappointed. the worst part is that when they arrived in Pangasinan the body of the dead dog inside the compartment is nowhere to be found! i spoke with the bus conductor and he told me that they already disposed the dead dog's body! and it happened without my sister nor her husband's or daughter's consent! the bus conductor even told me that he would replace the dead dog with a dalmatian. this incident is very unacceptable. i don't care if the bus conductor will replace my sister's dog with a dalmatian. i wanted this bus conductor and the Victory Liner Bus Management to learn their lesson. is it possible to file a complaint against them? what steps should i do first? i would be needing help from you guys. thank you very much. i hope to hear from you soon.

God Bless!

PAWS wrote:

Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2008 06:24:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: PAWS
Subject: Dog dies in Bus Luggage Compartment
To: Chita Manalili

Dear Ms. Manalili,

This is horrible.

Dogs are not to be placed in luggage compartments /trunks no matter how short the trip is.

This is a violation of Republic Act 8485 or The Animal Welfare Act (specifically the recently published Administrative Order on the "Rules and Regulations on the transport of Live Animals by Land"under the said Act). A copy of the Act is available on our website www.paws.org.ph under CAMPAIGN.

You can file the case with the fiscal's office - where the death occurred.

You need to get the name of the conductor, the bus driver, the owner of the Bus Liner and put in all the details (date, time, other documentation/proof) in an affidavit. I will send you a sample of a complaint-affidavit in a separate email.

Please write the Management of the Bus Liner informing them of what transpired today and demand that they give to you the body of the dog or to tell you where they disposed of the body. (The body may be crucial to the case. In the absence of which, eyewitness accounts of dog being placed in the compartment have to be secured.)

I will be out the whole day tomorrow but if you could text me your landline number, I will try to call you in-between meetings. In the meantime, please secure the documents that I mentioned above right away. My mobile number is 0917-*******.

Thank you.

-Anna Cabrera

Program Director

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)

p.s. I have "BCC"d PAWS volunteer lawyers with this email

Anna Hashim-Cabrera Program Director The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) Last year, only 31 cats were adopted from the PAWS shelter. "1-2-3" is one of those cats still waiting for a new home. If you are ready to have a pet, make "1-2-3" and other cats like him happy. Make adoption your first option. Call PAWS at 475-1688.

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