Living on a 2.5-kilometre-long island in the middle of the Philippines with sandy roads and no cars might leave the impression there's not much to do.
But for Lee Gallant, who is originally from Travellers Rest, P.E.I., his days on Malapascua are full between operating Hippocampus Beach Resort and feeding 12 dogs and 12 cats as he starts the process of opening an animal shelter, Malapascua Paw Heroes.
"The shelter is a relatively new concept for (my partner, Maria, and staff),” said Gallant, who arrived on the island about eight years ago.
“For years, my partner and I have been adopting strays and have been trying to spay/neuter as many as we could. Each year, also, some other business owners would organize mass veterinary missions where vets would volunteer to come over here for a few days at a time and we would catch strays, vaccinate, spay/neuter and then release them."
Last year, Gallant organized a vet mission where more than 20 veterinarians and helpers treated 229 cats and dogs over three days.
And while the initiative has been ongoing, it is not a permanent solution.
However, he is hoping that is going to change. After meeting a fellow “fur baby lover”, who is from Australia, and learning how serious she was about establishing a permanent shelter, they agreed on a location and are now in the middle of fundraising for it.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help set up the first animal clinic and holding facility. It has collected over $6,000 to help with the cost of establishing a shelter. The goal is to raise $10,000.
People back home in P.E.I. can help take them closer by tuning in to a virtual fundraising concert that kicks off Friday at 10 p.m., P.E.I. time. The concert will start on the shelter's Facebook page at Facebook.com/MPHeroes.
"People can donate during the virtual concert and request a song for $20,” said Gallant.
“We're also running a contest. If a person makes a $100 donation, they will be entered in a draw for a seven-day stay at one of our resorts, massage for two, sunset cruise and a learn-to-dive experience. Of course, they will also get to see the shelter.”
The coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) pandemic has created bumps in the road for the shelter's team. A press release announcing the upcoming fundraiser noted people can barely afford to feed themselves, so it is understandably difficult to provide for their pets.
In addition, Gallant and his team haven't been able to transport dogs to the mainland for treatment or bring vets to the Island.
It has also been difficult to navigate around the island itself, since no non-essential travel is permitted. In addition, it is not exactly clear if “trying to open an animal shelter” is essential or not.
“It's also kind of bumped up our timeline,” said Gallant.
“Most of the strays on the island used to rely on restaurants scraps and market scraps as their main food source or even tourists feeding them. Now that there are no tourists and all restaurants are closed, their food source is gone.”
He said dogs will continue to get sicker and starve.
"I'll never forget the last week we were allowed drinking in public, I and a few others sat on the beach with a cooler of beers to admire the beauty of the sunset and freedom. We had some music on and were all saying how peaceful and quiet it was when all of a sudden a very sick dog just walked down onto the beach and laid down next to us. He was breathing quite heavily, you could see his ribs going up and down and then he vomited and let out a final breath and just died right there next to us. It was a quick snap back to reality for us (of) what has been going on in the island and that death is real and that it's not all sunsets and beers. We buried the dog elsewhere and packed up for the night."
