DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 6 February) – A total of 4,139 unclaimed dogs and cats were euthanized last year by the City Veterinarian’s Office (CVO), an official of the agency said.
The number represents 85% of 6,957 of animals impounded last year at the local government’s impounding facility in Barangay Malagos, Baguio District, Dr. Gay Pallar, CVO acting head, told ISpeak Media Forum on Thursday.
She explained that her office impounds stray animals from the streets to help control the spread of rabies, a highly lethal virus that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
She urged Dabawenyos to be responsible pet owners.
“Sad to say, there are more irresponsible pet owners than responsible pet owners,” she said.
The agency confirmed that 66 dogs and cats tested positive for rabies last year, which Pallar said could have posed risks to the general public.
She said rabies is deadly once it infects an individual, especially when signs and symptoms begin to appear.
A patient who manifests these symptoms is already considered to be in the “terminal stage,” she said.
She said their education and campaign about rabies continues in schools and barangays across the city.
According to the World Health Organization, the rabies virus infects mammals like dogs, cats, livestock, and wildlife, and spreads to people and other animals through saliva, typically via bites, scratches, or direct contact with mucosa.
It said the “incubation period for rabies is typically two to three months but may vary from one week to one year, depending on factors such as the location of virus entry and the viral load.”
It noted that initial symptoms include fever, pain, and unusual or unexplained tingling, pricking, or burning sensations at the wound site.
“As the virus moves to the central nervous system, progressive and fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord develops. Clinical rabies in people can be managed but very rarely cured, and not without severe neurological deficits,” it said.
Pallar said captured animals will be placed in the impounding facility, where they will be held for three days while awaiting owners to claim them.
Unclaimed pets, she said, will be euthanized by administering an overdose of anesthesia through intravenous and intracardiac injection. The carcass will then be cremated, she said.
She said the CVO started the adoption program on September 28, 2025, through which some impounded dogs would be rehabilitated and placed for adoption.
“Ang sa adoption, actually, as much as we want to rehab atong na impound, dili gyud nato makaya dili gyud nato ma sustain kay wala tay budget for that (As to adoption, as much as we want to rehabilitate all of those impounded, we can’t afford it, we can’t sustain because we don’t have the budget for that),” she said.
She said that 26 pets had been adopted so far.
She added that prospective pet owners will undergo evaluation to determine if they are capable of providing proper care.
She noted that the local government is pushing for an ordinance requiring the mandatory leashing and registration of pets.
She further explained that once the ordinance is passed, violators will face penalties ranging from P1,000 to P5,000. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
