This man left his finance job to build sanctuary for over 600 rescue dogs

How far would you go to take care of stray animals?

Jojo Lastimado of Rizal Province, who was featured on Kuya Kim's segment on "24 Oras," Thursday, left his job as a financial analyst at a bank to establish an animal sanctuary.

"Dati, dog lover na talaga ako, pag sahod nagdo-donate ako sa mga groups pero 'di naman talaga ako nagre-rescue," he said in the report.

["I've been a dog lover ever since. When payday comes, I donate to groups, but I don't really rescue."]  

His fate changed in 2018 when he rescued a dog in their area in Rizal. He brought the dog home and took care of it, until he found himself doing the same thing over and over again and realized he had rescued a hundred dogs.

When Jojo's neighbors complained over the smell and noise, he finally decided to leave his job to pursue his passion.

He established the God Sanctuary for Stray Animals in the past year in Laguna, which now houses over 600 rescue dogs.

Without a salaried job, he sees through the shelter's daily expenses of about P6,500 through the sanctuary's merchandise.

"To be honest mabigat kasi ako naman ay wala nang trabaho ngayon. Ang pinagkakakitaan lang namin 'yung merchandise ng aming shelter. Ang expenses namin every day, P6,500, more or less," he said on "24 Oras."

["It's heavy, to be honest, because I no longer have a job now. We earn from the merchandise of our shelter."]

Jojo also receives donations from various individuals, including content creator Laine Bernardo, who vlogged about the sanctuary.

"Naisipan ko i-vlog para hindi lang ako makatulong, 'yung mabubuting tao na willing to share din 'yung blessings nila," said Laine.

["I decided to vlog about it so it wouldn't just be me who wants to help, but other good people who are willing to share their blessings."]

Laine's vlog attracted viewers' attention, which helped Jojo's sanctuary raise around P43,000 in donations.

One of Jojo's goals now, apart from finding forever homes for his rescue dogs, is to have them spayed or neutered.

According to Kuya Kim, spaying or neutering a dog would benefit its reproductive health and help control the animal population. It's not just advisable for stray animals, but also for pets.

Spaying or neutering can also help prevent illnesses and diseases such as pyometra, mammary gland tumors, and ovarian cancer in female animals, and testicular cancer in male animals.

The cost of spay and neuter services can run high, from P2,500 to P15,000 depending on the size of one's pet. However, there are various non-government organizations that offer the surgical procedure at a low-cost or for free, such as Biyaya and the Philippine Animal Welfare Society.

Thanks to donations to these groups, the cost of spay or neuter services can be brought down to as low as P700 to P1,500 for aspins and puspins.

Low-income pet owners in Metro Manila may also sign up for PAWS' free spay and neuter services every month through its Kapon for All Pets (KfAP) program.