¹Ï»¡¡GYou can help a homeless animal and give it a different life.

Eventually he managed to send the injured dog to a vet. Although the dog survived the ordeal, he had become paralyzed in the lower body.

¡§I only wanted to help the dog,¡¨ Chen said. ¡§So I decided to give it my best shot.¡¨ Besides providing meticulous care for the patient, he also bought a made-to-order dog-cart for the dog so that he can still enjoy his freedom with his strong front legs. And because the dog has lost his bladder and bowel control, Chen has to help the dog keep clean.

The amount of work that goes into looking after the injured dog did not deter Chen in his efforts; instead he began to think about the countless numbers of strays that need his help.
He began to volunteer his time to help these stray animals as much as he could. But eventually he gave up his job to establish the Tainan City Stray Animals Protection Association. Strays were put up in a shelter on un-utilized land provided by sponsors. As the number of strays at the shelter increased, so did the operational costs. The obstacles Chen faced only spurred him on to do more for the animals.

Chen is very concerned with the many problems public shelters face. Stray dogs that are caught by the trash collectors are sent to public shelters, where they will be euthanized if they are not adopted within 7 days. In the early days many shelters were so poorly designed that contagious diseases such as kennel cough and canine distemper were very common. Many dogs enter the shelters only to die within a few days. Public shelters are often located in out-of-reach areas which inhibit adoption rates and also make it difficult for government officials to keep an eye on their operations. A few years ago, shelters in Banqiao and Hualien provoked international outcry when the sheltered dogs were found to eat dead dogs because of negligence. Chen often brings his volunteers to adopt the public shelter dogs. They are then treated accordingly before being put up for adoption.

However, ¡§providing shelters for stray animals does not get to the root of the problem,¡¨ Chen said. A plan was initiated: ¡§Adopt a pet instead of purchasing; sterilise instead of euthanizing.¡¨ With the help of volunteers, he promoted the idea to government agencies, city counsilors. Together with the other animal protection groups, they launched many demonstrations hoping that to raise public awareness.

Chen is currently chairman of Stray animals Alliance and Taiwan representative of World Taiwan Stray Animals Protection Alliance. He believes that eventually, all of our faithful friends will be in good hands.

Gandhi once said,¡¨The greatness of a nation and its moral progess can be judged by the way its animals are treated.¡¨ A society that turns a blind eye to the sufferings of its animals is a society that has lost its compassion. It is never too late to start. If you adopt a stray animal, its life will be changed forever. And in turn you will be blessed with unconditional love. You can also volunteer your time at an animal protection agency to help more animals.