What better way is there to enjoy a relaxing end to the weekend than with cronies over some trivia and pints? The spring time pub quiz organized by Animals Taiwan (台灣動物協會), a non-profit devoted to the rescue, rehabilitation and adoption of injured stray dogs and cats, returns to Carnegie’s on Sunday at 5pm.
Liza Milne, Animals Taiwan’s events coordinator and chairperson, has been organizing various happenings over the last few years to raise funds to help the furry friends. The events, which not only include pub quizzes, but also pet festivals, second hand sales and drag nights, have all been hugely successful in raising funds and spreading awareness of the organization’s cause.
“We try to diversify as much as possible to attract different crowds of people,” Milne, a UK native who has lived in Taiwan for over 20 years, told the Taipei Times.
Photo courtesy of Animals Taiwan
Since each fundraiser is markedly different, they won’t push the plight of stray animals so much at certain events. While it may be appropriate to bring their animals to pet festivals where they can really devote their time to educating audiences about animal welfare, it may not be so suitable for other types of events.
“People know what the event is about and why we are raising money, and are coming out for a good time while helping the animals,” Milne said.
Through their activities, Animals Taiwan has been able to grow and expand their organization’s outreach. They now have the capacity to conduct educational programs and perform catch-neuter-returns and trap-neuter-returns on stray dogs and cats, which decreases the likelihood of over-breeding and the spread of diseases.
NORTON’S STORY
Milne said that there has been “hundreds of heartwarming success stories where our animals have come to us in a terrible state and have been rehabilitated both physically and mentally, and have gone on to find loving homes.”
One story that struck her though, was that of Norton’s, a dog who had severe injuries due to abuse or a car accident. Norton’s legs and jaw were broken and he needed to have his lower jaw removed. Over time, Animals Taiwan was able to treat and rehabilitate him to the point where he enjoyed being around other dogs and humans
“However,” Milne said, “we didn’t hold out much hope of him finding a loving home as he wasn’t the most handsome of dogs.
Eventually, Norton was able to find a home in the Netherlands and Animals Taiwan still receives video and photo updates of Norton settling into his new life.
“It revives our faith in people that they can look past a dog’s disabilities and love them no matter what,” Milne added.
If you’re feeling thirsty and in a charitable spirit this Sunday, head over to Carnegie’s. There will also be animal-related questions included in the trivia to keep punters on their toes.
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
This year’s Michelin Gourmand Bib sported 16 new entries in the 126-strong Taiwan directory. The fight for the best braised pork rice and the crispiest scallion pancake painstakingly continued, but what stood out in the lineup this year? Pang Taqueria (胖塔可利亞); Taiwan’s first Michelin-recommended Mexican restaurant. Chef Charles Chen (陳治宇) is a self-confessed Americophile, earning his chef whites at a fine-dining Latin-American fusion restaurant. But what makes this Xinyi (信義) spot stand head and shoulders above Taipei’s existing Mexican offerings? The authenticity. The produce. The care. AUTHENTIC EATS In my time on the island, I have caved too many times to
In a stark demonstration of how award-winning breakthroughs can come from the most unlikely directions, researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for discovering that mammals can breathe through their anuses. After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure. The team is among 10 recognized in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” They are not