To their neighbors in Tahanan Village in Parañaque, the Agbayani household is a veritable Noah’s Ark, with its eight dogs, five cats, two tortoises, an iguana, and numerous rabbits and hamsters in residence. Let’s not forget the human inhabitants, too—four growing sons, one patient husband and a lifelong animal-lover whose compassion for some of nature’s most helpless creatures is at the heart of this special family.
“I don’t want to be just an ordinary stay-at-home mom,” declared Tina Agbayani. “Ordinary” hardly describes this energetic mother of four boys, aged eight to 20, whose love of animals once led to dreams of studying veterinary medicine. Instead, she has opened her home to dogs with special needs, such as Bianca, a quadriplegic terrier mix with a sweet face, floppy legs, and a queenly demeanor. Then there are Sebastian, a happy-go-lucky aspin who recently had his hind legs amputated, and Bipp, an adorable seven-month-old stray born without front legs, making her look like a miniature kangaroo when she sits up. It doesn’t matter to Tina that they are not purebred or perfect. “I don’t look at them physically, but more at their character.”
Sweet as they are, the dogs require constant care—Bianca, for instance, needs assistance to eliminate, as does Sebastian, who became incontinent after his recent surgery. With Tina devoting much of her energy to caring for them every day, do her children and spouse resent having to share her attention? “Tina loved animals before me,” said her husband Gani good-naturedly. “It’s good that I see my wife so happy.”
Their sons also support her work, helping to care for the menagerie and putting up with their parents’ teasing. “Our dogs are like little sisters for them!” Tina revealed with a laugh. If her boys show any pique, she gently yet firmly reminds them that the dogs are helpless, but they are not. “I raised them to be independent and to be kind to others, animal or people,” said Tina. “They can be anything they want to be, but they have to be empathetic and not just care about themselves.”
Tina’s love for animals is boundless and yet, it has some limits. “I asked only one thing— that to keep them, we take care of them,” Gani explained. “But if the time comes that we need to balance care of the children and the pets, then we have to think on it.” Tina agreed, “I want to make sure I give them all quality time. I think this is enough for now.” She paused, then added with a knowing smile, “Until someone else calls…”
For all the love she gives her animals, Tina receives it back tenfold. “They are so loving by nature,” she said quietly, as Bipp snoozed trustingly on her lap. It was a remarkable sight, given that the little white puppy had joined the Agbayani pack only the day before. “We had an instant connection,” Tina explained. “I think they know that I love them.”
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