When Dubai-based Filipina Angelie Agoncillo Mangalindan’s father died earlier this year, she found comfort in her pet cat.
This is why she felt devastated when she lost her 11-year-old cat in a fire incident in a four-story building Al Muraqqabat, which forced dozens of families to evacuate.
“For people who don’t have cats, this may appear shallow to them. But having a cat is like having a baby so if you lose one, parang namatayan ka na din ng anak,” Mangalindan told The Filipino Times, referring to her Persian cat, Chico, which she took care for two years.
But thanks to the Dubai Civil Defense’s Year of Giving initiative, the 26-year-old Filipina can now give the love and care that she used to give Chico to a new pet cat, Cheeno, a Turkish Angora.
“They called me the night before asking me to come over to give statement [so] I was surprised when I saw the cat,” she added.
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Major General Rashid Than Al Matroushi, Director General of Dubai Civil Defense, handed over Cheeno, which looks similar to the cat that Angelie lost.
“After reading reports about the woman’s loss, we presented her with a cat that looks like the one who died in the fire. We wanted to make her happy,” Al Matroushi said. “It is part of the Year of Giving to make residents happy.
The Dubai Civil Defense learned about Mangalindan’s pain through firefighters, who tried to help the cat.
