Not all heroes wear capes. In fact, they wear robes. With a freshly shaven head and a bead necklace around his neck, Zhi Xiang looks into the eyes of a stray dog whose fur has been soaked with rain. ‘Let me cut your hair’, he says to the pooch softly.
Zhi Xiang, a Buddhist Monk who rescues stray animals to give them a chance at life
The stray pooch is one of thousands of dogs that are removed from the streets of China every single day. These dogs are packed into small metal cages and placed in a holding area and neglected for days before being put down.
If not for Zhi, this will be the fate for most of them.
Driven by his Buddhist faith and belief that the lives of humans and non-human animals are equal, Zhi has been rescuing stray animals since 1994. Since then, he has rescued over 8000 animals, most of which are dogs and cats. While he feeds and cares for most of them, some of the rescues will be resettled in North America or Europe.
Many of the stray animals in China are captured and put into tight cages, before being put down.
Boom In The Chinese Pet Market
With the rapid growth of wealth in China, there has also been an exponential increase in the number of pet ownership. However, it seems like some people simply dump the poor animals onto the streets when they no longer want to look after them. Furthermore, this problem is worsening as breeding among the stray animals is causing the number of homeless animals to explode.
Zhi’s Sanctuary
Zhi is a Buddhist Monk who still worships at a temple. However, the temple is also the home to over 200 cats and a collection of other animals including chickens and geese. Zhi also keeps sick dogs in the temple while the healthier dogs live in a larger facility close by. If they are lucky, they will soon find a new home elsewhere with new, keen owners.
While Zhi is not a trained vet, you can really tell that he loves animals through his actions: how he holds them; how he pets them; and how he kisses them.
And he does all of this for free.
Zhi does not receive any money from the government. Instead, he relies on his family, the other monks in the temple, and handouts from donors.
Zhi hopes to resettle as many of the rescues as possible. Most of the animals that he has rescued have been resettled overseas. The knowledge that these dogs will get a chance at living the best life brings a tear to his eye. From wandering the streets with a doomed fate to a chance at a new beginning, these animals are lucky to have met such a wonderful human being.
Thank you for being a hero, Zhi Xiang!
