Safe Haven Animals
小七流浪动物家园
XiaoQi's Animal shelter
An animal shelte located in Chongqing needs your support!
Many individuals in our society advocate for animal protection, but how many are taking real action? Thus, in collaboration with the local animal shelter(XiaoQi Animal Shelter), we intend to raise awareness about the plight of neglected animals and explore how we can support and promote animal protection. Additionally, we aim to increase public awareness, encouraging more attention toward the XiaoQi Animal Shelter and the specific support they require. What challenges do they encounter…
About XiaoQi Animal Shelter
"小七流浪动物家园" is an animal shelter located in Jiangjin, Chongqing. Since its establishment in 2017, it has cared for around 1,200 animals, including over 1,000 dogs, 100 cats, 2 pigs, and other animals. Their mission is deeply rooted in compassion, education, and community collaboration for animal welfare. As they stated, "These values inspire us to rescue, rehabilitate, and advocate for animals in need."
Founding Jorney
The story starts in the year 2020, with a group of friends who decided to do something meaningful after they were inspired by the medical staff during the pandemic in China. Subsequently, they noticed that there were many abandoned animals in the street, which made them doubt how they could survive in such an extreme environment.
Taking action, they initially reached out to another rescue center managed by Mr. Chen, who operated one of the largest animal shelters in Chongqing. Mr. Chen held monthly open days and appeared to have significant support from both volunteers and the local community. However, he informed them about a young rescuer named 小七 (Xiaoqi), who, along with her husband, had rescued hundreds of dogs from an abandoned meat truck. This young couple was struggling to maintain their shelter and frequently sought help and support from others, prompting this group of young people to contact Xiaoqi and visit her shelter.
In the beginning, it was quite challenging, but Xiaoqi eventually found a larger space in Geleshan to accommodate all the animals together. This group of young volunteers has been assisting at Xiaoqi’s shelter and is planning various projects to improve the animals' well-being. Xiaoqi stands out as one of the few rescuers willing to actively engage at the shelter. Furthermore, they have reached out to an international animal charity that conducts educational awareness programs and is working to establish initiatives in Chongqing. Their hope is that increased awareness will encourage people to support shelters, ensuring that animals can find loving homes and no longer feel abandoned.
Founding Motivation
Initially, the volunteer at the Xiaoqi Animal Shelter recognized that the shelter was due to people's lack of awareness about pet care responsibilities. While it may seem tempting to alleviate loneliness by purchasing a sick pet from a store, many soon realize the significant commitment involved and, when boredom sets in, abandon their pets on the street. To address this issue, Xiaoqi Animal Shelter has begun promoting its cause on social media and collaborating with international animal charities to advocate for animal protection and welfare while also working to sustain its shelter.
Xiaoqi
Challenges
Right now, the Animal Shelter has faced several challenges in maintaining its operations. Despite these obstacles, our commitment to providing a safe and loving environment for animals in need remains unwavering. Thus, we aim to let more people to identify the challenges they have faced, and solve out the problems together!
Daily Care & Challenges
Since the daily routines for the shelter include feeding, socialization, medical checks, and facility maintenance. Therefore, their biggest challenges are funding shortages, volunteer training, and recruitment and adoptions.
Medical/Behavioral Challenges
Many animals arrive with malnutrition, skin disease, trauma, or treatable illnesses like parvovirus. Behavioural challenges like shyness or leash reactivity are common but improve with patient care.
What can you do?
Community & Education
Volunteer/Student Involvement
Opportunities for involvement include:
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Event support (e.g., staffing adoption fairs or fundraising events).
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Content creation (e.g., writing blog posts or designing social media updates).
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Translation support for multilingual outreach.
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Direct animal interaction (e.g., dog-walking, on-site socialization)—requires a brief safety training session.
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Shelter visits for tasks like photography or behavioural assessments.
School & Community Involvement
Schools and community groups can support by:
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Organizing donation drives for food, blankets, or toys.
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Hosting volunteer days for non-animal tasks (e.g., crafting enrichment toys, creating posters). Running art contests to design adoption materials.
