More than two decades ago, numerous poor and ill stray dogs and cats were seen everywhere in Taiwan (in fact, they were “street” animals for most of them were born on the streets rather than abandoned). Those poor dogs and cats suffered from ill-treatment by people; caused serious environmental problems; and were caught and slaughtered in a brutal way. Ms Lily Wang (Miss Republic of China, 1961) and a group of animal lovers founded the first animal shelter in Taiwan in 1988. The Help-Save-A Pet Fund (HSAPF) aims to end the tragic destinies of stray animals. Our mission is to build a society where people and animals live peacefully with the strong belief that all lives should be respected. Since 1992, HSAPF has been officially associated with the RSPCA in the United Kingdom.

HSAPF has been dedicating itself in saving and re-homing stray animals as well as promoting animal welfare via educational programs for the past twenty-three years. We have accommodated more than 5,000 stray animals, spayed/neutered more than 6,000 dogs and cats (average of 200 per year), and re-homed more than 5,000 stray animals (mostly puppies) during this time.

We conduct regular re-homing events, education programs and fundraising activities. To name a few, we initiated a series of programs educating primary school children about how animals should be treated and protected. We paid 17 visits to 13 different elementary schools in the 2009-10 academic year. We publish a free bi-monthly magazine which provides information on animal welfare to the general public. We also produced commercial films on animal welfare for circulation. More than 20 of our films have been shown on as many as 10 TV stations since March 1999. We have published more educational materials such as booklets, comic books, stationary, posters etc to raise public awareness of animal welfare issues (see image). We also established "The Dog Festival" to advocate animal rights, which is now a focal event for Taiwanese government and animal organizations.

We are particularly proud of our success in advocating and participating in the drafting of Taiwan's first ever animal protection legislation. We campaigned to convince the government to pass this law which was formerly enacted on November 4, 1998 - an historical achievement. That same month we carried out the first animal abuse prosecution.

Currently, we have 105 kennels and 3 catteries at our shelter in Gongliao, Taipei County, which accommodates nearly 700 stray animals. A no-kill policy is adopted. Our administrative office, located in Jonghe, Taipei County, manages daily administrative tasks, educational campaigns and fund-raising activities. HSAPF now has about 200 volunteers, many of them students.

Entering our third decade, we will continue overcoming difficulties and taking challenges in order to substantiate our mission of building a society where people and animals live peacefully.