It all started morning of August 24, 2016 in Manila, Philippines. I was riding a bus to work – taking a nap – when I suddenly heard a loud scream, followed by the people around me shouting as if they saw something horrible.
It was indeed horrible.
A dog drenched in her blood was right in the middle of the street – screaming for her life as vehicles approached her direction. She obviously got run over by one and she thought all those coming would do the same. Nobody knew how long she had been in that dreadful state, but everybody knew she was in extreme pain.
The moment I saw her, I started debating with myself. “Should I get off the bus and help her?” on one hand. “I’ve got loads of urgent tasks at work and I’d need to get to the office asap,” on the other. “And even if I pick her up, I don’t have the money to pay for the vet.”
So many things were running in my head at the time, but the next thing I remember was seeing myself already standing in front of the poor dog, asking for by-standers’ help to pick her up. I learned from the people in the area that she was a stray and that they wanted to help, but they also did not have the means to take the responsibility of bringing her to the vet. We placed her in a cardboard box and I took her to a clinic where the vet told me she might not be able to make it through the day. I left the clinic still with a bit of hope that she would make it.
But she did not. Later in the day, I got a call from the clinic that her injuries were so severe and the delay in taking her to the vet made them worse. After work, I picked her up to give her a dignified burial and posthumously called her Malaya. She was found in front of a school with the same name, and incidentally, this Filipino word means “free”. Malaya was already free from all kinds of pain and suffering.
Earlier in the day, while we were on the way to the vet clinic, I looked into her eyes. At that moment, I knew what I would be doing for the rest of my life. If only there was a free service that the people in the area could avail of, they would not be so hesitant in rescuing an injured animal. If only people would not have to choose between their own/family’s needs and taking care of their animal’s health, animal abandonment and neglect could be prevented. If only a free animal health service provider is available…
This was how Heal a Paw (HAPi) got conceptualized.
It took time, but here we are. I met and became friends with my HAPi co-founder, Ritesh, through our graduate school classes at Harvard. A cat shelter founder and manager himself, I couldn’t have asked for any other person with the same compassion, drive and experience to push this initiative forward with. We still can’t believe that planning for HAPi started during graduation night over glasses of wine and whisky in one of the pubs along Massachusetts Avenue. We still have a long way to go to reach our goal of building and operating free veterinary clinics in different parts of the world, but with your support, we know nothing is impossible.
Abby Generalia, HAPi co-founder
May 2025
Meet the founders
Abby Generalia
Abby is a development communication specialist by profession. She has worked with different international organizations in various geographic, socioeconomic, political and cultural settings. Her communication expertise has helped introduce new initiatives, address challenges and strengthen institutional capacities in several development areas, such as, public health, humanitarian action, women empowerment, youth development, migration, transportation, and climate change, among others.
Although she has been compassionate towards animals since childhood, she considers her “awakening” to have occurred in college as a journalism student, where she took a class on environmental journalism. Learning deeply about the plight of animals – from wildlife to farm to companion – she started engaging herself in numerous acts supporting animal welfare, and to some extent, animal rights advocacy. She has volunteered in and supported local and international organizations championing this cause.
Abby obtained a Master’s degree in Management at Harvard and a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism at the University of the Philippines Diliman. She enjoys a wide variety of music genres: she can be rocking out a Panic at the Disco classic while driving, playing Canon in D on piano, and dancing to Super Junior’s Sorry Sorry in a k-pop concert. She currently lives with her family, which includes five four-legged babies: Neko, Haru, Suju, Kimchi and Ramen. Her dedication to animal welfare advocacy is in remembrance of her three soul dogs, Piolo, Chibi and Hachi.
Ritesh Gupta
Ritesh is a solutions-oriented technologist with over 20 years of progressive experience developing, designing and implementing complex technical solutions for the enterprise mobility industry. His expertise includes software development, technology trends, customer management, vital product introductions, and strategy. He is an out-of-the-box thinker who thrives in collaborative environments.
Ritesh has over a decade of experience in animal welfare. He has transformed his lifelong love for animals into a mission that bridges compassion and action. His animal welfare journey began as a volunteer at local shelters, where he witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by abandoned and neglected animals. He founded the 501(c)(3), Little Lost Souls, located in New York, USA, to provide food and shelter to stray cats. From emergency rescue operations to free pet food programs and spay/neuter clinics, Ritesh has been instrumental in building a network of services that support both animals and their human companions. A tireless advocate, he works closely with veterinary professionals, policymakers, and fellow nonprofits to promote humane treatment and responsible pet ownership.
He earned a Master’s degree in Management at Harvard and an undergraduate degree in computer science at Stony Brook University, New York. When he is not out in the field for work or leading fundraising efforts for his nonprofit, Ritesh spends time with his two rescue cats, Lily and Jasper, who inspire him to never stop fighting for those without a voice.