Volunteer team set up in Qinghai to help pets navigate COVID-19

(ECNS) -- A volunteer team was set up in Xining to help pets during the five-day shutdown in the main part of the city from Monday due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team oversaw feeding pets and offering them food.

The volunteer team was established at the beginning of April, with members distributed in each district. We take care of animals for people who fight on the pandemic frontline like medical workers and volunteers, families under collective quarantine, as well as closed neighborhoods, said Gao Ming, a member of the volunteer team.

They take care of my dog so that I can focus on my work. If I work at the hospital and nobody feeds my dog, it'll be hard to deal with my job. They come to my house to feed it and I can see it through a video to feel relieved, said Yang Ruiting, a nurse in a Xining hospital.

Medical workers and volunteers protect us from the pandemic, and we try our best to protect their animals, said Gao.

The volunteer team has received thousands of calls for help since the beginning of April. The team is getting larger and can respond to these calls in a timely manner.

This is my hometown and I'd like to do something for it. I like busy Xining and want the city to return to normal so I'll try my best to serve it, including the animals living here, said Dong Siyu, a member of the volunteer team.