The Story of Shin and Jun

If you know me in real life, you know how deeply I care about dogs and cats. To me, they aren't just pets — they are family.

In my previous post, I shared how I created a pro-bono video for FOUR PAWS' QR campaign in Saigon. Today, I want to share a more personal story: the journey of Shin and Jun — two stray cats who fundamentally reshaped how I view animal rescue.

Shin — The Hard Lesson

Back in 2024, I rescued a stray ginger male kitten foraging through trash outside the museum on Lý Tự Trọng Street. I named him Shin.

At the time, I had zero experience raising cats. I cared for him purely on instinct: no caging, no neutering, letting him roam freely. Then came the bitter day: he wandered off and never returned.

Losing Shin broke me. But it also taught me the most critical lesson about responsible pet ownership: neutering and keeping cats strictly indoors isn't about being 'restrictive' — it's loving them the right way.

Shin (Rescue Day 2024) Rescued outside the Lý Tự Trọng museum, fighting an eye infection while foraging in trash.

Shin (Grown Up) Healthy and resting on the balcony, before the day he wandered off and never returned.

Jun — Getting It Right This Time

Later on, I adopted an abandoned ginger female kitten and named her Jun. This time, I learned from the past: spayed immediately, kept strictly indoors.

Today, Jun is chubby, healthy, and soft-furred, living safely indoors — exactly the way a house cat deserves to live.

Jun (Adoption Day) A tiny ginger kitten who loved curling up inside a glass jar when she first arrived.

Jun (Present Day) Spayed, glossy-furred, living safely and playfully strictly indoors.

What They Taught Me: Saving One Is Never Enough

Rescuing Shin, rescuing Jun — that's the first tier: raw emotion and direct intervention.

I started doing more: backing rescue cat cafes, retirement shelters, and local fosters. Once, I acted as a rescue bridge, driving a kitten from Tân Phú all the way to District 2 for a new adopter. Seeing that kitten thrive brought me joy for weeks.

But I realized: saving animals one by one is an endless treadmill. We need the second tier — advocacy and legal action. People like Lương Minh Trí: taking institutional action by reporting illegal slaughterhouses, transport violations, and food safety breaches. Or the FOUR PAWS campaign where I volunteered to produce the recap video.

And the deepest tier: science and public policy. Strategic Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) and population management. Because only when thousands of stray kittens are no longer born into suffering does rescue work truly have an end.

"Saving one cat saves a single life today. But science and policy are what prevent thousands of lives from suffering before they are even born."

My Vision

In the long run, I want to bridge my craft in AI video production with these causes — using what I do best to tell stories for those who have no voice.

Whether you are a brand, a rescue shelter, or simply someone who loves cats and dogs — I'd love to hear your story.