How long have you been working for RareJob Philippines, Inc.?

I’ve been working at RareJob PH for more than five years now.

Can you share with us what a typical day as a Business Analyst is like?

We Business Analysts basically meet with the team/s regularly, handling projects or project proposals so that we can also have future projects lined up to improve our website.

As we’ve been working from home for a few years now, how has your way of balancing work and personal life changed, and how do you keep yourself motivated and productive?

One thing I learned from my manager was not to rely on something as inconsistent as getting motivated to work. With that in mind, I relied on the discipline of building up habits that acclimated me on this remote setup.

One upside of working from home is we get to spend more time with our family. During our Family Day, you shared about your beloved pets. Can you tell us more about them?

I had two hedgehogs:

Sam Pinto, the grumpy one, wanted to be left alone all the time and even after all we’ve been through, he was still on his guard towards me. He was said to have gotten lost in the house of his previous owner and was found a month later. During my care, while the family was asleep, a rat attacked him in his playpen in our living room, and he developed an infection in the head, but fortunately it healed and just scarred later on. He died of old age back in July 2019.

Then, I got Tobi Kadachi back in September 2019. Albeit gentle, he had a leg injury due to a rat attack before I adopted him so I couldn’t leave him running in places that could have led to an infection. A couple of years went by until his leg got inevitably infected, but he still survived for two more years thanks to the oral medicine that I administered, and the regular cleaning of him, his wound, and his enclosure. He ran free in February 2023.

I believe I gave them everything they needed and did not have any regrets after their passing, whatsoever.

Then there is Dudog the… dog.

Dudog was born of my sister’s guard dog back in April 2020. She was sent to us with the intention to keep our parents occupied when the pandemic started. People often mistook her for a Jack Russel Terrier, when she really is an Aspin. It only took me a few months to train her, and she has been keeping our halls safe from intruders at night.

Taking care of my pets doesn’t hinder me from my work. They don’t take up much time, and the worst-case scenario that I thought of was restraining Dudog from barking at the people outside during a meeting. Fortunately, the participants couldn’t hear her bark because of Google Meet’s ambient noise-canceling feature, though I do get distracted by it.

How did you ensure that all of them received the care they needed?

All of my pets didn’t/don’t demand attention.

For my hedgehogs, I hand carried them for five minutes a day so that they would get familiar with me as I wasn’t their original owner. This was only optional.

I just left them food and treats, then picked up their litter if there were any. They could be bathed every two weeks up to a month, and while they were being dried in a separate container, I would take the opportunity to wash their bins and replace their bedding. This was also optional as they didn’t smell bad at all, so they were considered low-maintenance. For those who do intend to wash their hedgehogs, keep in mind not to use soaps with tea tree oil, and apply a dab of virgin coconut oil on their quills’ surface to keep them moist throughout the week.

As for Dudog, she is an independent dog as she can take care of herself most of the time; we only need to provide her with food and water, though she is a very picky eater. Even then when she eats, despite having a feeder of her own, she still finds a vacant mat to chew her food on.

Since she is not leashed, she only needs us to open the door for her as she walks toward the door if she needs to do her business in the yard. She rarely gets bathed as she also doesn’t smell at all, and we’re not worried about her having ticks as she doesn’t go beyond the fence, and rarely encounters other dogs.

What can you say was the biggest change in your day-to-day life after you’ve taken in your pets?

The sense of responsibility is something that pet owners have to confront. I do reflect on what I did well, or what I should have done in taking care of this responsibility, and treat this as practice for taking care of something bigger, such as my future family.

Pets play a major role in ours lives. What do you think is the biggest benefit of having them in your life?

Therapeutic and health benefits aside, memories with our beloved pets can be told as stories for future generations. I would have stories of how Sam defended himself against a rat, how Tobi lasted years with an infected limb, and how Dudog could potentially become someone loyal, though not as grand, as Hachiko.

Taking in pets not only comes with the happiness their company brings, but also with a huge responsibility to ensure that they get to live in a loving home. What do you think are the things people should consider when getting pets?

First is financial capacity to provide for your pets’ needs.

Second is patience as you don’t always get trained pets from the get-go.

And third is the basic knowledge about taking care of the specific pet that you have in mind. As I’ve mentioned during my interview at the Family Day event, we shouldn’t treat or see our pets as human beings. One example is that our babies doesn’t need to be fed three times a day, otherwise they’ll get obese which is not ideal for our babies if we want them to live a long, healthy life.