As his character Private Alexander “Alex” Marasigan in the action-drama series A Soldier’s Heart is one of those who champion peace and order in the entire county as a gutsy and kind-hearted member of the 4th Infantry Division of Philippine Army, Gerald Anderson also promotes the same advocacy in real life as an auxiliary officer of the Philippine Coast Guard.
However, it’s not only the well-being of his fellowmen that he’s been taking into consideration and promoting, but of our beloved furry “best friends”, too – our dogs. Being a fur parent himself – as he takes good care of three tough yet adorable K9 dogs named Atlas, Fredo, and Hercules – and his unforgettable experience of saving people during typhoon Ondoy in 2009 motivated her to put up The Gerald Anderson Foundation, Inc.
Established exactly on his 27th birthday in 2016, the non-government organization initially aims to train dogs before letting them perform actual search and rescue operations along with the authorities after catastrophes and eventually branched out to training therapy dogs and providing healthcare services to injured dogs through the K9 hospital they erected in Taguig City.
He may not have posted any photo or video of him with his beloved pets recently on Instagram, but we’re able to collate adorable snaps of him with Atlas, Fredo, and Hercules from the previous years. We could see how Gerald completely enjoys hanging out with them, playing with them, and tagging them along in his workout sessions and the public events of the foundation.
And if there’s one thing he apparently learned from his personal encounters with dogs, it would arguably be the same with Mark Twain, who said, ““It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
Keep up the good work, Gerald!