Dog bites push Filipina to seek help

 

Jaycee's ear almost got bitten off by the ferocious dog

A Filipina domestic helper who had been suffering silently despite being repeatedly bitten by her employer’s pet dog declared enough was enough on Friday, and sought help from the Migrant Workers Office at the Philippine Consulate.

By then, Jaycee (not her real name), 28, had bites all over her body, including behind her ear, which spooked her the most as it was too close to some sensitive parts and still hurt days after the biting occurred.

And yet, when she finally decided to seek help through her friend Jackie, the bites were not what were uppermost in her mind, but the hurtful words spewed by her employer whenever she complained of being bitten.

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“Sabi niya minsan, ‘and so?’ Sabi pa niya, kasalanan ko daw kung bakit ako nakagat dahil masama akong tao,” said Jaycee on Saturday, the day she sought treatment at Carital Hospital in Sham Shui Po at the advice of the employment agency that had placed her with her employer. (She told me, ‘and so? She also said it was my fault I got bitten because I was ill-mannered).

Because she wanted to avoid being harangued and also fearful that she would lose her job, Jaycee opted to keep quiet each time the frisky Border Collie snapped and bit her. But that meant leaving the wounds untreated, as her employer would not even allow her to go out and buy an antiseptic for them.

A nasty wound on the hand from a dog bite that was left untreated 

Jaycee reached her limit when the dog she was ordered to play with jumped on her while her head was half-turned, and caught her behind the ear.

She decided to call her friend and neighbor Jackie, who in turn relayed the advice that she should call the MWO hotline immediately and forward photos of her bites. Shortly after, the agency staff called and told her to seek treatment the next day.

Basahin ang detalye!

Apparently the agency also informed her employer about her consulting the MWO that just a few minutes later Jaycee was subjected to another litany of insults.

But acting on the advice her friends, Jaycee managed to record the verbal abuse this time, so she now has proof that she could present, if necessary, to show the kind of hardship she has been put through during her year-long employment.

Jaycee was given anti-tetanus shots and lots of medicines to prevent infection

At the hospital, the nurse who attended to her told Jaycee that her employer had no right owning a dog if she would not even take responsibility for the harm done by her pet to other people.

While the dog had complete anti-rabies shots, there was still the possibility that the wound from its bite could get infected, so Jaypee was given an anti-tetanus shot, and told to go back twice on designated days for follow-up injections. She was also given antiseptic cream for her wounded ear.

Jaycee was told by her friends that she should show the hospital bill to her agency for reimbursement, as well as the doctor’s prescription so her employer would realize the dangers of leaving a dog bite untreated.

After doing as she was told, Jaycee expected the worst. But to her surprise her employer did not say anything when she returned from her day-off and medical consultation. She reckoned the agency had not yet updated her employers about her hospital visit, but they would likely start getting angry again once they heard about it.

Jaycee feels her employer wants her to resign so she would not get a month’s salary in lieu of notice if she was sacked, but she is no longer afraid as before of losing the job she desperately needs. She now realizes it was her right to demand to be treated for her injuries, and to deflect her employer’s repeated allegations that it was her fault she was bitten.

If worse comes to worst, Jaypee knows she can demand not just her full pay, but also back pay for the 12 months that she was given only $500 for her monthly allowance, instead of the $1,236 that is in her contract, in line with what the law mandates.

But above all, she hopes she would be allowed to process a new contract without having to leave Hong Kong, as there are several people back home who depend on her salary to keep afloat.