He Jianying was born in Hangzhou in 1964. After retiring in 2019, she went to Deqing County, Huzhou, Zhejiang, and helped manage a public-interest stray animal rescue base. Reports say that over seven years she helped rescue more than 500 stray animals, while the base cares for more than 400 cats and dogs year-round.
A public-interest stray animal rescue base in Deqing County, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China
After retirement, she moved her days into a rescue base
Many people take retirement as time returned to themselves. He Jianying gave much of that time to a noisy, damp, demanding place where there is always work waiting. Xinhua reported that she was born in Hangzhou in 1964 and, after retiring in 2019, came to Deqing County to help manage a public-interest stray animal rescue base.
This is not a fairy-tale animal garden. Cats fall ill, dogs knock over water bowls, kennels need cleaning, wounds need watching, adopters need screening, and emergencies do not choose daytime. Reports say she lives in a small simple room at the base so she can watch over the animals at night too.
More than 400 cats and dogs need to be seen every day
The Paper and Huzhou Release described her as a parent-like figure for more than 400 stray cats and dogs. That number is not abstract. Some animals are fearful, some are affectionate, some are old, some have just been rescued, and some need time to learn that people can be trusted.
Seven or eight hours of work each day sounds ordinary on paper. In a rescue base, it means bending again and again, cleaning, feeding, changing water, soothing animals, and watching for small signs of illness. The hardest part is not only bringing an animal through the gate, but continuing to notice it afterward.
She does not make love sound grand; she makes care precise
Reports quote her simple reason: she loved cats and dogs from childhood, and when she saw a suffering animal she wanted to help; slowly, she could no longer stop. The sentence has no grand slogan, but it feels close to the reality of long-term rescue work.
In the photos, she cleans, holds a kitten, and moves between cat rooms and dog kennels. The images do not need heavy sentiment. They show patience: animals are not treated as a brief emotional symbol, but as lives that need food, medical care, space, and stable relationships.
Why this story should be preserved
This archive does not present one person's devotion as a complete answer. Stray animal welfare still needs stable sterilization, adoption, community cooperation, and public support. A few people's labor should never be the whole solution.
Yet that is exactly why the story should remain. Where systems and resources still fall short, someone used her later years to hold a group of abandoned animals in view. Warmth is not always dramatic. Sometimes it is a morning greeting at the kennel door, getting up at night when something sounds wrong, and still not letting go after many years.
Timeline
- 1964 He Jianying was born in Hangzhou.
- 2019 After retirement, she came to Deqing, Huzhou, and helped manage a public-interest stray animal rescue base.
- 2019-2026 Reports said she helped rescue more than 500 stray animals over seven years, while the base cares for more than 400 cats and dogs year-round.
- 2026-05-15 Xinhua, The Paper / Huzhou Release, and others published photo stories about her daily rescue work.
💬 Leave a Message
Messages are reviewed before publication. Please keep them calm, factual, and respectful.