The Kid Who Cried over Princess’ Anti-Rabies Shot

We all have things that we are afraid of. It can be the fear of heights, ghosts, dolls, snakes, or other slimy and scaly animals. And sometimes, because of too much fear, it makes us cry. But have you ever heard of trypanophobia? It is a phobia, or the extreme fear, of medical procedures involving injections or hypodermic needles such as the syringe which is used for vaccination shots. This phobia tends to be more common in children but there is a kid in Capas, Tarlac, who is afraid of the syringe that he will not be getting but his cat will.

Photos from Animal Kingdom Foundation

A kid swiftly went viral after being caught on video showing great compassion for Princess—his pet cat—while getting its vaccine shot for anti-rabies. The little kid’s name is Seth, who earned the moniker “Baby Seth” after he went viral on TikTok and Facebook. Baby Seth went to the vaccination site with his Lolo Ruben to avail the free anti-rabies vaccination in line with the Rabies Awareness Month administered by the Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF), an NGO for animal welfare.

In the video, Baby Seth started crying and showed great distress for his fur baby getting its vaccination. According to AKF, “We think he knew that vaccinations hurt a bit and he did not want his cat to experience that." Take note, Baby Seth is just 2 years old and at such a young age, he is already filled with empathy and compassion towards animals. A lot of netizens have seen this, earning his viral video a total of 669,300 hearts on TikTok.

The viral TikTok video has also garnered 5,552 comments and here are some of them. A user named ‘alpha' said, “Cute pero tawang-tawa talaga ako sa bata. ‘Yung pusa is kalmado” (Cute but I can’t really stop laughing at the kid. The cat is just calm). Another user named ‘NeverTheStranger’ wrote, “Ang cute ni baby. Napaka-protective sa MingMing niya” (The baby is cute. He’s very protective of his pet kitten), while a user named ‘gail’ said, “Can’t stop watching. Ang cute nila pareho” (Can’t stop watching. They are both cute).

The AKF looked for Baby Seth's family and Princess and paid them a visit. They also brought them some gifts, pet supplies, and goodies, from their sponsors in Whiskas Philippines. The organization said they are impressed by Baby Seth's absolute and genuine love for his pet even at a young age and hoped that more kids will be taught to care for animals the way he does. It is the AKF who uploaded the viral video on TikTok and said that “the scene in the video only proves how innocent kids are and how genuine their love for their pets can be. If we teach our children to be compassionate, we are assured of a better tomorrow for the animals.”

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Previously submitted to Print Media Management class