A new law banning animal euthanasia is set to take force in Taiwan. It comes almost a year after the shocking suicide of a vet overwhelmed by grief at the plight of stray animals. The BBC's Cindy Sui explores this tragedy.
Perhaps veterinarian and animal lover Chien Chih-cheng was in the wrong job at the wrong time.
"She often worked overtime, rarely took a proper lunch break, and sacrificed her holidays to give the dogs more attention and make their lives better," Winnie Lai, her colleague at a shelter for abandoned dogs in Taoyuan City, remembers.
As a graduate of Taiwan's top university with the highest score in a civil service examination, Ms Chien could have chosen a desk job at head office, but opted to personally care for the many pets abandoned each year in Taiwan.
The shelter's lobby was decorated with pictures of animals drawn by Ms Chien to encourage adoptions, but many of them were destined to be put down.
On 5 May last year, Ms Chien took her own life, using the same drug she used to put down animals. She said she wanted to help people understand what happens to strays in Taiwan.
Taiwan was gripped by anger and soul-searching in the weeks that followed, most of it focused on a life tragically cut short.
But people also asked why frontline workers in Taiwan's battle against pet abandonment were being put under so much pressure.
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