Chris Lau (center, holding the white dog) wants to raise public awareness on caring for stray animals. Photo provided to Shanghai Star

Helping stray animals and placing them in caring homes has become a part of Chris Lau's life.

It all started in the winter of 2010. At that stage Lau, from Malaysia, had been living in Shanghai for eight years. He was taking a late night walk when he saw a pitiful looking stray dog trembling with cold. He stopped and tried to get closer to the animal. He spent one hour comforting the dog before deciding to adopt it.

"It was a sign of my indissoluble bond with stray animals, most of which are abandoned with broken hearts and injured bodies," says Lau, who founded ThinkAdoption with friend Phillipe Jean George, from France, in 2011. A third partner, Yang Yaqi from Shanghai, joined later on.

ThinkAdoption is not a shelter but a platform to promote animal adoption and to educate potential pet owners that pet adoption is a lifetime commitment.

At first, Lau tried to rescue as many stray animals as he could, but ended up feeling exhausted as he could not help every animal. He has since adjusted his focus to try to spread the love for stray animals.

"We are trying to help animals by raising public awareness on how to help and care for stray," Lau says.

In the past three years, Lau and his team have rescued many cats and dogs from the meat market, placed hundreds of animals in loving homes and actively called for animal rights in China. Lau and his team neuter and release the animals they fail to place in homes.