YESTERDAY, Thursday, Oct. 4 was World Animal Day and also the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. It serves as the highlight of Animal Welfare Week which ends Sunday.
Meanwhile, I would like to reserve my comments on that asshole ACTS OFW party-list representative Aniceto “John” Bertiz III for next week; his kind is not even worthy to be mentioned in the same level as dogs.
So Margaux Uson a.k.a. Mocha finally resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office or PCOO in dramatic fashion, no less announcing it in Congress during the budget hearing of said office.
She just fired a warning shot. Expect the shit to hit the fan, all of it aimed at the “devotees to the cult of the yellow ribbon.” We’ll also reserve our comments on this for next week.
And I miss Mocha already …
But in the spirit of animal welfare let’s talk about dogs. Traditionally the average Filipino does not walk his dog; all he does is open the gate every morning and let Bantay loose into the streets, hence the term Askal or asong kalye, in English it is literally “street dog.” Of course letting your dog by himself on the streets can cause a lot of things, most of them unpleasant, i.e. stepping on poop or worse someone gets bitten. These are just some of the reasons why the term askal is considered derogatory by some. Of course nowadays askal can also mean the National Football Team as they also go by that nickname (Azkal) , but that’s another story.
As a result of the campaigns of animal welfare groups to raise the national consciousness on responsible pet ownership, things slowly change and “walking the dog” or “dog walking” has become part of the Pinoy vocabulary.
It is now fashionable and sosyal to walk your dog and Pinoys being trendy or social climbers instantly follow the trend.
In western countries, particularly in America and Europe, dog walking is not just a trend or fashion statement but a business as well. There are professional dog-walkers and dog walking clubs. Do we also have them in the Philippines or do they even exist in the country? With this story we will find out if they do indeed exist here.
Today the most common sight you will see in affluent villages every morning and early evenings are people walking dogs. First there’s yaya or the kasambahay walking her boss’ dog, usually a purebred. Then there’s the expat or Filipino walking their own dog. Occasionally, there’s the professional dog trainer walking the dog as part of their obedience training.
In the purest sense of the word, the only people paid to walk the dog are the kasambahays but that goes with their job, likewise for the dog trainer. However, walking the dog is part of the overall obedience training and not just dog walking per se. In short there is no professional dog- walker in the Philippines but what we have are dog groups or clubs that have dog walking as part of their activities.
In Metro Manila, there are no formal dog groups save from Philippine Canine Club Inc. (PCCI) and the Asian Kennel Union of the Philippines (AKUPI) but these are basically organizations for registering purebred dogs and their main activity is organizing and running dog shows for these purebred dogs. These two organizations have their local chapters here in Iloilo City and basically their activities are similar to the main club in Manila.
Dog walking is really an informal activity done by dog owners and in Quezon City the best place to walk your dog is the Quezon Memorial Circle. There on weekends you will see all sorts of dogs from your common askal to purebreds walking with their owners. In Manila, people usually bring their dogs to the Luneta or to the Baywalk along Roxas Boulevard and the Cultural Centre of the Philippines Complex (CCP) on Sundays. These places are filled with people jogging or walking their dogs.
In Iloilo, one can see owners and their purebreds every afternoon at Plazuela Arcade and lately SM City Iloilo as they have opened the doors of the mall to pet owners.
For the middle class in Metro Manila, the place to bring their dogs for walking and other activities is in Tiendesitas Pet Village in Ortigas and the pet-friendly Eastwood City Mall in Libis. Here on weekends animal welfare groups hold activities likewise with dog shows and dog walks.
To answer the question we posed, “Do Pinoys walk their dogs?” yes, they do now. As the concept of responsible pet ownership slowly gets into the national consciousness, walking your dog is no longer a fad but the right thing to do. The more sophisticated a person becomes the more he realizes that dogs are sentient beings like him with the same basic needs as he has.
By the way people, when you walk your dog and he poops, please pick it up otherwise you can be fined and charged with violation of Section 5 Rule 5 (C) 3 of Republic Act 9482 or the Anti-Rabies Law. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)
