Do Pinoys walk their dogs? A reprise

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 cause a lot of things, most of them my comments on that asshole ACTS unpleasant, i.e. stepping on poop or OFW party- l ist representative worse someone gets bitten. These are Aniceto “III  for next just some of the reasons why the term week; his kind is not even worthy is considered derogatory by

John” to be mentioned in the same level some. Of course nowadays can

askal as dogs. also mean the National Football Team

askal So Margaux Uson a. k. a. Mocha as they also go by that nickname f i nally resigned as Assistant (Azkal) , but that’s another story. Secretary of the Presidential As a result of the campaigns Communications Operations Office of animal welfare groups to raise or PCOO in dramatic fashion, no less the national consciousness on announcing it in Congress during the responsible pet ownership, things budget hearing of said office. slowly change and “walking the dog”

She just fired a warning shot. or “dog walking” has become part of Expect the shit to hit the fan, all of it the Pinoy vocabulary. aimed at the “devotees to the cult of It is now fashionable and the yellow ribbon.” We’ll also reserve to walk your dog and Pinoys being

sosyal our comments on this for next week. trendy or social climbers instantly And I miss Mocha already … follow the trend. But in the spirit of animal welfare In western countries, particularly let’s talk about dogs. Traditionally in America and Europe, dog walking the average Filipino does not walk is not j ust a trend or fashion his dog; all he does is open the gate statement but a business as well. every morning and let loose There are professional dog-walkers into the streets, hence the term and dog walking clubs. Do we also

Bantay or in English it is literally have them in the Philippines or do

Askal “street dog.” Of course letting your they even exist in the country? With

asong kalye, dog by himself on the streets can 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

or the walking her boss’ dog, usually a purebred. Then yaya kasambahay 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 but that goes with their job, likewise for the dog

kasambahays trainer. However, walking the dog is part of the overall obedience training and not just dog walking se. In short there is no professional dog-

per 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 to purebreds walking with their owners. In Manila, people

askal usually bring their dogs to the Luneta or to the Baywalk along Roxas Boulevard and the Cultural Centre of