Furry tales do come true

It was chaotic backstage as the humans and their pets were busy getting ready for the third edition of "Furry Tales," which has been spearheaded by the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) for three years now.

"Oftentimes, it’s a spectacular event with celebrities that will make people sit up and give due attention to an important cause," said PAWS president Nita Lichauco.

And so it was with this year’s Furry Tales.

PAWS got in touch with all of its celebrity friends, who feel strongly about the work that the organization does in saving animals from cruelty, in order to come up with a riveting show for animal lovers and to successfully raise funds for the PAWS animal shelter. They also solicited the help of Pedigree and Whiskas.

Furry Tales went Broadway this year. It was a sort of change from the last two Furry Tales, which used popular children’s fairy tales for themes.

The Broadway segment began with a number by Drae Ybanez of Philippine Idol with Golden Retriever Max.

Pinky Amador played Evita, and delivered a moving Don’t Cry for Me Argentina as she carried Sumo, a Persian cat. Singer-actress Karylle, who played Christine in Phantom of the Opera, sang All I Ask of You before she coaxed her Shihtzus Kung Fu and Jack (walked out by leading man, Wackie Valdez) on to the ramp.

Aliya Parcs and JM Rodriguez rendered the famous Miss Saigon duet, Sun and Moon with their pets – Holly (Aliya’s Shihtzu) and Cracker (JM’s Schnauzer).

Nyoy Volante with Chow-Chow Almond, soul siren Nina with Spot the Dalmatian, and Anne Curtis with her six-month-old mini-Pomeranian pup Imo Bear, together with the Whiplash, closed the show in their resplendent Lion King African-inspired costumes and elaborate animal headdresses. Anne Curtis’ Imo Bear was the smallest participant from among the canine models and was perfect as the baby lion Simba, who was raised up for the show’s finale.

This year the event was held at the SM Mall of Asia and the crowd that gathered to watch the show last Saturday evening was not disappointed. It was a great show; Gorby and I had lots of fun watching the humans and their pets in colorful costumes.

Dogs, cats, actors, models and assistants were all listening attentively to director of Shall We Dance and Philippine Idol Rich Illustre, who is a PAWS, and was the director of the show. He was ably assisted by Anna Cabrera, PAWS director, and the many volunteers who kept busy pacifying humans and pets, too.

"A show of this magnitude with over 30 pets and more than 50 human models is a crazy thing to attempt for a purely volunteer group," Rich said. "However, we learned that if you have volunteers driven with passion for a cause, and the right mix of celebrity supporters and sponsors, we can do anything."

Each year, PAWS has been putting on the show to raise funds for their Rehabilitation Center in Quezon City. Also, they use the opportunity to raise awareness on the need for responsible pet ownership.

There were so many more celebrities at the show that I don’t have enough space here to mention them all. But the pictures tell you the story that you might have missed.