Run, little dog, run
MANILA, Philippines - Braving the rainy weather, animal lovers and their pets trooped to the SM MOA Music Hall last Oct. 1 for the World Animal Day celebration organized by The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in cooperation with Alpo, Friskies, Koko Krunch and SM Mall of Asia.
Pets and pet owners had a blast playing the different games at the Alpo & Friskies booth while kids were excitedly transformed into their favorite animals at the Koko Krunch face painting area. Pet Express joined the fun by offering free grooming service to all the four-legged attendees.
BetterDog canine students wowed the audience with their impressive skills as they easily navigated their way through the agility course.
Dog owners listened intently as Filipino dog whisperer Jojo Isorena gave some tips on how to train their own dogs for agility exercises.
Animal protection groups like Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF), Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA), Earth Island Institute, PAWS and PETA were also present at they showcased their different advocacies. PETA’s rescued Doberman, Grace, was there to charm the animal lovers while their cute mascots carried signs to encourage everyone to go vegetarian.
In the Elf category, the winners are Sugar the Chihuahua (first place) owned by Candice Salud, Toffy the Lhasa Apso (second place) owned by Angie Dumagsang, and Nicoy the Poodle (third place) owned by Doods Jimenez The main highlight of the day was “The Great Dog Dash,” a fun race for small and toy dogs, which is in its 4th year.
There was certainly no dampening the enthusiasm of the excited pet owners who brought their furry babies to run through the miniature racetrack set up by PAWS. It was hard to figure out what the crowd enjoyed more — cheering for the dogs or watching the pet owners frantically shouting and waving all kinds of treats and toys just to encourage their dogs to be the first to cross the finish line.
Celebrity dog-lovers Reema Chanco and Patricia Hizon had a grand time hosting the unique sporting event. “It’s one of my favorite PAWS fund raisers,” Patricia said. She laughingly makes special mention of Sugar the Chihuahua who had a serious expression on his face all throughout the competition. “He had his game face on and he seemed well aware of what was at stake!”
In the end, Sugar went home with the top prize for the Elf category.
All the champions and runners-up went home with a trophy or medal, a canine agility scholarship from BetterDog Canine Behavior Center and gift packs from the sponsors.
The 2011 World Animal Day celebration was indeed an event that showed the resiliency of animal lovers and their solidarity to gather for a cause, rain or shine.
All for the animals: Ella Sabino of Earth Island Institute, Anna Cabrera of PAWS, Luis Buenaflor of AKF, Nancy Cuunjieng of Cara, and Rochelle Regodon of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) with Pedro the PETA mascot Animal welfare groups requested for donations for the relief operation being mounted for the animals and people affected by the floods in Bulacan — a fitting and relevant tribute for our animal companions on their very special day.
The WAD event was made possible through the generous support of Alpo, Friskies, Koko Krunch and SM Mall of Asia. Also leding their support are Frontline Plus, McDonald’s, Pet Express, Belo Essentials, Red Ribbon Ensaimada and the Philippine STAR Pet Life Section.
