200 pet dogs join walkathon

MANILA, Philippines -  Close to 200 dogs participated in the first-ever Six-Legged Walkathon held yesterday morning in Pasay City, to foster a stronger bond between pets and their masters and promote exercise for animals.

Starting at 7 a.m., the participants walked 1.8 kilometers along the baywalk area of the SM Mall of Asia.

The activity, held in coordination with the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), was the brainchild of New Barbizon Fashion’s Sassa Activewear marketing manager Rossana Unson, herself a dog lover.

“Everybody was doing runs and marathons, we wanted to do something different and I thought, why not a walk? It is also a more relaxed way to keep healthy. When I thought of walks, the image of legs popped into my head, and that was it, a six-legged marathon – two for the human walker and four for the dog,” she said.

“The Pinoy way of pet keeping is tying dogs inside the house because they are supposed to guard the house. There is also the extreme side that they spoil their dogs so much that they become fat. It becomes a health problem. The owners should allow their dogs to exercise to make them fit,” said PAWS executive director Ana Cabrera.

Through the Six-Legged Walkathon, PAWS hopes to encourage pet owners to spend more walking time with their dogs.

Cabrera said yesterday’s activity also allowed them to enjoy the company of their furry friends.

Oftentimes, PAWS is busy attending to the “negative things” that go with their advocacy, such as stopping cruelty to animals.

“We deal with these issues every day that we sometimes forget to celebrate, and I think celebrating our bond with animals is just as important as condemning cruelty. We have to take time to celebrate, to pay tribute to pet owners who are doing a good job of taking care of their domestic animals,” Cabrera said.

During the program, Sassa Activewear also handed over a P40,000 check to PAWS to cover their overhead expenses.

Cabrera said running a pet shelter does not come cheap, with their overhead expenses reaching about P200,000 a month.

The figure includes water and electricity bills as well as the salaries of caretakers and veterinarians and food of the animals.

The amount does not include the medication of the pets, Cabrera said.

Also yesterday, PAWS, which currently houses around 300 animals, paraded at least six of their dogs that are ready for adoption.

Cabrera said adopting a dog from PAWS would cost only P1,000 and that the new owner can be assured that the pet has undergone complete behavior rehabilitation and has been given various kinds of vaccines.

PAWS, however, added that before they turn over the pet, the new owner has to go through a stringent adoption procedure, including interviews by two adoption councilors and a visit to his house by a PAWS representative.

Other activities scheduled yesterday afternoon were a dog kinetics agility demonstration by BetterDog, the launching of JusTees-PAWS shirts sponsored by SM Kids, and a concert for animals.

Meanwhile, at 4:30 p.m. today, there will be a parade of pets and their owners around the Eastwood Mall in Libis, Quezon City to be followed by a Mass at the open area and blessing of the pets.