TO VEER away from all the negative news, I would just like to give a shout out to Heart Evangelista for her generous act of donating a house to Kuya Jun and his dogs.
Another awesome thing about her is that she is an advocate of “adopt don’t shop.” Her cute little pooch Panda is an aspin or “Aso’ng Pinoy”, a glamorous take on “Aso’ng Kalye.”
Why do we have to sugar-coat the name of our dog breed though? Are we ashamed of them?
If you ask most people what kind of dog they would like, most probably you will hear “A Husky! A Labrador! A Chow-chow! A Shih Tzu!”
You won’t hear, “I want an askal adopted from the pound!”
Why do people have this aversion towards askals? Is it because they aren’t as fluffy as Huskies? They aren’t as “smart” as Labradors? They aren’t as cute as Chow-chows?
I think it’s time our askals get the appreciation they deserve. They are a very resilient and thoughtful breed. They don’t demand a lot of grooming and they don’t need a special diet or exercise routine. Maybe that’s why they are taken for granted because of their simplicity.
Simplicity is beauty however and I am glad Heart reminds us of that by constantly promoting Panda.
Askals are also quite intelligent, the PMA prefers to recruit them over other breeds as bomb-sniffers because of their stamina.
That’s why I think our local security agencies should use the resources around them instead of spending so much to buy breeded dogs. There are so many puppies wandering the street that could become furry heroes!
My point is, we should appreciate our Askals. Yes, the breeded dogs can be beautiful, but so can our local dogs if they are taken care of properly.
Our national football team is even named after them; we should get used to saying their name with pride.
A little love and appreciation goes a long, long way! (angelica.panaynews@gmail.com/PN)
