Aspin or Philippine Local Dogs, With Their Very Own Club Called Aspin Club by Paws

 In the Philippines, ASPINs are commonly called ASKALs short for Asong Kalye meaning, Dogs that roam the street because their Humans are irresponsible.  This breed is often the victim of descrimination, majority of the filipinos preferred those with breed, and whose prices are ranging from 5,000 pesos to 100,000 pesos, while our Philippine Local Dogs you can even get for free, as long as you found a human who wants to get rid of their puppies right away.

PAWS finally came up with a club that will focus on our very own Philippine Local Dogs. The Birth of ASPIN Club will spread awareness that our Philippine Local Dog can be as Special as those dogs with breed.

My dogs Peso and PM are Philippine Local Dogs, and Last August 7, marked Peso's membership to the Club.

This is for the benefit of those who has no access to the magazine. 

My article published for this month of September is entitled "MY ASPIN IS IN", which means my Dog Peso finally joined the first club created for Philippine Local Dogs, the ASPIN CLUB.  My story focused on the day we registered at their event last August 7, 2010 that they called "Doggie Day out".

MY dog and I went booth hopping, and Peso enjoyed all the freebies given to him.

MY ASPIN IS IN

        Peso turned 10 years old last July 27, 2010, having received an invitation from PAWS ASPIN CLUB two days before his birthday, I decided to just treat Peso by bringing him to the event which they called PAWS ASPIN CLUB Doggies Day Out on August 7, 2010.  This will serve as our opportunity too to register as members of the club.

Doggies Day Out- Peso is in

            August 7, 2010 marked Peso’s official membership in the ASPIN Club, as he proudly wore the Aspin Club’s scarf the whole time of the event. In his membership, Peso now is included in the group of Aspins who are fortunate enough to have humans who love them beyond their breed. They will now carry the torch for fellow ASPIN, and will set example too that a pampered Aspin can be as loveable, as sweet and as smart as the most expensive dog breed that exists in the world.

During the event, Peso and I went booth hopping. I took photos of my adorable dog in each booth and at the stage too which had the huge backdrop of “Doggie Day Out. My dog took advantage of his special day; he had almost eaten all his edible freebies (dog treats and sample dog food) and tasted the milk openly served for dogs who like it.  As his human, I can’t just ignore the “free-photo booth”,   the yummy cupcakes for Human, which I shared with Peso, and the free massage.  The relay contest is just unforgettable because it was our first time to join a contest, and I realized how fun it was to compete along with your dog. Fortunately our group won, granting us two (2) movie tickets each at Eastwood Mall Cinema plus Doggies Choice stuff for our dogs.

I don’t know about others, but for me events like this will always excite me. This is not just a day for dogs but a time for humans to enjoy and to relieve themselves from stress which they acquired from Monday to Friday work schedule.

Mario Peso is definitely a proud ASPIN

            I am not a perfect dog owner, but I am doing my best to give my dogs a good life that they deserved.  This is my simple contribution to animal welfare; a healthy happy life for my ASPINs, which means that 2 innocent dogs were already saved from possible maltreatment.

Mario Peso is a certified ASPIN and is gifted with looks that dog lovers can’t help but notice. When I said he is Aspin, they will insist he is a mixed of various breeds. He is also gifted with natural wit that people often asked about his training background. With regards to his training, I really don’t have a special formula, I just pushed on his potentials, and he easily learned things without me insisting them on him, besides, it’s against my rule to force a dog just to learn something.  But there is one thing I am sure about, “Love and good treatment can really improve the looks of your dogs, and spending a few minutes or hours with him in a day, helps a lot for him to easily learn the basic commands like sit, behave, play etc”, which means that humans who neglect their Aspins never know what they are missing.  All they need is just a little love and who knows another genius dog will rise.

I Thank God for the ASPIN CLUB

            “The PAWS Aspin Club aims to improve how Filipinos view & treat native and mixed-breed dogs by celebrating the unique characteristics of these dogs and helping people make the right choice - the choice to care for aspins and be responsible dog owners.” (Aim of the club as copied from their letter sent to me)

At least there is one club that will focus on our Philippine Local Dogs, the one that will spread awareness about ASPINs and how special they are.

It’s always a good feeling to know that you are not alone in your sentiments; that you finally found a place where you can interact with people who love their Aspins as much as you yours. ASPINS have always been my favorite breed. And Peso is everything that I want my ASPIN to be. I grew up with ASPINS all around me, when I talked of dogs I definitely mean them. It was only recently when I learned about other breeds, and it was only then I realized that there is indeed a discrimination between local dogs and purebreed dogs. I thought the only disheartening fact about Local dogs is they are targeted as food delicacy, and of course irresponsible owners.

I am also happy that Peso has his own club now where he will be associated with other ASPINs whose life stories are as interesting as him.

In the ASPIN Club’s next activity which they set on October in time for Animal World day, I will definitely bring along my other ASPIN Pissie Marie (PM) and will make her another proud member of the Club.

Campaign against Tambucho-Gassing procedure

            The meat of the ASPIN Club Doggie Day Out is the collection of signatures for the campaign against Tambucho-Gassing Procedure as another form of Animal Euthanasia. We need to gather as many signatures as possible to appeal to the concerned authorities to reconsider and to exclude this method among legal “Euthanasia” methods mentioned in an Administrative Order under the Animal Welfare Act. We all know that the Animal Welfare Act was created to protect animals from suffering from cruelty. We also know that the meaning of Euthanasia is “Mercy Killing”, which is obviously an antithesis to this Tambucho Gassing Procedure.

I just can’t have a heart to watch the video; those are CRUELTY and not a way to solve a problem. May those in authority listen to our appeal, and accept a more humane suggestion instead.

Aspin Lovers’ dream

I will continue hoping and dreaming that someday, our Country (the Philippines) will be a safe place for Local Dogs. A place where the population of Aspins is well controlled, A place where everybody loves dogs, local or purebreed, a place where dogs local or purebreed are not caged forever, a place where dogs are pets not commodities or gourmet recipes and lastly, a place where dog exploitation is not permitted but cursed. 

Yes on his 10^th birthday, we celebrated differently.  Though I missed giving Peso his usual party, nothing can equal the PAWS ASPIN Club Doggie Day Out experience. With just P250 membership fee that will go to PAWS Animal Shelter, we were able to help other less fortunate ASPINs, which made Peso’s birthday more meaningful this year.