Runners' tales

MANILA, Philippines - Let me start by telling you that Cola, our “adopted” Schnoodle, had been practising for the Tail-runners event held last Saturday at 5 a.m. at SM Mall of Asia.

Cola loves her afternoon walks with her siblings Yuri and Tasha. But, as she prepared for the race she had taken more to sprinting home in the last few meters of the walk.

A good sign indeed.

It was an event that Cola wanted to join. After all, Cola believes that she can beat Gorby, a Toy Poodle, at any race.  Gorby, is a hall of famer at the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) dog dash. He is the real sprinter in my brood of five canines.

But I told Cola that her joining the Tailrunners event would depend on whether I was fully human at 4 a.m. on Saturday.  Well, doggie-luck was not on Cola’s side as I did not make it to the event.

* * *

PAWS director Anna Cabrera had lots of tales for me and Cola about the event that was participated in by 300 doggies and a little over 500 humans. 

“Around 300 dogs and more than 500 humans ran to campaign for a pet-friendly metro,” quipped Anna. “And to promote canine fitness at the first Tailrunners Metro Dog Run.”  The pet event was produced by MyPetChannel and co-presented by Royal Canin and Pet Express.

“It was the first time in pet history that there was that big a gathering of humans and pets,” Anna whispered to Cola.

Cola looked at me with her puppy dog eyes.

Ah, the travails of not waking up early enough to make it to early pet events!

* * *

Anna shared with Cola and me an anecdote about Joe Claret, one of the runners, and his Aspin (Asong Pinoy) Parvati.

Here’s Anna story:

“Joe is part of the PAWS dog behavior rehab team. This group of volunteers gathers every weekend at the PAWS shelter to try to teach the shelter dogs basic obedience.

Parvati was rescued from dog meat traders and she seemed to have lots of energy.

It was love at first sight between Joe and Parvati.

Now that the two are running partners, Joe says that sometimes he thinks Parvati is his trainer, as she always pushes him.

That is why it was no surprise to The PAWS volunteers, who were at the event, to see the pair zoom off at the starting line. The duo led the pack most of the way and at the end of the race they finished second in the 1.5 K run.

PAWS, standing firm on its commitment to bring dignity and more humane treatment to the native dogs, made sure that they had lots of Aspins at the race. 

“I would encourage the PAWS people to keep doing what they are doing —  giving dignity to the Aspins,” said pet lover Betty Samson.  “At that Tailrunners event the only Aspins there were those brought in by the PAWS. The PAWS dogs had the best stories to tell about their lives! This is almost an ideology movement — giving pride and dignity to our local dog.  One day, their cause will reach the lower masses of society and respect for the Aspin will finally be part of our culture.”

Pet parents with their furkids and human kids in tow started checking in at the break of dawn at the SM Mall of Asia. Due to the massive onsite registration, the race encountered a slight delay. But as soon as the 5k runners were assembled at the starting line, the race started.

Top finishers all won large bags of Royal Canin dog food.

A number of shelter dogs from the PAWS and Strike Animal Welfare Society of Cavite clinched the top prizes for the 1.5k, 3k, and even 5k run. CARA (Compassion and Responsibility for Animals) showed their support by bringing in very helpful international girl scouts to assist in the raffle draw.

Joining the doggie marathoners were Tailrunning ambassadors Reema Chanco with her Labrador Sophie and Carl de Leon and his American Bulldog Kovu. Fellow ambassador Hilary Isaac was the event’s emcee. Other guests were Dr. Vic Atienza of the Bureau of Animal Industry who graced the event to talk about how the dog run strengthens their organization’s campaign for a rabies-free Philippines, and dog whisperer Fred Alimusa, who demonstrated some on-the-spot dog tricks using random canine participants. 

Aside from the run, participants had fun sampling awesome products at the sponsors booths and taking home swag bags filled with doggy treats.  A doggy obstacle course was set up as a playground for the non-running dogs to try.

Tailrunners was a project of Pet Express with support from U92, Solar TV, Pet Life magazine, MVS System Tech, Ezy Dog, Wahl, Algovet, Inc., Doggie’s Choice, Perfect Coat, and Bayer Animal Health.