The day the doggies were let out

MANILA, Philippines - Tails were wagging during “Doggie Day Out,” the second Aspin Club event organized by The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in cooperation with Pet Express and Eastwood City, the country’s first pet-friendly mall.

The Aspin Club members were treated to a day of free grooming, pet massages, veterinary checkups, fun games and lots of freebies from Pet One, Pedigree and Pokka juice drinks. At the Cosi Milk station, the furry VIPs lapped up the delicious lactose-free milk to their heart’s content. Guests and their dogs also lined up to get souvenir snapshots from the pet photo booth.

Mypetchannel.tv’s Jill Palarca brought along her family’s tiny bundle of joy, Gringa.

Jill described Gringa as “a mix of Spitz, terrier, Shih-tzu, cat and human,” said Jill. “But when we are asked, we say she’s a proud Aspin.”

“Gringa loved the pet massage! She usually doesn’t like to be touched by other people. Surprisingly, she yielded to the pet masseuse and was so behaved during the dry bath and nail-clipping. I guess she really got into the whole vibe of the event,” added Jill.

Jeff Lacandola, store manager of Pet Express, said that only 15 percent of their pet-grooming customers are native dogs. He hoped that the event will pave the way for more native dogs and mongrels to be brought to the groomers, “People still have this notion that grooming is a luxury. However, having it done by professionals can be part of your dog’s personal hygiene regimen especially now that Pet Express makes these services more affordable.”

The grooming booth offered a basic trim, brushing, nail clipping, cleaning of ears and a dry bath with Doggie’s Choice Powder.

While pet owners delighted in the fact that they were also entitled to a free back massage at the human massage area, everyone reveled in the sight of dogs seemingly “ooh-ing” and “aah-ing” at the Pet Massage section.

“There are scientific health benefits to having a pet massage,” said Doc Mace Licuanan, Pet Express’s in-house veterinarian. Some of the benefits included increased circulation and blood supply to the muscles, thus improving flexibility, muscle tone and joint function of the dog.

Like its effect on humans, a massage relaxes and energizes pets, and alleviates tension, stress and anxiety in them.

To cap the relaxing day, PAWS director and canine enhancement team head, Elsie Araneta, gave a talk on basic dog behavior and announced that PAWS will be offering special training sessions exclusively for Aspin Club members.

Supermodel, HBO host and proud mutt-owner Joey Mead, attended the event with her handsome fur baby, Noah. “He brings me so much joy. People should really open their eyes and hearts to the fact that Aspins are just as sweet and intelligent as purebred dogs.”

“The progress that we have been making in uplifting the image of the native and mixed breed dogs is phenomenal,” said PAWS Aspin Club president Nice Rodriguez. “Most of the people who came here said that they used to be embarrassed to bring out their native dogs or that there were simply no activities for their pets to participate in.”

But after the event, everyone seemed happy and proud to enjoy some fun bonding time with their dogs. “And all the canine members were proudly wearing their ‘Aspin is In!’ bandana. We are having a revolution right here,” Rodriguez said with a smile.

Megaworld’s Trina Ong added that they are encouraging all Aspin owners to bring their dogs at Eastwood City anytime as they can dine and shop in the various pet-friendly establishments.

Other sponsors of the event were Pet Express, McDonald’s, Heartgard, Mypetchannel.tv, The Philippine STAR Pet Life section and Eastwood City.