Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Must Love Dogs

If by any chance you happened to see my friendster account, its quite obvious that I love my dogs. Hint I created Barry a friendster account and have pictures of them in my own profile. Others thought "Ohhh... your dog is soo cute" while some made a song and dance about why I created an account for Barry. "Ginawan mo pa talaga ng friendster ang aso mo ha... (You even created your dog a friendster account!?!)". Odd as it may seem but creating a Friendster account does not even measure up to what my dogs have given me and my family.

Barry saved my life as to how and when this happened, although a wonderful story its too personal for me to blog. What amazing creatures God has blessed us to have. ( ...eye glasses fogging...) Barry is special to me since he is the first dog that I was actually held responsible for. Feeding him, bathing and grooming, giving him vitamins, cleaning his "accidents" and sees to it thathe vists the vet at least once every 2 months.

To give you a profile of my dog: Barry looks arrogant and royal, possessive, a very picky eater, enjoys being alone unlike Sophie who likes to tag along, go outside and play with other dogs. Barry prefers indoors with his toys and snubs other dogs. Unusual as it may seem but Barry does not go on a barking spree (hehehe I see your eyebrows rising) unlike other dogs. He only barks when he needs something and he can be very demanding...

A list of when Barry would bark: If he likes to play. If his ball is under the couch or somewhere unreachable (like the extra toys inside the closet). If he is hungry or thirsty. If he likes you to open the door after doing his business outside (potty) or if he gets locked inside a room and would want to go out. Finally, he barks when you tell him to... "Barry Speak" and he will bark.

All in all we have 5 dogs namely Barry(3 yr 3 month old male shih-tzu), Sophie(11 month old female shih-tzu), Cleo (1 yr and 9 month old female mixed breed labrador and great dane), Tommy (11 yr old male monggrel) and Bantay (age unknown male monggrel).

Bantay ( means protector, to guard) has been with us for more than a year and actually has a funny story as to how he became a member of our family. He was a stray dog at our village. My uncle regularly feeds him and one day he just eventually followed him home. At first my parents hesitated to adopt Bantay since he was a stray dog and might have rabies or something. In due course, they accepted him since every morning that my mom and dad jogged Bantay would accompany them around the village. They were captivated on how intelligent this dog was. We dubbed him Bantay eversince. Bantay ng Gate si Bantay.

In relation to today's entry, I was able to watch Kotrobersyal hosted by Boy Abunda last Saturday and one of the stories featured was "Stray Dogs: Shoot to Kill". The mayor of Binalbagan, a town in Negros Occidental, implemented an ordinance the "shoot to kill stray dogs". With the ordinance came a list of those who are authorized by the mayor to implement the said law. The ordinance was created in-line with the towns rising stray dog population, the cases of dog bites, motorcycle and car accidents wherein stray dogs are said to be the "culprits". The authorized men ,equipped with airguns, would have their rounds twice a week at night while everyone is asleep or already inside their homes. An average of 20 dogs are killed per round. Dogs that are exempted from the shooting are those with collars or those who are near their owners houses/gate. "Human Life was more important" this was the only statement given when the reporters asked for the provincial governments reason for such an ordinance.

In the program they showed how the team did their rounds and I was appalled by one particular incident. A stray dog in the public market was hiding from the "shoot to kill team" they chased the dog and eventually heard a gunshot, the dog was dead. Prior to the shot the dog was caught on camera, he did not exhibit any violent actions towards the cameramen and the reporter, the dogs instinct was simply to hide. Another incident involved a dog growling as he was captured by the neck, animal instinct is to protect ones-self, and was shot but not in the head (which is the more humane thing to do). The reporter asked a member of the team as to how they would determine which to shoot or not to shoot. The man replied "Yung mga nanglalaban, tulad nyan ( We shot dogs that are violent, like this one)". Seeing the actual footage, one could see that the dog was merely defending himself from being captured.

I was also informed the other day that our province was also implementing the same ordinance.

My reaction in general.

I could accept the ordinance as a last resort, Plan C probably. There are other ways of controlling the stray dogs population and as well as the cases of dog bites and vehicular accidents. PREVENTION should be given emphasis. First of all I'd like to ask whether the said "author" is aware and referred to Animal Welfare Act 8485 while he was drafting the ordinance.



SECTION 6: It shall be unlawful for any person to torture any
animal, or to neglect to provide adequate care, sustenance or shelter, or
maltreat any animal
or to subject any dog or horse to dogfights or
horsefights, kill or cause or produce to be tortured or deprived of
adequate care sustenance or shelter, or maltreat
or use the same in
research or experiments not expressly authorized by the Committee on Animal
Welfare.

The killing of any animal other
than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and
crocodiles is likewise hereby declared unlawful except in the following
instances:

2. When the pet animal is afflicted with an incurable
communicable disease/s determined and certified by a duly licensed
veterinarian
;
4. When it is done to prevent an imminent danger to
the life or limb of a human being;
5. When done for the purpose of animal
population control;
7.
Any other ground analogous to the
foregoing as determined and certified by a licensed veterinarian.

In all the above mentioned cases, including
those of cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer
and crocodiles, the killing of the animals shall be done through humane
procedure at all times.


For this purpose, humane
procedures shall mean the use of the most scientific methods available

as may be determined and approved by the committee.
Only those procedures
approved by the Committee shall be used in the killing of animals.

SECTION 8: Any person who violates any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction by final judgment, be punished by imprisonment of not less than six (6) months nor more than (2) years or a fine of not less than One Thousand Pesos (P1,000.00) or both at the discretion of the Court. If the violation is committed by a juridical person, the officer responsible thereof shall serve the imprisonment when imposed. If the violation is committed by an alien, he o she shall be immediately deported after the service of sentence without any further proceedings.



Limited as it may seem but the Animal Welfare Act provides a solution to the provinces problem with stray dogs. First of all strictly implement that all residents register their dogs, providing the Name of the dog's owner, address and how many dogs they have. Upon registering the dog owner would sign an agreement sighting that he will provide adequate care, sustenance, shelter located within the owners backyard/ premises, the dog must have a collar and leashed at all times. The owner is also obligated to have their dogs subjected to yearly rabies shots and violation to the agreement would mean payment of a fine or even imprisonment.

The government could also invest on Spay/Neuter equipments rather than wasting money on airguns, which costs P12,000+ per gun. If they can afford to buy guns and bullets they can surely buy the said equipments. Holding programs such as Ant-rabies campaigns with free rabies shots or free Spay/Neuter for the local dog owners. A local dog pound could also be established. Remaining stray dogs would be impounded. If no one claims as the owner of the dog, the dog could be put up for adoption (for a certain fee) or put to sleep.

It may seem easier to just shoot to kill an animal and maybe human life is more valuable, but this does not mean that we "human beings" are always at the top of everything, that we are superior. Animals are created by God for a purpose and He left us to be responsible and take care of His creations NOT to play god.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." -Mahatma Gandhi

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t-na @ 7:45 AM| 0 comments

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Pinoy Big Brother Review

I preferred to watch the 2nd episode before giving my two cents on Pinoy Big Brother, just to be fair since the pilot episode was not impressive. A disappointing pilot! and to think that a 30 min show, commercials included, could be sooo... B-O-R-I-N-G!

Day 1
The 1st challenge (it includes mud and pigs) that they had was a lousy excuse just to have the housemates pump water out of a deep well (poso) and bathe with their clothes on. While bathing... so to speak... the cameras were focusing on g-strings peeping out of the pants/skirts of the female contestants. All cleaned up, they had to get out of their wet clothes and wear bath robes and then again a camera zoomed in to a female housemate whose nipples were noticeable under the robes. The people running the show seems to have a low regard of its audience by having cheap gimmicks (making the Pinoy audience look like a bunch of peepingtoms). Sex sells but mind you... that is not always the case. ABS-CBN are you that desperate...

My sister, brother and I were playing Pusoy Dos at our room. After watching Enchantadia I quickly clicked to Pinoy Big Brother and after 7 mins or so they begged me to just turn the TV off. I'm just giving you the big picture, that's how bad it is... Being the eldset and with the remote in my hand I just ignored them, hoping that day 2 would be better.

Day 2
By this time I know who and when they lost their virginity. Activities for the day would include bathing half-naked, soaking wet in the pool and body painting each others stripped bodies. There's this particular group of people who likes to talk about sex, guys... substance please.
Considering that there are 12 fairly attractive people together in one roof for 100 days, romance is inevitable. There are possible relationships brewing inside the house so they don't have to stress that "idea" too much, lets just wait and see (its like a Piolo Judy-Ann love team pinipilit ibuild up, bakla naman pala si Piolo).

PBB in general. Consistency of Big Brother's voice , sometimes his voice makes him sound like a Gay Brother. Give The Housemates equal airtime, favoritism is quite obvious (Rico... rico.. and Chx... then rico again... and knowing ABS they tend to be like that) a housemate got sick they should have developments about that person rather than stressing the "rico and chx" love team. Improve camera angles. Extend air time and create more challenging tasks for the housemates. Finally, the 24/7 live feed from PBB website must be free for Filipino viewers, at the rate your going no one ( in his right mind and with the country's economic status) is going to pay in DOLLARS just to watch boredom.

Just had to say whats in my head, I hope they improve.

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t-na @ 5:01 AM| 0 comments

Monday, August 22, 2005

Tidbits and stupid questions

Just woke up and I couldn't sleep anymore... I thought I'd better update my blog. I've been really a bad person lately by inflicting pain or rather burden myself, how so? You see I haven't been wearing my glasses on a regular basis since I got them thinking that I still can manage or somewhat see clearly. As a result this past few weeks my vision became blurry but still I did not put them on. Hehehe Pasaway!

I've been driving around without my glasses on and I couldn't barely see the faces of the pedestrians passing by, as well as the plate numbers of the vehicles in front. Especially If I drive at night I couldn't figure out street signs etc. I usually tag along my sister with me when I go around and I'd always ask her "Could you see his/her face?" or ask "What is the Plate Number of the vehicle in front/beside of us?" stupid as it may seem but the questions I had ask her would usually be followed by another stupid question "Why can't I see them?" my sister would reply "ATE you are not wearing your eye glasses! that's why you can't see clearly". Maybe I'm still in denial that I already need to wear glasses.

Note to t-na: You are already getting older like it or not , everybody gets old even Barry, we all have to make some adjustments and wearing glasses is one of them. (**)


This evening is the premiere of the Pinoy Big Brother in Studio 23. I'm quite intrigued as to how and if the concept of "Big Brother" would work here in the Philippines given that liberated as we think we might be there are of course still restrictions. The last show that I watched that has the closes concept ... survivor maybe or the show in MTV's real world?? Big Brothers concept would be 12 complete strangers placed in 1 house for 100 days of isolation from the outside world. No phones, newspapers, radio or television sets and no contact with their loved ones. Pinoy Big Brother is someone who sees everything they do. He guides, challenges and inspires?? (the confessional booth, maybe). The housemates will take on challenges and will be place under the scrutiny of a 24/7 broadcast on national television. The last housemate who will be left in the house would win P1Million, a brand new car and a house & lot. Lets see if show turns out for the better or if it flops...

Moving on... since we are on the reality TV streak.


Amazing Race: The Family Edition would start on September 27!!! can't wait to watch the 1st episode. I browsed through the website and they already posted the pictures and a brief background of the families that joined. I was somewhat surprised to see very young contestants. The youngest is Austin, 8 yrs old, of the Black family and next would be Carissa, 9 yrs old, of the Gaghan family. The immediate reaction would be... could they compete with the other teams, would their age and size be to their advantage or disadvantage. Well you really can't tell right? remember Charla from Amazing race 5. Although their group was the 6th to be eliminated I was actually impressed with her determination. If I were in her situation entering the AR5 would never-ever enter my mind but then again she is older and more mature compared to the kids. Well I guess we all have to just wait and see.

And now lets go to sports...

Another boxing Idol has been added to my short list of the must see fights: Laila Ali
As you all know I just recently discovered my love for "boxing". I already heard of Laila well mainly because she is The Great Muhammad Ali's daughter but that concept all changed after I watched a replay of her fight with Toughill, she was on fire! Laila stops Toughill in the 3rd round, tko, retaining her WIBA Super Middleweight title and making her the first woman to hold a WBC championship title. I was sooo impressed! It's really different to read about how great a person vs seeing them in action.

This is it for now... hopefully I could give my feedback on Big Brother later this evening.

**Noted: Before I typed my entry I wore them (the glasses) and again a stupid thought... oo nga ano biglang luminaw

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t-na @ 5:50 AM| 0 comments

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

At Last

Its been quite a while that I didn't post something here. Besides the fact that I was in a lazy mood to blog, my eyes got irritated thus I can't hardly type decently. What a way to celebrate my blogs 1st birthday. Anyways, I'll try to make up for time lost.

Subsequent to my check up last Saturday, I had to wake up early today since my doctor required me to take a blood test, suprisingly the test costs bursted up to P5,000+ . Good thing I waited for my mom to come home from the province since the money she left was not sufficient. If you could only see my right arm... its full of marks from the blood tests that I had taken all in all 6 ( 5 times last December).

As a child I have collected a number of unforgettable funny moments. I was 1st confined to ParaƱaque Medical due to stomach ache and vomiting (I was in Grade 3) they had to insert an IV for my dextrose. I was in a wheel chair and I spun and moved around to avoid the needle. When you just thought things couldn't get worse. There was the 1st time I got my blood tested (I think I was in grade school, grade 6) I went ballistic and cried my heart out from the sight of the biggest syringe and needle that I ever saw was about to puncture me. Hahaha Just can't help but laugh at myself.

I'm currently reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I preferred watching the movie first before I read the book since I'd be enjoying the "experience of watching the movie" rather than finding loop holes at ever corner, the element of surprise in the movie was gone ( do I make sense?) . I first read Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets and I didn't enjoy the movie as much as I did when I saw Prisoner of Azkaban.

We had to pick up Barry from the vet and as usual he was 20 inches of stud muffin.
This it for now till next...

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t-na @ 9:51 PM| 0 comments

Monday, August 01, 2005

JTOL just turned ONE!

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t-na @ 6:32 PM| 0 comments