A breed unnoticed: The Philippine “Askal”
It seems that the Shih Tzu breed is becoming quite a trend with dog owners lately. Just go to pet-friendly shopping centers like Eastwood City and Tiendesitas—you’ll see them everywhere. A few years ago, it was the Labrador Retriever popular in homes. That makes me wonder… Will there ever come a time when our very own native dog gain popularity among dog owners?
The native dog, commonly called the “askal” (a colloquial shortcut for “asong kalye,” which translates to “dog from the streets”), are usually looked down upon. Worse, they usually get intentionally run down by merciless drivers or taken to slaughter houses to be put to death and later eaten. Some people think they’re expendable since they don’t have pedigrees worth thousands of pesos. Heck, even some breeders who claim to be “dog lovers” look down upon the native dogs.
They may not have pedigrees to boast about, but native dogs are as smart and as loyal as any other dog breed.
Spike, our dog pack’s alpha male, is a native dog. He’s been with us for more than 10 years already, and I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said he’d die for us if he had to. Spike is closest to my younger sister, Joyce. Joyce is schizophrenic. She’s ok now, but there was a time when she was still throwing violent tantrums.
Spike kept watch at my sister and made sure that she was ok. He even slept near her—near enough to see what she’s doing, but far enough from her reach just in case she had another tantrum. I can clearly remember a time when he saved my sister from hurting herself. We were all asleep, and had no idea that Joyce was already having a violent tantrum. Spike woke us all up, and took us where Joyce was. If it weren’t for him, we don’t know what could have happened.
A few years ago, I’ve seen a feature on TV about a native dog who can perform incredible tricks. And saw a different one on a magazine. Now, you can’t say that these dogs aren’t smart—because obviously, they are.
Loyalty? Of course, the native dog can be very loyal. They love their masters to the hilt—and would remain loyal to them till death. Honestly, I rather think that sometimes a native dog is more loyal than some of the more stubborn purebreds.
Let’s give the Philippine native dog the recognition it deserves, shall we? Be proud of being a native dog owner! 
* * *
Luckily, there are animal groups that support the Philippine native dog. The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) currently launched a campaign for these dogs entitled, “See the Beauty Beyond the Breed.” Actors Heart Evangelista and Jericho Rosales are the spokespersons for this campaign, which is dedicated to all native dogs and cats as well as their rescuers.
The Animal Kingdom Foundation, another dog rescue group like PAWS, also has native dogs up for sponsorship or adoption.
This entry was posted on Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 at 5:19 pm and is filed under Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:37 am
yes…very well said!
December 6th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
Askals, or aspins (asong pinoy), are probably the sturdiest of the breeds too. Michael Tan of Inquirer noted that he’s seen a lot of native dogs that have survived distemper, a disease that’s fatal to the pedigreed ones…
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=62750
Go, Aspins!!! Hehehe.
I just learned of the Pinoy Pets Network. Is my blog qualified to join it? Thanks!
Regards to your doggy babies!
August 31st, 2008 at 2:54 pm
i totally agree! it’s not about dog’s pedigree. it’s about the owner’s pedigree. most of these askals are dirty, stinky and sick because there are no good people taking care of them. or they are unfortunately taken for granted by their owners, fed with spoiled food, not given a bath in their lifetime, not provided with shelter. most of them are not even given names.
we also have a native dog who has been with us for 12 years. he’s just as smart, as loyal and as cuddly as our lab retriever.
December 11th, 2008 at 1:42 am
I couldn’t have said it better myself. In addition the Philippine dogs or “Aspins” have a very resilient immune system if not the most superior among all breeds of dogs. Aspins can survive illnesses most purebreed and expensive breeds can’t. They are also very obidient, loyal “to the death”, loving, caring and oh so sweet. That’s why I can say loud and clear that i’m a proud Aspin lover.
January 19th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Pinoy Dog-Lover » Blog Archive » An ode to Whitey says:[...] was Whitey, an aspin and Labrador Retriever mix. She was my sister’s [...]
February 14th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
I am proud of my Aspin named Kooch, he’s been with us since 2001. When my husband and I moved to London we never hesitated to take him with us despite the hurdles and money involved.
He is a family member, very loyal one. He stayed awake at night to guard when my husband is out of the country (which happens a lot as part of his job). I talked to him and he responds (a language that just the 3 of us can understand). He is a very lucky dog coz we love him like our own child and we get the love, entertainment and loyalty in return. I agree that it is not the breed but rather it’s the way we nurture our best friend!!!
February 18th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
I am an owner of a very sweet and loving Aspin/Askal. I named him SNOW owing to the fact that he is all white, with prickly ears and gold-flecked eyes (by day) which turn into pools of black at night.
He is one year and a month old. I don’t hesitate to indulge in buying him things like dog soap, talc, collar & leash, the complete works. He deserves all the care and attention because he has been very loyal to me. He acts as my escort in going back to my sleeping quarters after a day’s work and plants himself outside, by my door to stand as guard during the night. I usually rein him in by the day so he can rest. He has his own mat at a corner in my room, a blanket during cold nights and at times i allow him to lay beside me to sleep.
My friends often tease me for having an aspin as a pet. True, i could have chosen to have an expensive and pedigreed pet, but I love my Snow, thank u very much!
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:42 am
Mine’s a cross of an English pointer and a AsPin…
so he’s a um… uh… AsTer… or PoinKal.. or PoPin.. PBA import… or something.
May 6th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
I just came upon the article on dingoes and it struck me that our askals are in fact one and the same subspecies as the dingo. They are in fact dingoes. As dingoes originated from East Asia and were brought by seafarers to other parts of the Pacific, they also populated our islands. Ever wonder why there is no breed as the Philippine native dog? Because askals are dingos. Now I want to own a dingo.
May 6th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Well I had an askal as a pet once, when I was a kid. She was Cheetah and she was the most intelligent and loyal dog we ever had, living up to 14 years and after that succumbed to several diseases. Now I have Barack who is a miniature pinscher.
May 8th, 2009 at 6:41 am
we once had an askal named Sparky it was given by grandpa for my sister when she was 8 yrs. old he’s coat looks like the coat of a german shepherd and his features looks like a golden retriever. He is a very playful dog and lovely dog while we are walking the dog a child shouted “tingnan mo oso ” because he was a big dog. he fell sick and died in Jauary 2005, since then we haven’t had any dog. its only now that we taught of having one.
October 15th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
We’ve had several askal pets and they lived more than 6 years with us. This local or should I say mixed breed of dogs is sturdy and seldom gets sick. Minsan mahirap pa nga pag maraming halong breed, mas sakitin. Our 7-yr old dog was a mix of dachshund, aspin and another aspin na tisoy. But he died last September due to kidney failure and throughout his 7 years with us he suffered skin allergies. He had maintenance meds for that kaso di na kinaya ng katawan niya.
He was a very loyal dog. Matapang and very intelligent. We managed to teach him how to sit and carry some bags of groceries from my mom. Kaya when he died, umiyak talaga kami coz nakakapanghinayang sya. But we had to take him to vet and put him to sleep, di na namin kinaya ang suffering nya.
We have another askal, who is almost 2 yrs old and he’s already learned how to sit and be a good boy.
It’s just too bad for other askals they end up with irresponsible owners. Sayang sila coz matalino ang aso by nature, we just have to teach them how to behave and love them like a family member. Marunong silang tumanaw ng utang na loob sa totoo lang. Minsan nga iisipin mo mas mabuti pa aso, marunong makisama.
Thanks for posting your article. It gave me another push to love askals or aspins more.
God bless!
January 8th, 2010 at 11:11 pm
we’ve kept several native dogs since im in grade schools..almost 10 askals were been with us from the past 20 years..
presently we have a pure askal our prime stud..2 mixed with vizla (both female) and a female 3-month old mixed-lab..hehehehehe