|
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Stray dog wins US Animal commendation for heroism
By Harley F. Palangchao
A COMMON Baguio street dog or askal (asong kalye) that gained celebrity status after its heroic exploits were published in the May 29 issue of Sun.Star has once again made headline news here.
Six-year old Dagul, the dog that saved the life of his 16 year-old master during the height of typhoon Chedeng last May, was conferred the prestigious Elizabeth Lewyt Award for heroism.
The North Shore Animal League of America also declared Dagul its Animal of the Month for September 2003.
The US-based award-giving body acknowledges the heroism of animals.
Dagul is the 40th pet to be conferred Elizabeth Lewyt Award and the fourth to be awarded outside of America since the Lewyt Award was launched in March 1999.
Dagul's master is also set to receive US$500 for the award.
The story of Dagul, which also appeared in other broadsheets and in the Internet, caught the attention of animal lovers in America, as well as in Europe.
Linis Gobyerno, a non-government organization in the city, officially nominated Dagul for the award.
Last week, Merrit Clifton, editor of the Animal Peoples Newspaper, official informed Linis Gobyerno that Dagul was chosen as the winning pet for the month of September.
As typhoon Chedeng was lashing Northern Luzon on May 27, Dagul's incessant barking alerted his master Wilmar Castillo, who was singing inside the house at that time, to the impending danger outside their home in Dominican Hill.
Castillo, wanting to check on Dagul, went outside just in time to see that a massive landslide was about to hit their house.
The young man was able to run to safety just before the landslide buried their house.
However, Dagul was trapped inside the house, which was now almost completely covered by tons of loose soil, gravel, and rocks.
The following day, Castillo and his elder brother Jhylannie, 19, went back to their house, not to salvage their belongings, but to look for the brave dog.
He opened the door of their house and out came Dagul.
Meanwhile, Lewyt Award records showed that the first pet to be awarded in March 1999 was Nene, a cat that saved her sleeping master from a fire in Idaho.
In October 2001, some 300 search-and-rescue and cadaver-finding dogs were also recognized for going on duty in New York City and Arlington, Virginia, following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Another much-publicized Lewyt awardee was Ophelia, a 26-year old cat that died while saving her master and 58 other felines from a fire that gutted an animal shelter. The cat was named Animal of the Month in December 2002.
The Lewyt Award aims to promote and lobby for animal protection amid continuing inhumane treatment of animals.
(July 15, 2003 issue)
Want Sun.Star news on your mobile phone? Click here.
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[ return
to top ]
[ home
]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
|
