Bambi Eloriaga-Amago
Last January 31, Top Gear Philippines shared via Facebook a picture of a dog left in a parked car in the parking lot of UP Town Center in Quezon City.
Louise Wong, the concerned citizen who forwarded the photo to Top Gear, related that she and her companions noticed the distressed dog when they got to UP Town Center at around 5 pm, but it was still there when they left at around 6:10 pm.
“The car was not running, and there was no one inside with the dog,” Wong stated. “UP Town Center is a dog-friendly mall, so I don’t understand why they would leave their dog in a parked car. Even with the minimal gap left in the window, it was irresponsible to leave their dog locked up all by itself. Who knows how long it had been there? No matter how short the errand (and it wasn’t), if they couldn’t bring their dog with them, then they shouldn’t leave it on its own to overheat or to be locked up.”
A lot of incensed netizens wished that someone had taken the initiative to break the car’s windows and rescue the dog.
“In other countries, concerned passersby would break the window to rescue the dog without a second thought,” said Facebook user Iniga Falco.
Others cautioned, however, that such a thing is not done in the Philippines even if it is an accepted practice in other countries.
“In other countries it’s the dog more than the glass that matters,” countered Seth Carranza.
Ria Ilano apparently agreed and shared what she would do in such a situation. “…if I saw one and its under the sun, I would do it. And leave a note on the windshield (the RA Animal Welfare Act 8485 strenghted by an amended 10631).”
Other netizens called on Top Gear and Wong to share the car’s plate number so they can take action and even publicly shame the owner.
“Paki-post ung plate number ng mahanap at mabasag ko yung kotse nila or ikulong din sa loob ng malaman nila ung ginawa nila, (Please post the plate number so I can find them and break the car’s windows or trap them inside so they’ll know how what they did to the dog feels like),” asked Angelbert Catbalonga.
Barry Gundayao, however, was not in agreement. “Top Gear did the right thing by not posting the plate no. despite of the negligence of the dog’s owners. These things should be done privately. kudos to you guys!”
On the other hand, FB user Aaron Aguila questioned Wong’s seemingly lack of immediate action.
“Salamat sa pag report nito kaso ano kaya yung immediate na action niya? Na post nga online malay ba natin kung may masama na palang nangyari. Pwede rin naman nireport na agad sa admin ng U.P town center and according to them dog friendly naman ang mall. Siya narin nagsabi na ‘who knows how long it had been there’ so it calls for an immediate action kesa sa pagkuha ng litrato (Thank you for reporting this, but I wonder what her immediate action was? Sure, she posted online, but what if something bad happened? She could’ve reported it to the UP Town Center Administration, as according to her it is a pet-friendly mall. Also, she was the one who said, “who knows how long it had been there,” so it calls for immediate action rather than just taking a picture and posting it),” Aguila commented.
Top Gear, however, was quick to defend Wong’s actions. “The photo-sender’s action has now informed or reminded thousands of car/pet owners who follow our page, about the issue of leaving dogs inside unattended vehicles. Not sure why every time we post helpful and relevant photos like this, there’s always someone who will see the negative in them, even if the negative is virtually nonexistent.”
