I was sifting through photos in my My Pictures folder when I found these:
Meet Habagat and Bagwis, the coolest whiz dogs this side of the Philippines.
My friend, Yen, and I first met these adorable askals (Fine. Aspins, it is.) back in February 2007 along Nicanor Street corner Morayta (near the overpass) during our NCLEX review classes. They are tended to by Mang Sergio, an old man in his 70s (or 80s) who taught them circus tricks and how to solve basic arithmetic equations (multiplication, addition, subtraction, division) by barking.
These dogs can also be seen along Natividad Lopez Street near the Manila City Hall. Most times they’d be spotted carrying a donation basket in their mouth. Others are fortunate enough to see them doing circus tricks.
Soon, their popularity spread and docu shows such as GMA’s I-Witness and ABS CBN’s Rated K began to feature them. An indie film depicting the lives of these admirable canines and their owner was also created years ago.
While I initially found the sight of these sturdy dogs cute and adorable, it also saddened me especially when I see them sleeping at noon and still biting those heavy baskets in mid-air. They are obviously healthy, with Mang Sergio feeding them dogfood (Yup. Dogfood.) and sometimes even ChickenJoy when the alms are more than enough for the day, and one can see Mang Sergio sincerely taking care of these dogs. It is a good thing that he has found a way to sustain these dogs’ needs instead of just letting them wander off the streets, but I do hope that with all the media attention they received, somebody’s already tried to help the poor guy find an alternative source of income so he and the dogs can also rest like normal people and dogs should.
Up until 2009, I can still see Habagat and Bagwis performing in Morayta. Hopefully by this year, they’ve already achieved star status away from the streets.
