Old Douglas

I went to Mines View Park in Baguio this afternoon. A lot has changed since the last time I was there. The children, whose feet seem to clamp onto the side of the cliff while catching coins thrown by tourists, have been replaced by a sign and a wishing well.  The place is more crowded than ever. And then, there are the dogs.

It’s the first time I’ve seen a St. Bernard. I thought they would be bigger, but then I realized that the fur had been trimmed to make the dogs more comfortable.

There were three of them there, all being used to make money. Have your photos taken with the dogs for a fee. The two dogs charged a lower fee. Douglas charged a higher price – 3 shots for P50 - because of his popularity and the “endorsements” (namely, the celebrities who had their photos taken with him).

It was also Douglas who caught my attention the most, not because of his sheer size nor his cute outfit, but because of his age and the way he was being treated. You see, Douglas is an old dog. You can tell by the sag/droop near the corner of this mouth. 

And the guy, who must have been the owner or caretaker, would tug so hard on the leash just to make the dog look the photographer’s way. When Douglas would try to walk away, the owner/caretaker would suddenly yank on the leash again. Even though I was meters away, I could feel the dog’s pain. Like I was the one choking.

I stepped closer to pet him. When I got a look at his eyes, I felt like crying. Douglas’s eyes were red. What I know is that red eyes are not normal among dogs, so either he was in pain, or was suffering from some minor illness. But who knew? The dog can’t talk, for Pete’s sake!!!

Despite the “attention” he was getting, I seriously doubt that Douglas was enjoying every minute of it.

His eyes spoke of sadness.

The other two dogs were luckier. Their handlers were neither callous nor rough with them. At least that’s what I saw.

How I wanted to give Douglas’s owner a taste of his own medicine. To have him on a leash and tugging so hard until his neck hurt would have been nice.

But I couldn’t. All I could do was hug the old dog (the owner allowed it). Then I walked away.

The view was not nice anymore after that.