Hello Hive. This is my dog Cobi. He’s an ASPIN, a word representing “aso” (dog) and “pinoy” (slang for Filipino). The blended name – aspin – is a term of endearment we call our dogs.
“Askal”, another popular term we use for dogs, means asong kalye. It literally means street-dog who are known to have a tendency to be protective and loyal to the owner.
Aspins are usually placed at the main entrance of the house to serve as a guard dog in the Philippines. However, Cobi is not the typical Filipino aspin. He stays inside the house and sleeps in our bed. He also loves to smell plants’ leaves but he also loves to chase after cats, like other dogs.
FUN FACT: The Philippine Men’s Football Team is called The Philippine Azkals – with a slight change in spelling.
Animal rights groups started using the term aspin in 2007 and endorses it to avoid negative associations related to asong kalye. As far as I know, no major kennel organization recognizes the aspin as a dog breed.
Many owners allow their pet dogs to roam the streets and they usually return home at night. Looking at askals there is a wide variety of shapes and sizes that can be observed in the streets and markets. They are thought of as mongrels or 'unbred' street dogs when outside.
HISTORICAL GENOME RESEARCH
Recently, in 2015, scientists used whole genome sequences to study the origin of the modern domesticated dog ( click link here if you want to read the research ), which found that the dogs from the southern East Asia are the closest related to the gray wolves indicating an ancient domesticated dog originated from this place 33,000 years ago. The lowly aspin may just be the ancestor of the modern dog breeds after all. LOL
An older study by the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, in 2011, found that dogs from Europe and America originated from the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand. ( click here for the link to this research ).
THE DREADED THING DOG OWNERS DON'T WANT TO HAPPEN, HAPPENED TO US
Cobi recently got sick that we had to bring him to the vet. He started getting weak and had difficulty in eating. According to the vet, symptoms pointed to canine distemper. Supportive medicines for respiratory symptoms were given for one week, but we observed only minor improvements in his condition after the week had passed.
Adjustments in medicine and supplements were given when we returned to the vet for a follow up. Three days after and still no significant improvement in his condition. He instead developed more symptoms like thickening of the nose, some mucus and cloudy eyes and mild twitching of the hind legs. We became worried.
The third time Cobi went to the vet, medicines and supplements were adjusted again. This time, Cobi got better. Luckily, he started to respond to the medication, supplements and TLC. As distemper is a highly contagious and fatal disease, we were relieved to hear that the wheezing sound had disappeared when the vet checked with the stethoscope.
We were glad to see that his other symptoms began to disappear slowly. The coughing and thick mucus is now gone. His eyes are still cloudy but the eye drops helped. Nose now smoother than before and appetite is back.
He is still weak and lost 1 kilo (in a week's time) in weight but he is now eating well. The vet said that he had made it through the worst, but will still need proper care and attention to fully heal.
We are hoping for his full recovery soon.
Thank you for dropping by.
