Two poodles die at a dog training center in Marikina
A family is seeking justice after two of their poodles tragically died while undergoing obedience training in Marikina. The pets were placed in dog food sacks, and their owners were informed of their deaths five days later.
According to Sandy Rimando Rios, their pet, Donki, had reportedly died on May 12 at the training facility. She was only informed of Donki's death five days later, with the trainer claiming heatstroke as the cause.
Rios recounted that two of her dogs, along with five belonging to her sister-in-law, had been brought to this training facility. She had inquired about picking up the dogs, but the trainer, Alvin Labarias, indicated they still needed two more weeks of training.
However, on May 17, the village guards asked if Labarias could come in to talk to them. She then received a text from him asking if he could come over.
"I knew something was off," Rios said. "Then the guard said 'Mam kailangan daw po niya kayo mausap.'"
According to her, Labarias revealed that their dog Donki, and her sister-in-law's dog Guanciale, have been dead since May 12.
"He claimed that both died from heat stroke. And that they buried them right away without even telling us—without our consent. My husband and I were both in shock upon hearing all of this," she said, adding that her sister-in-law and her husband were on speakerphone.
Upon their discovery, Rios recounted that the dogs appeared to have been brutally killed and battered, with one found decapitated.
"We took matters upon ourselves and found out that our dead dogs looked like they were killed and battered because photos of them showed blood on their heads. One of them didn’t even have a head anymore. And I found out that our beloved dog was put in a sack without proper burial," she said.
Rios added that Labarias "had the audacity" to offer a new dog as "compensation."
"As I write this I cannot help but think that only a monster can do something like this. This is animal abuse. This is cruelty. This is a crime. I hope that Winsolution Dog Training Services will not be allowed to continue operating and that pet owners will know that this facility is not to be trusted," she said. "They don’t care about our dogs they only care about making money. They need to close down. Please help us spread this news."
PAWS to file criminal charges against the facility
Following this, the Philippine Animal Welfare Society said it would file criminal charges against the trainer and dog training center.
“PAWS is already in touch with the owners and will be filing criminal cases against the trainer and the dog training center,” said PAWS Executive Director Ana Cabrera, adding that they would be filing violations of the Animal Welfare Act against them.
Moreover, it turned out that the Marikina-based dog training facility was reportedly unregistered with the Bureau of Animal Industry-Animal Welfare Division, according to ABS-CBN, citing PAWS.
One of the fur parents reportedly paid P50,000 for a two-month obedience training. (with reports from Evelyn Macairan)
