Kabang: A Salute to the Canine Heroine

Meet Kabang, the courageous canine hero who lost her upper snout after saving two girls from being hit by a speeding motorcycle. Her heroic act was featured in the news for several weeks and her story touched the hearts of many people including yours truly. Seeing her wasn't actually part of the itinerary when we visited Zamboanga City but it turned out to be one of the best highlights of our trip to Asia's Latin city. It was only then when I had learned that the heroine dog was actually just less than a few kilometers away from where we are staying.

After finishing our dessert at Myrna's Bake House in Pueblo, we asked the staff from the bakeshop if they happen to know where we could find this dog. Fortunately they know where she is and they were kind enough to show us the directions and even fetched us a tricycle to take us to Nunez St. And after a 15-minute ride, we finally arrived at the vulcanizing shop where Kabang is. She's very shy though and I couldn't even see her face at first because she keeps on lowering her head from us. Guess she's still not used to getting the attention of many people around her.

Admittedly, I am a person who's not used to seeing blood or open wounds and couldn't even tolerate seeing one but upon meeting Kabang, I never experienced any form disgust at all or even got scared with her condition. What I only felt was sympathy for the dog and all that I wanted to do during that moment was to hug her. Even my travel buddy and fellow Bakasyonista Ghe never grossed out with Kabang's appearance.

I got to talk to one of the locals (He's the one with the cap. Sorry, I forgot his name) but according to him, Kabang not only saved the lives of his master's daughter and niece but her popularity also paved the way for his owner, Mang Rudy  to finally reunite with his long lost mother after not seeing her for 41 years! It was said that Mang Rudy's mother thought that he was already dead after he left home but after seeing him on the news that featured Kabang, she was surprised to know that he is still alive and the rest is a sweet family reunion. Truly this dog is heaven sent.

We stayed at the vulcanizing shop for about an hour and was surprised to see a lot of people coming over to visit her. It's touching to see a lot of them bringing food and giving donations for the dog owner and his family but what's surprising is that Mang Rudy only gives the food to his canine heroine and they never consumed any of it. He says the dog deserves all the treatment and the rewards since it was her that saved him and his family.

Seeing the pink sands of Great Sta. Cruz island was supposed to be the main highlight of my trip to Zamboanga but getting the chance to finally meet this heroine dog definitely tops it off. I'm actually not the type of traveler who goes to see the popular tourist spots with the purpose of taking pictures of it so I can just post in on Facebook. What defines me as a traveler is to experience various types of cultures and meet different types of people which is way more valuable than anything else. And to be humbled upon seeing Kabang in person is definitely the one of the main reasons why that trip to Zamboanga will always be memorable to me.

Latest news about Kabang:
Kabang has already given birth to 6 puppies and is now under the custody of the Animal Welfare Coalition. She is scheduled to be flown to the US for surgery in an effort to fix her upper snout and give the proper treatment to her wounds so that she could live longer. Let us pray for her successful operation and sooner recovery.