04/09/2025
karmahin ka rin!
PAWS TO FILE CASE AGAINST ABUSIVE K9 HANDLER
Last night, a disturbing video surfaced on social media showing a K9 named Bingo being forcefully and violently mistreated by his handler in what appears to be an aggressive attempt to retrieve a ball from the dog’s mouth. The footage is both heartbreaking and enraging, and a clear case of cruelty, not proper canine handling or training. This incident comes barely a month after the case of Kobe, another working K9, went viral for being severely malnourished while on active duty.
These are not isolated cases, but symptoms of a broken system where working animals, who risk their lives in the line of duty and serve with loyalty, courage, and discipline, are seen as lesser beings or treated as disposable tools.
PAWS is deeply outraged and condemns these repeated acts of violence and neglect toward K9s. There is no job, task, or excuse that ever justifies cruelty or violence in any workplace, and certainly not in the treatment of animals. Humane science-based training methods exist. The use of force, fear, violence, or threats that cause harm or instill trauma has no place in animal training.
K9s and all working animals are heroes and our partners, and the bare minimum we owe them is to give them compassion and proper care. Their service must be met with the respect and protection they rightfully deserve, and their well-being must always be a top priority.
PAWS is already in coordination with Meralco officials and the individual who posted the video. Both have assured us of their willingness to stand with PAWS to pursue legal action. The video taker will be the primary witness in the case to be filed against Bingo’s cruel handler.
Meralco has expressed zero tolerance for animal cruelty and has called for an investigation into how its service provider Search and Secure Canine Training Services International (SAS K9) trains and handles its service dogs. This comes at a time when animal welfare seminars for Meralco personnel and service providers were already in the pipeline in cooperation with PAWS. The scheduled seminars and collaboration with law enforcement agencies will now be bumped earlier in view of this unfortunate incident.
We commend Meralco’s swift action on the incident and its long-standing commitment to animal welfare. Meralco has been a trusted partner of PAWS in fighting for animal welfare. It is a pioneer company which has successfully integrated animal welfare into its corporate values and has paved the way for how community cats should be treated in work spaces. Meralco’s CATropa is a groundbreaking company-wide program which uses compassionate methods in controlling its resident feline population through Trap Neuter Vaccinate and Return (TNVR). Their program also provides medical care for them and even to the extent of adopting the community cats as Meralco’s very own. Meralco has also implemented its Spay It Forward Campaign for free neutering services in the communities outside of their properties.
An act of violence happening within even the premises of committed, compassionate companies underscores the need for all animal welfare advocates to be vigilant and to never give up in constantly educating those who work with us and around us when it comes to our treatment of animals.
We urge the public to duly report acts of cruelty and continue to stand with us in seeking justice for victimized animals. Prosecution (where there has been a crime committed towards an animal) and Education (to help prevent future crimes) combined will end animal cruelty.
Animals have no voice of their own, and thus it is our moral responsibility to be their voice and to stand firm in their defense.
