Some dog lovers expressed their concern about the welfare of Apollo, one of the pet dogs of the late President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
Aquino, the country’s 15th president, passed away last Thursday morning, on June 24. He died at 61.
READ: Former Philippine President Benigno Aquino dies of renal failure at 61
He was buried beside his parents Corazon Aquino, who was also the country’s former president, and Noynoy Aquino Jr at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City.
Based on reports, Apollo managed to pay his final respects to his longtime friend on June 26.
Apollo, the six-year-old German shepherd, has also been with the Aquino family since 2015.
He was a gift from lawyer and former Land Registration Authority chief Galland Diaz.
During the funeral rites for Aquino last Saturday, some media outlets also reported photos and video clips of the canine being restless before he bid his last farewell to his buddy.
When these photos and videos blew up online, some dog lovers immediately expressed their worries about the canine.
“This breaks my heart. I sympathize for Apollo. I can fell the loneliness in his eyes. I hope one of PNoy’s sisters well adopt him the way his master take care of Apollo,” one Facebook user said.
Others were hopeful that one of the remaining family members of Aquino will adopt and take care of Apollo.
“It’s heartbreaking! May one of the sisters will adopt him and love him much as PNoy had loved him most,” one Facebook user said.
“I know he’ll be looked after by other family members now that his hooman passed on, but I feel so sad for this fur baby,” another user wrote.
“Hooman” is a misspelled term for “human” and often used to refer to pet owners. “Fur baby” is also another word of endearment for pets.
“Don’t worry Apollo more people will love and take care of you while your master is resting peacefully where he is right now,” another user commented.
Aside from Apollo, in a video report by DZMM, Aquino also left behind other dogs, namely Fritzi, Yakyak and Athena.
TINGNAN: Apat na naulilang aso ni dating Pangulong Noynoy Aquino na sina Apollo, Fritzi, Yakyak at Athena.
Sila ay may breed na mga German Shepherd at Giant Schnauzer, ayon kay Staff Sgt. Ferdinand Reyno na isa sa dalawang handler nila. | via @ZandroDZMM #PaalamPNoy pic.twitter.com/OQBPempc5f
— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) June 28, 2021
Dogs and their sixth sense
In an interview by GMA News, Staff. Sgt. Ferdinand Reyno shared that Apollo seemed to cry around the time the late chief executive was rushed to the hospital last week.
Following Aquino’s demise, the dog handlers also stated that they observed the canine’s sudden lack of energy.
There’s still no exact proof if dogs do sense if their owners are about to die and if they grieve after their owners’ deaths.
Some experts, however, believe that dogs have a “sixth sense” where they give intriguing reactions when a person is about to die soon.
A reference website about pet care called “Wag!” cited the dog’s heightened sense of smell and hearing as possible factors behind this ability.
“There will be lots of sniffing and licking, a dog’s attempt at healing. You can also expect a ton of barking, howling, and vocalizations, an attempt by your dog to get your attention about what they know. Watch for lots of following around, extra attention, and melancholy behavior from your doggo, too,” the page read.
