Zamboanga City—The Kabang Memorial Statue in honor of the hero dog was inaugurated and blessed in Pasonanca in this city over the weekend.
Kabang, honored as AmbassaDog of Goodwill for Responsible Pet Ownership and a Global Advocate for Animal Welfare, died in her sleep on May 17 this year at the age of 13, or 91 in human years. She was buried on the same site near the statue of Saint Francis of Assisi outside the premises of the St. Francis Orphanage.
Ambassadog Kabang’s 4-feet aluminum sculpture was molded by the hands of Davaoeño artist Kublai Millan and stands atop a 4-feet pedestal.
The monument was designed by Architect Keith San Antonio, and executed by another Zamboangueño architect, Romeo dela Cruz.
Veterinarian Dr. Anton Mari Lim recalled the day Kabang died: “She was simply motionless in her bed with feet soiled from running around with the other dogs. She has always been a heroine, selfless to a fault, when she jumped on a speeding motorcycle to prevent her two young masters from getting hit and lost her upper snout.”
“It is meant to pay homage to the humility of aspins or street dogs in the country,” Dr. Lim said. “The simplistic shape and form reflect their modest but elegant nature and at the same time, exhibits stability as they are the most common dog breed that Filipinos can rely on.”
A social media page was created in May this year featuring the memorial marker, which describes the architectural design of the monument when it was proposed then. “The split in the center displays contemporary elements of the vinta sail that evokes Zamboanga, where Kabang is from. It also represents the pride that the heroism of Kabang brought to the hearts of the Filipinos, especially the Zamboangueños.”
As Japan has its memorial marker for Hachiko, a Japanese Akita dog, the Philippines now has one for Kabang, which, according to Lim, is the “first of its kind in the Philippines and yearns to inspire appreciation and increase awareness to the significance of aspins in our country.”