Why Dog Parks matter and how legislation can help out

Odin and his buddy playing at the beach. 

It was a group of nine people coming from different professional background and descent coming together every afternoon, but they all have something in common- their love for dogs.

This group of dog lovers come here daily to walk their dogs
and socialize with other dog lovers, too. 

During my homestay, my hosts Michelle and Joe introduced me to their two-year old dog and baby,  Odin who is a big sweet dog with black hair. After walking at the beach with Michelle and before having dinner, Joe and Michelle brought me to Kaha Park for Odin to play with other dogs.

With handsome and sweet Odin.

They meet every afternoon after work to allow their pets to play and to poop, but of course they have plastic bag which they use to pick dog poops. Dogs can run freely in this park without any leash, while their owners chat with each other about work and their advocacies.

Michelle and Joe playing with other dogs.

Benefits of having Dogs

According to some dog owners I met at Kailua, because of their dogs they get to destress, to mingle and to meet other people. I find it interesting how dogs can easily bring people together, and how people easily connect with other when they talk about their dogs.

Corner (2009), writes that emotional bonds is one of benefits from pet ownership especially people with inadequate human social support.

I learned from Michelle and some of her colleagues in the dog lovers community some of the benefits of having Dog Parks in the community which include having a healthier community since dogs could encourage to walk in them making the said person be physically active, community will show value and importance to pets as well as pet lovers, children will be taught the value of responsibility at a young age by having pets and by taking care of them such as walking them in parks, and dog parks could bring the people and community closer.

Advocating for Dog Parks

On Sunday of my homestay, Michelle and I walked Odin at the beach and Odin just carelessly enjoyed the sun, the sea. He was wearing his leash for easy catch whenever he is being difficult.

Here, we met Samantha Miller or just Jen. She is the dog owner of this totally awesome dog which knows how to swim and she is the person who leads the advocacy for having dog parks. In our conversation at the beach, Jen said that pet dogs must have the right to freely play in parks.

Jen added that there is now an ongoing public hearing on their concern to have it passed by legislature, but they still need to educate more people about their advocacy. She added that she can go house-to-house to disseminate information about their advocacy and to convince residents there on their campaign to have legislation act on it.

With Jen and Michelle who are lead persons in advocating
for Dog Parks in Kailua.

Source: WalletHub

2017 Most Pet-Friendly Cities

In October this year, WalletHub wrote an article listing the 100 most-pet friendly cities in the United States of America. The article ranked each city based on Pet-Budget, Pet Health and Wellness, and Outdoor Pet-Friendliness.

The city of Scottsdale in Arizona led the overall rank with a total score of 65.93, ranked 80th on Pet Budget, ranked first on Pet Health and Wellness, and second on Outdoor Pet-Friendliness. Meanwhile, Honolulu City of Hawaii only ranked 98 overall with a total score of 39.69, ranked 79th on Pet-Budget, ranked last on Pet Health and Wellness, and 34th on Outdoor Pet-Friendliness.

"Our data set ranges from minimum pet-care provider rate per visit to pet businesses per capita to walkability," said the article.

Michelle dressing Odin up for Halloween.

Odin in his Batman costume.

Inspiring Legislation

I am grateful to Joe, Michelle, Jen, and the rest of the dog lovers community for informing on their advocacy which could be adapted in our own municipality through legislation. In our town, we only have the Anti-Rabies Ordinance which is closely related to pets and responsible pet ownership.


Being the committee chairperson on Agriculture in our council, this could be a good initiative to care for pet owners especially dog lovers in our community.
I admire the courage of this group, but I admire their love and care for the protection and health of their pets more. Surely, pets are not just there to play around with, but pets are family, too.

Homestay, Politics, and Food: Inside an American Home

Dinenr at Kalapawai Cafe and Deli in Kailua, Honolulu County. 

Never did I think that I will have the opportunity to live in an American Home and to know how welcoming Americans are until this fellowship program.

Well yes, the Office of Citizen Exchanges Program Officer Chris Remsen of the U.S. Department of State have already told the professional fellows affiliated with the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) during our meeting back in Washington DC that one of the unique characteristics of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) fellowship program is homestay, or the chance to live in an American home for a day or two; however I did not know that it is this meaningful.

With Michelle at Kailua beach.

Couple Michelle Stephenson and Joe Roswarski accommodated me in their home last week where I spent overnight there. I rode the bus bound to Kailua and met them at Starbucks there. Michelle approached me with a warm and sincere smile and Joe came after. We went to their house and met their awesome baby dog Odin. I dropped my bag, and decided to walk in Kailua beach.

On Tourism

Michelle accompanied me to Kailua where she toured me on some of the best spots in the area. It was a good walk having to see some of the best views which I have not yet seen in Waikiki Beach.

Kailua Beach has less tourists here as compared to Waikiki beach
 and it offers this beautiful scenic view. Photos taken by blogger.

WATCH: Live Facebook post at the Kailua Beach when Michelle toured me here.

On top of the hilly part of the beach.
Photo taken by Michelle.

On Politics

What I appreciate more about this homestay is that ACYPL chose or matched our homestay with our interests. Michelle is the Chief Revenue Officer of a political technologies company NGP VAN + EveryAction. While Joe is a medical doctor in the Military based here in Honolulu. Both are active in political discourse and it was actually our main conversation over dinner and even while driving me back to Lincoln Hall.

Our conversations gave me context on the political situation here in the America and in exchange discussed various political and socio-economic issues in the Philippines with them. I think we agree on one point that their incumbent president has almost the same traits as ours on some aspects. We agree that some careless statements lead to more misunderstandings and division among citizens and the country as whole.

One of the crazy statements made by the current US administration was made late July this year when Trump announced that the "United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military." Such statement "reversed a year-old policy reviled by social conservatives."

I think that it has impact to those who are already serving in the military and/or those who are already assigned in various bases, and worse would be those who wanted to sincerely serve this country but are barred just because of their sexual preference and orientation.


Watch New York Times report on this below:
 

On Anti-Intellectualism 

Dr. Joe is reviewing for his specialisation examination in medicine which is oncology, or on the study and treatment of cancer. I told him that I see my nerd friends who are actually in law school, med school, and grad school.

Selfie with Dr. Joe before leaving their home.

I clarified that nerd in a positive way because in our country there are two connotations of such word. Which led me in sharing about smart-shaming in the Philippines or the culture of anti-intellectualism. Which, according to him is also prevalent here in the US. (Here is a good read from GMA Network and from Rappler). Some people even use satire to shame others, which is very typical among circle of friends.

We both agree that to make build a stronger nation, people should invest in nurturing their skills and in learning more.

On American Food

Another common interest the couple and I have is our love for food, albeit both of them are good in cooking while I am not. They hosted me for dinner at Kalapawai Cafe and Deli, a restaurant by night and a deli by day.

Macaroni and cheese. 

I forgot the name of this barbecue steak. 

I was not able to sleep long that night since it was my first time there and because I also received a call from home. However, I really love the simplicity and comfort of my bedroom Joe and Michelle provided.

Inside my cozy bedroom. 

Exchange programs such as this, I believe, opens a gate of opportunities to a person not only to immerse in the culture and learn from various people and experiences while here, but also to share his perspectives on some political and social issues which could contextualise his understanding on various issues.

I am grateful to my homestay host and to ACYPL for this opportunity to learn and share ideas with Americans inside and out of their warm American home. Mahalo Joe, Michelle, and Odin!


CHECK OUT my next blog entry which is about our walk at the beach and dog park advocacy of some dog lovers in Kailua. 


NOTE: The opinion of the blogger does not reflect the opinion of the US Department of State, the ACYPL, and the Philippine government. 

Ease of Processing Foreign Travel Authority for Gov't Officials

For elective and appointive government officials who travel abroad on official business or official time only, one of the most burdensome task would be processing the Foreign Travel Authority.

However, that used to be the scenario until the Department of Interior and Local Government released its Memorandum Circular No. 2017-30 on February 10, 2016.

For full copy of this Memorandum Circular,
please check the link above.

The website for processing and checking the status of the application and even getting the copy of the certificate can be accessed in the website of the Bureau of Local Government Supervision (at the side bar of the website).  

Side bar located on the website
wherein you can choose what
transaction you would like to do there. 

This morning upon completing all the required documents (thanks Konsi Atty. Johnny for the affidavit!), I started applying for the my foreign travel authority. I was surprised at the same time happy that it did not take me 5 minutes to finish everything. 

The website also provides a manual and a checklist of the required documents, which is downloadable, for a step-to-step guide on how to go about in filling those needed questions. 

This can also be found on the website's sidebar. 

Foreign Travel Authority is a needed document to make a public official's temporary leave of absence in office in lieu of his or her travel whether or not it's personal or official, legitimate or official with the approval from his or her immediate superior and the DILG. 

I would take this opportunity to thank my fellow isko and friend, the DILG Officer of Dagupan City Sir Derick Dawis for his guidance and advice in this application for FTA. 

I would like to commend and thank the DILG, its Former Secretary Ismael Sueno who approved the said memo, and the people behind this department for coming up with this procedure. Definitely, this is a big heap and is aligned with the goal of delivering faster service to our fellows and even colleagues in public service.