What You Need to Know About GrabPet

If you've been seeing the announcements recently, it's good news for you and your fur babies as the GRAB Superapp now offers a service called GrabPet. It's a new, safe and convenient way to make sure you get to travel with your pet, whether furry or scaly, and bring them from point A to point B.

If it's that time of the month where you have to bring your pets to the veterinary clinic, your favorite groomer, pet cafe's or a play date with another pet, you can now do it with one press of a button if you are covered. They did this in the past and this is some sort of a re-introduction, so for the time being, it's going to be only available in select areas in Metro Manila. Much of the GrabPet fleet are 6 seaters to make sure you've got ample amount of space when you need to travel with the kids with 2 or 4 feet.

You need to remember a few things though to avail one. A ride can only be done with human passengers, you can't leave your pets alone with the driver. As a pet owner, you need to also make sure your furry kids are clean and not infested with parasites/fleas. You can only bring 2 small/medium sized pets or 1 large pet every booking. They also are required to be in diapers and inside carriers to make sure they don't soil the cars while on transport.

Grab drivers in this particular service have been trained for it and yes, your pets are also insured if they are in the car. For starters, it is available in Makati, BGC, Shaw, Ortigas, Pasay Mall of Asia, NAIA, Malate and San Juan (more areas soon!). You may check the fine print here.

BDO Insure and Pioneer Partner Up for Your Fur Babies!

Have you already insured your kids with 4 paws? If not, then here's good news from BDO Insure and Pioneer. See, they've managed to get more affordable but customizable plans for your cats/dogs. They teamed up just to make sure you get them the protection they need but give you the freedom to choose what you need in it.

The VP for BDO Insure Ed Ramirez says "This Pet Dog and Cat insurance will certainly give paw parents peace of mind when the unexpected happens to our fur babies. The Philippines remains the highest in terms of dog ownership in Asia while we place second in owning cats as pets. The love we have for them inspired us to come up with these insurance plans that can be personalized, easy and affordable too."  

They've got 4 different plans that you can get for as low as Php 560 and get you coverage for fractures, burns, drowning, bites and a couple more on the list. You can customize that and add in those for different illnesses, dental conditions, accidental death, pet travel (for emergencies), if they get abducted or owner's fault. They also welcome different breeds, even mixed ones as young as 3 months. If you've got an older one, they can still be insured as long as they don't go beyond 6 years. Then it can also be renewed til they get to 12 years. This was showcased during the SM Super Pets Club Caravan during weekends at SM Malls. Other activities were also enjoyed by furparents and furbabies like the Doggie Boot Camp, The Super Pet Fur Show, Meet and Greet with TikTok superstar Show Suzuki with his cute Gonta. So if you're around SM Malls, go there from August 12 to September 3 only on 8 pet friendly SM malls. If you want to know more about the BDO Insure Pet Dogs and Cats Insurance, it's all online at bdo.com.ph/bdo-insure/personal/pet so go get them covered!

EFFITIX Now in the Philippines

Pets are all part of the family. They bring so much joy which to me is priceless and can never be replaced. Taking care of them is essential, and these days we can never be too complacent as a simple mosquito bite would carry disease, but now there's something that can prevent that.

Pharma company Virbac knows how the Philippines need solutions for animal health. This is why they are bringing in Effitix, a topical solution for canines so they won't get tick or flea infestations. This also could save them from heartworms as it repels mosquitoes which cause these problems too, and can do it in a span of 4 weeks. 

Dr. Remil Galay a professor of Veterinary Medicine from the UPLB says "Dogs can be sick by pathogens from tick bites. Based in our studies Ehrlichia Canis is the most common detected in the Philippines. A study published last year include Ricketsia, Lice, we need to keep this off our dogs. There are a lot of methods you can employ, like soaps and shampoos, but that doesn't last after washing. The protection doesn't last long. Fipronil remains effective in killing brown dog ticks. There are new drugs combined with it which gives stronger killing effects, additionally prevent resistance to one drug. It is also shown effective in different kind of ticks."

Dr. Sheila Chavez who is the Technical Assistant Manager for Companion Animals from Virbac Philippines showed how to apply the topical solution to pets. She broke off the top, put the liquid and lathered it onto the skin (not the hair).

Journalist Gretchen Malalad wore the fur Mommy hat during the event and talked about how she took care of her fur babies. She rescue cats and dogs, put some of them for adoption. She also neuter and spays them to prevent animal abandonment. Being a dog lover, she had one of her dogs always play and run with her, though one day, the doggie got too tired. She got him to a vet, but when his blood tests came, he had heartworms. It was a long treatment, took 6-8 months and regular checkup. She used Effitx to also rid him of ticks and lice too. She also tried it on her other dogs and saw it was clearly effective. She wanted to have known about it before her doggie got sick, she's glad Effitix is now in the country.

This also kills them within 24 hours and still work even if they take a bath, shampoo, a dip in a pool and usual activities. They come in pipettes so it's easier to apply on our best friends to keep our cute little doggies safe from harmful parasites. It's only for doggos eight weeks old and above and comes in different sizes since dogs don't come in one size. This is good news for those keeping their pets at home, and you can get them starting December 16 via authorized online pet stores and  probably shops and clinics by February next year. You may check pH.virbac.com for more information about the topical solution they offer. You can also follow their social channels @VirbacPH on FB and @virbac_philippines on IG because they update often there.

Effitix costs Php 345 for the 4-10kg size, and for the 10-20kg size costs Php 365. They also have a promo on December giving free brush with shampoo container. (Will be announced on social channels soon) so stay tuned!

Of course, consult your vet at all times. 

Sherlock Jr. Starts January 29

GMA is putting a paw on the table as it ramps up the primetime slot via GMA Telebabad. Popular loveteam GabRu aka Gabbi Garcia and Ruru Madrid will be making their world a little more fun with Siri (original name Serena) as they go about solving mysteries and crimes with the new show Sherlock Jr. as GMA Drama's first offering. With a viral project in the past, Siri won't be just your regular pet dog but will be part of the whole story, also aiding her masters in invesigating each case as it goes.

For those who don't know, Serena was just a golden retriever which was gifted to a trainer. Early on, she was already seen very active and they didn't hesitate to cast her because she was smart, talented and very expressive on screen.

Janine Gutierrez's character is pivotal as she will start the story of this dog and how it will end up with Ruru's character. From sit down, stay, pickung things up and carrying bags, she can do it on command. She does have her off days, as her trainer describes she gets bored just like any kid.

We met some of the cast members during a blog conference organized by GMA’s Digital Team. Together with Fans and Kapuso Teams, they played games with Sofia Pablo, Kate Valdez and Yanna Asistio. We also watched the first episode which partly had us look at the show’s characters and how the fesity Gabbi Garcia started her relationship with Ruru Madrid in the show. Aside from that, we had a glimpse on how close Siri was with Janine Gutierrez’s character and why IT all happened, we’re not divulging that part as it may spoil the show!

Serena aka Siri for Sherlock Jr.

Again, this show is going to start on January 29 which falls on Monday. Don’t miss the first episode because as cliche as that sounds it’s important you know the story behind each character. The show also includes Roi Vinzon, Aiai Delas Alas, Tontin Gutierrez, Sharmaine Arnaiz, Rochelle Barrameda, Andre Paras and Matt Evans. You will love Jack and Lily I’m sure.

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Bela Padilla Visits P.A.W.S.

Gorgeous on a hot sunny day, Bela Padilla celebrated a worthy birthday at PAWS (Philippine Animal Welfare Society's Rehab Center). She might be a good actress and model in our eyes but what I saw that afternoon was a different side of her. She actually adores kids and the elderly but when asked how to celebrate her birthday this year, she thought about the plight of the cute little animals and this foundation. It's something different but very close to her heart.

Together with Belavers (her official fan club) and us, we proceeded to get to know the facility found in Quezon City. It's right underneath the bridge going to Marikina. The place currently only holds abandoned cats and dogs. It's not a pound so they can't hold everything and they don't put down animals like your local pound. Bela donated food and cleaning materials for the shelter because it's something that they really need. If you have time and resources to do this, I suggest you bring along your friends and get involved. Bela and the Belavers even prepared their food that afternoon. They made food servings for the cats and dogs in different cages. There are a lot and some of them are really not in good condition. There are even some of them in the ICU cage that the lone veterinarian is taking care of. Mind you, they have 2 operating tables and only 1 vet for the whole facility. There are hundreds of cats there, I don't even know how they're doing it but I think the volunteers have a lot to do with it.

PAWS Shelter Director Ms. Heidi Guzon says that some pet owners fail to think long and hard about the responsibilities of pet ownership before they actually get a pet. She also encourages that before getting one, one should consider getting those from a shelter first. The rescued cats and dogs from these establishments are taken cared of, given the right amount of cure then trained physically and psychologically. When they are ready, they confirm if the pets are good for adoption and screen owners as a process. This would make sure that the receiving families would surely take care of these cats and dogs. Something that would benefit both the pets and those that would adopt them.