- Askal
Infobox Dogbreed
country =Philippines
name = Askal
image_caption = A Philippine mongrel
traits =
notrecognized = no standards made public
notes = Not recognized by any major kennel clubAn askal is a mixed-breed (mongrel) dog in the
Philippines . The name is a Tagalog-derived contraction of "asong kalye" (street dog). It is applied to mongrels due to their often stray nature. These dogs are often more resilient than pure-bred ones.cite web|url=http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=62750|title=Askal|first=Michael|last=Tan|publisher="Philippine Daily Inquirer "|accessdate=2007-04-27]In Cebuano, mongrel dogs are called "irong Bisaya", which literally means a native dog. [See this Cebuano news item for an example of its usage: cite web|url=http://www.gmanews.tv/story/47835/Irong-bisaya-magamit-sa-bomb-sniffing|title=Irong ‘bisaya’ magamit sa bomb sniffing|publisher=GMA News.TV|accessdate=2007-10-07]
To counter perceived political incorrectness, the
Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) has suggested the alternative term "Aspin", short for "asong Pinoy" (Pinoy dog). [cite news |first=Alya |last=Honasan |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=‘Hey, pare, let’s save the whales’ |url=http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=78027 |work= |publisher="Philippine Daily Inquirer " |date=2007-07-22 |accessdate=2007-10-25 ]These dogs are now being considered for training as bomb-sniffing dogs as pure-bred dogs of the Philippine K9 units are becoming too old to work and too expensive to maintain. [cite news |first=Anthony |last=S. Allada |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Police welcome move to train "askal" |url=http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=17183 |format= |work= |publisher="Mindanao Times" |id= |pages= |page= |date=2007-06-29 |accessdate=2007-10-04 |language= |quote= |archiveurl= |archivedate= ]
"Azkals" is also the nickname of the
Philippines national football team .References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
