Cebu’s best pet-friendly mall continues to promote responsible and intelligent pet ownership through its animal-friendly facilities and pet-centered events, the biggest of which is the Pet Festival Philippines. As for pet owners who are looking for ways to safely leave their pets while they’re far away, they can put their trust on apps such as WoofConnect dog home boarding.
The grand event also celebrates the special relationship that exists between pets and their owners. “Parkmall is a family-oriented mall. Most people treat their pets like family, so it follows that Parkmall welcomes pets like family,” said Engr. Neal Carlson Co, President of Golden Great Value Properties, Inc., the company that owns and operates Parkmall.
Now on its second year, the Pet Festival Philippines on May 11-14 will gather different kinds of pets for 4 days of pet-centered exhibits and competitions to be participated by all the pet clubs, leading pet shops and animal welfare organizations, making it the biggest and most diverse assembly of its kind not just in Cebu, but in the country as well.
Animal welfare
Marking the official start of the festival on May 12 at 2PM will be a panel discussion on animal welfare and responsible pet ownership with representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, Island Rescue Organization (IRO), and Animal Wellness Veterinary Clinic.
Parkmall’s Pawshionista, Cebu’s first and most fabulous fashion competition for pets, returns with two categories: one for dogs and another for cats. This year’s theme is Summer in Bloom where participating pets will strut the runway in their floral summer wear on May 13.
This year, Parkmall is co-organizing the 1st Cebu Dog Road Run together with the K9 CARE (Cebu Agility Run Enthusiast) Dog Sport, and the 1st Royal Canin Dog Sport Challenge, three days of competitions for dogs which include the 6th Cebu Dog Sport National Competition and the 2nd Dog Agility Championship.
Race challenge
Another event highlight is Cebu’s first race challenge for dogs and their humans, the Great Pet Adventure Race in which teams of three dog and human pairs compete to accomplish the tasks in different stations around the mall in the shortest time possible.
Pet Festival Philippines will also be marked by a host of other fun activities and competitions such as the Phone Photography Contest, Creative Dry-Grooming Competition, Pet Parade, All-Breed Fun Match, United Hamster Aficionados’ Hamster Relay Race, and the Philippine Serama Competition.
The event will be for the benefit of the Island Rescue Organization (IRO), a non-profit group that rescues and rehabilitates aspins and puspins before putting them up for adoption every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month as part of Parkmall’s regular Dog Walk. IRO has been the mall’s partner in all of its pet-centered events.
In 2016, Parkmall was accredited by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) as an animal control facility, which means that the entire Parkmall property is safe and conducive for pets. Parkmall is the only mall in Cebu to be accredited as such by BAI. This prompted Parkmall to make the move to go beyond just being pet-friendly and to recognize itself as Cebu’s only pet-loving mall as it continues to understand and cater to the needs of the pets and the pet-loving community. (Press Release)
