Unlike our home in Quezon City, where our house was situated outside the village and on a main road, our new subdivision is a gated community. Whoever owned the dog probably just lived within a block or two, so we really couldn’t take him in. Besides, he had a collar (he obviously had a family who cared enough about him to gift him with a collar), but no tag or any form of identification. Luckily, we chanced upon his owners roaming the streets looking for him.

We fortunately haven’t lost any of our dogs yet. Not even the turtle. We always make sure that the gate remains closed for fear they might wander about, but the thought that somebody in the household might forget gives me the compulsion to check on my pets ever so often. They didn’t have any form of identification — if they’re lost, they’re lost. They’re too cute and friendly, and I won’t be surprised that whoever finds them might not want to look for us. Luckily, Shantee, Kubrick and Pixel were given a chance to try out Will Wag for Tags‘ custom pet name and info tags for this blog.

The pet tags are about the size of a one-Peso coin, but it could already contain your pet’s name, your contact number and address. That’s enough to make it easy for people to find you in case you lose your pet. Although pet microchips offer a more permanent solution (the microchip is embedded directly into your pet’s skin), this technology requires a scanner to read the information in the chip. Some vets have this technology, some don’t. The thing is, you still need to bring the lost pet to somebody who does have the scanner to know how to contact the owner from the microchip. That’s quite a hassle, especially if you don’t have a vet with the technology near you — also considering the fact that the pet you found might not even have a microchip in the first place.

With a pet tag, you basically just need to know how to read The owner’s info is displayed on plain sight, you can easily read it and try to contact him/her. And best of all, it’s cheaper. Will Wag for Tags’ Pet Info Tags, which can contain pet’s name, owner’s contact info and address, costs only Php450. You can also add a charm accessory of your choice (this depends on availability in stock though).

If you only want to put your pet’s name and have the tag solely for decorative, dog fashionista purposes, it’s cheaper. A Pet Name Tag costs Php250, while a Limited Edition Pet Name Tag is Php350.

For the pet tags of Shantee, Kubrick, and Pixel, I made sure that our phone number is engraved aside from their names. I only have a prepaid cellphone SIM, so a landline phone number was the more practical choice to put. I wasn’t really that picky about how decorative the tags were (they were already pretty nice by themselves in my opinion), so I just left the decorating to Kristine of Will Wag for Tags. I simply gave her an overview of my dogs personalities: Kubrick, the athletic “alpha dog commander” of our pack; Shantee, the camera-loving diva of Dog Fashionista; and Pixel, Shantee and Kubrick’s loyal but a bit shy and timid daughter. Looking at these tags, I’d say she’d done a pretty good job! Clean engravings, with designs that fit my dogs’ personality perfectly

If you want to get a pet tag for your pooch (or cat, or turtle, or whatever animal you have who will allow you to put a collar on him), visit Will Wag for Tags website for more details and photos of their tag designs.

Will Wag for Tags
Mobile: (0927) 3112306
Email: Willwagfortags(at)gmail.com
Website: http://www.willwagfortags.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/WillWagforTags

But, the internet makes shopping convenient for everyone (thank goodness for Paypal)… We were able to buy Shantee a pair of sunglasses online!

The ad I saw on the Dogster newsletter was actually on Doggles—doggy goggles—but I found the dog sunglasses much cuter. Besides, the K9 Optix Sunglasses for Dogs that we bought had matching sunglasses for humans

Now Shantee and I could walk around the village both feeling cool! We actually already did, and our sunglasses really caught the attention of the neighbors we met allow the way. Other owners walking their dogs could not help but ask us where we got them.

Our matching sunglasses are shatter-proof and UV-protected. Perfect for the tropical weather here in the Philippines, where the sun could get really hot and blinding.

I was actually a bit skeptical ordering at first. The shipping cost of a product from the US to the Philippines is sometimes even more than the actual product itself. So to be sure, I emailed Doggles LLC and inquired how much it would cost to have the K9 Optix sunglasses delivered here in the Philippines.

It was a great customer service experience. Doggles LLC are genuinely concerned about their customers, even those who are just inquiring. They referred me to their Australian distributor so the cost of shipping won’t be too high, and Jill of ModPet Australia was ever so helpful. She patiently answered my questions and helped me choose the perfect size for Shantee. She even waived the shipping costs since my being in the Philippines doesn’t require me to pay Australian taxes.

The sunglasses fit Shantee perfectly. We’re training her to feel comfortable wearing it, associating the sunglasses to walks and treats, and she’s slowly beginning to get used to the sunglasses day by day. Good thing too, because my fur-baby will be a dog model for a planned photo shoot at a local park! And of course, she’d be showing off her sunglasses

Ribbons and dog hair clips are nice, but the thing is, they can easily fall off as the dog romps around. I usually keep the pretty ribbons groomers put on Shantee after they fall off, and just put them on her whenever we’re going out on trips to pet-friendly malls and restaurants (or even parties). But for every day use, I knew I had to find an alternative to these fancy dog hair accessories.

I tried the regular rubber band (you know, the one you can buy in boxes at National Bookstore and used as an office supply?), but it didn’t take. The office rubber band is too big for Shantee’s hair.

Then there’s the Goody-branded hair rubber brands we humans use. It’s the perfect solution, but just a tad too expensive for a dog’s every day use. The Goody bands are exactly what I needed for my furbaby, but I needed something cheaper—something that can fall off or snap without me feeling bad about the wasted expensive band.

Luckily, my sister (Joyce) and I found a very cheap alternative:

Joyce saw these cheap bands at our village’s convenience store, and cost us only Php20 (about US$0.50) for six little plastic bunch of these bands. I think these hair rubber bands will cost even cheaper if bought at Divisoria, but I didn’t really have time to go there anymore. A little bunch of rubber bands just isn’t worth the long trip to Divisoria, you know

But for now, these will do!

This little fashion pooch belonged to one of the Boracay locals we saw hanging out with their pets at the beach. I couldn’t remember her name, nor do I know her breed, but this little girl sure knows what it’s like to live in high fashion at the beach!

The flamboyant collar the dog was wearing seemed to be made from a person’s old belt, while her shirt seemed to have been made from an infant’s shirt. The collar itself is a bit too much for my Shantee’s taste (hehe), but the “beach style” makeshift dog shirt just goes perfectly with the dog’s dark fur. The stretchable cloth of the shirt is perfect for the beach—the clingy material would make it easy for the dog if she decided to take dip in the sea, kind of like a bathing suit a human wears.

Ah. The things people come up with to dress up their pooch!

We bought the shell dog necklace Shantee is wearing on the photo above from one of the vendors in Puka Beach. It was actually a bracelet, but the vendor willingly adjusted its length so it fitted Shantee while Marc and I jumped waves in the Puka Beach surf.

The beach itself isn’t really ideal for swimming (but then again, January isn’t really the best time to go to Boracay unlike during the summer), but it was nontheless beautiful. Marc and I even imagined that if Shantee was there, she probably would have been easily swept away by the undercurrent on the seashore.

Shantee’s real proud of her Boracay shells dog necklace!

Aside from providing us with high-quality room accommodations, Microtel also gave us some tokens and freebies. I would have gladly took home one of their chiropractic beds—but you just can’t have everything Anyway, the Microtel giveaway included a pair of simple bead bracelets—which, of course, became additional dog necklaces for Shantee!

Here’s Shantee wearing the Microtel “dog necklace”

She doesn’t seem to feel bad about being left behind and not being invited anymore, does she? Hehe.