DAVAO CITY - A stray dog in Iligan City got promoted to a “hospital guard dog” after he was adopted by a medical center last May.
Hospital clerk Anña Dailisan Amal said “Medikal”, who was born on July 13 last year, has been going around the Iligan Medical Center Hospital in San Miguel Village, Pala-o since he was a puppy.
“Matagal na kasi sya sa hospital. Napamahal na sya sa mga staff and sa mga amo ko,” Amal told Manila Bulletin Thursday night.
She said after the meeting of the hospital’s Board of Directors she immediately looked for a veterinarian for Medikal’s vaccinations.
Amal said Medikal was named after the hospital itself.
“His name was taken from the name of our hospital, Iligan Medical. Bisaya lang mao Medikal (It is in Bisaya that is why we say Medikal). Brownie is from his color," she said.
Amal added that there were people who made negative comments about Medikal, and said that he should be taken by the city veterinary office instead because he might bite the people around him.
She said they tried to find him a new home, but that they were apprehensive because he was just likely to escape from his new owner and return to the hospital which he has long known to be his home.
“Nag-try pud mi og chain nya every morning lang and buy-an sya sa hapon, pero wa man sya na anad cgeg ka takas (We also tried to put him on a leash every morning and just let him free in the afternoon, but he was not used to it so he always escapes),” she said.
“That’s why pinapa-complete ng doctors ang vaccines nya (That’s why the doctors wanted his vaccines to be completed),” Amal said.
Amal said Medikal, who frequently stays in the hospital lobby, is friendly to those who go to the hospital.
At night, Medikal also stays with the hospital guard.
“Halos tulog sya sa morning (He is almost always sleeping in the morning),” Amal said.
Amal posted photos of Medikal’s identification card and vaccination record on August 4. The record shows that Medikal, also known as Brownie, got his second shot of 5in1 vaccine on July 28 and that he also got vaccinated for rabies.
Her post caught the attention of netizens and was shared 132 times as of Friday morning.
Amal said she decided to post Medikal’s pictures to show that it won’t be long for their new furry friend to complete his vaccines.