I was in the middle hosting of a very busy and important event (National Architecture Week 2013 for FEATI University College of Architecture) when I received this text message:

E-mail notification on Venice being one of the 10 lucky winners of the Alpo Little Friends Super Bonding Session

At first, I was a bit hesitant on the legitimacy of this e-mail since I’ve had heard so much stories of scammers online. But when someone called me up over the phone, I found out, it was legit afterall. And then I tried to recall if I’ve joined such contest.

Venice, my 7- year old Shih Tzu has always been an Alpo chomper. I’ve tried several doggie foods for her but it’s only Alpo that she would really eat on. Since then, I’ve always given her Alpo. Then one time, I saw this new variant from Alpo for “Little Friends”, just the right size for my little baby and she would finish one bowl in just one sitting.

Going back to the contest, I received a text from Dust and a call from Maclyn informing me some additional details prior to the mechanics of claiming the prize.Just a recap of what they’ve told me, they said each of the 10 winners get to have the following prizes:

– 2 – day stay at Fraser Place Manila                                                                                       – Dog training session at BetterDog Canine Facility                                                                – Spa Session at Toccare Spa at Antel Suites Makati                                                              – iPad Mini

Now the Alpo Little Friends League Super Bonding Session begins.

Day 1.

At exactly 9:45, the service transportation was already at the lobby of where I live to pick up Venice and Me, 15 minutes earlier than the arranged schedule. So there we met Venice’s butler, Mr. Elmer Santos, to take care of whatever it is that needs assistance on anything that Venice would need during the event. It took us 15 minutes from my home to reach the venue at Fraser Place Manila. Upon arrival at the hotel, Elmer took us to the 31st floor to meet up with the other winners and there we met some of the winners like Parker, a Labrador Retriever who came all the way from Benguet and Chichay, a mixed breed of chihuahua and Yorkshire Terrier. We waited for a few more minutes for the others to arrive. The event was formally opened by Ms. Rolyne Opinion, the Alpo Brand Activation Specialist and Ms. Ana J. Jimenez, the brand manager of Alpo Philippines. What way could someone else start off the day perfectly other than giving us, the pet parents, a new iPad mini so we can capture the moments we’ll be having with our furbabies during the 2-day ALPO Little Friends League Super Bonding Session. After giving away all the iPads, we ate our heart out with a very hearty meal. Afterwhich, we immediately proceeded to BetterDog Canine Behavior Center at Pasong Tamo, Makati City. At the Better Dog Training Center, we met Mr. Brad Feliciano, our dogs’ trainor for the day together with his dog, Alab, a black nose Filipino dog. Brad taught us the basics of how to handle our dogs as it shows how our pets develops their trust in us as pet parents. He also stressed out that communication is indeed a very important factor in a dog-owner relationship. An hour and a half has passed, we finally went back to the hotel and freshen up for dinner, fashion show, and photo session.

What was waiting for us at the hotel really surprised me and Venice. Apart from staying overnight at the very very large room, say around a 150-ish square meter- suite, we were also surprised by the treats that Alpo prepared for us upon entering our respective room. And we were really awed upon seeing what was waiting inside for us!

After two hours, we went up at the 31st floor to have dinner and then headed on for the fashion show. It was quite a treat for us to mingle with other dog lovers out there. We also had a special guest that really melted our hearts- Toffee, the dog ambassador of Alpo to show us some cute tricks with her owner, Mr. Chardy Ang. Each and every dog received an award that night. There was Chit Chat Pup Award (Most Friendly), Teeny Tiny Pooch Award, Boom Boom Pao Award (Most Energetic), The Sniffety Sniffer Award, and more. My Venice got the chance to win the Pup Star Award (Rising Star and Crowd Pleaser Award). I was one proud pet parent that night.

A very long and exciting day has passed, and it was already time to hit the sack. After doing my nightly routine before heading off to bed, I saw this tiny pooch going to doggie dreamland in a peaceful slumber saying “I had a great time today, mum! I love you and Alpo!” 🙂

Venice enjoying the very comfy bed and off to dog dream land. I can hear her say, “Thank you, Alpo!”

To be continued….