Popular pet-friendly restaurant panned online for ‘discriminating against mongrels’

A popular “pet-friendly” restaurant in the Philippines was criticised for allegedly discriminating against mongrels after a woman claimed they denied entry to her mixed-breed rescue dog.

In a Facebook post on 8 September, Lara Antonio described visiting the Balay Dako restaurant, meaning “big house” in the local dialect, and allegedly being turned away by the staff because she had brought along her Aspin, Yoda.

Aspin comes from the words “asong Pinoy”, which translates to Filipino dog but is commonly used to refer to mongrels – when a dog is of mixed breed.

Ms Antonio said she had eaten before at Balay Dako with Yoda. However, this time she was allegedly cited guidelines stating that “small-medium sized dogs only and big dogs are not allowed”.

She claimed the staff told her Yoda didn’t fit the “medium-sized” requirement and asked her what breed he was, leading her to suspect the dog wasn’t being allowed because of his mongrel status.

“I have a weird gut feeling immediately, so instead of Aspin, I said ‘mixed breed’,” she wrote.

As Ms Antonio continued to push for clarity, she was allegedly told that only dogs under 15kg were allowed in after she said Yoda weighed about 18kg.

Continuing to push for answers, Ms Antonio asked to see the guidelines in writing.

Unable to find anything about weight in their guidelines, she said the manager showed her pictures of permitted dogs. They included golden retrievers she claimed were bigger than Yoda.

Finally, she claimed the manager told her the only dogs allowed were shih tzus and labradors.

“So don’t say you’re pet friendly and let labradors in but not my aspin. I’m asking where it is in the website that says up to 15kg only. And there’s none. she can’t show me because it doesn’t exist,” she wrote.

“There has to be clear guidelines. But don’t look at my dog, ask what her breed is and then tell me there’s a 15kg rule and then say, ‘The only dogs we allow are shih tzus and labradors?????’ Labradors are literally 20kg and above.

“TLDR: Balay Dako is not pet friendly to big dogs or Aspins. Don’t bother going.”

After Ms Antonia’s post generated attention, Balay Dako released a statement saying: “We sincerely apologise for the recent misunderstanding regarding our pet policy. As a company that loves animals, we understand the importance of accommodating pets. However, we must also consider factors such as spacing and the safety of all our guests. We are currently reviewing our policy to ensure it is clear, fair, and balances the needs of both pet owners and non-pet owners.”

The restaurant said that it would take further steps to “ensure that our staff are being trained and guided to understand and implement our policies effectively”.

Balay Dako’s statement was met with criticism, as people said the language was vague and accused them of not addressing the discrimination against Yoda’s mixed breed status.

“This needs to be cleared up because it is equal parts disappointing and ironic that a Filipino restaurant with a Filipino name is seemingly pet friendly to breeds like Shih Tzus and Labradors but not to Asong Pinoys,” said Inka Magnaye, a content creator.

“Don’t call it an apology when they didn’t apologise at all. They even made it worse by insinuating that aspins are unsafe. This is a PR strategy, not an authentic apology,” said another.

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society, Paws, in a comment on Balay Dako’s apology, said: “You still did not directly address the issue about Yoda, the Aspin. In your apology letter, you specifically stated ‘However, we must also consider factors such as spacing and the safety of all our guests’. Can you enlighten us then, what factors were considered why Yoda was not allowed entry to your premises.

“Spacing and safety, what about these two factors apply to Yoda?

“This issue is about Yoda, the Aspin. It would be clearer if you could address your apology letter to the furparents if indeed you are apologetic about this ‘misunderstanding’ as you have stated.”

As the incident continued to get more attention, Ms Antonio made a further two posts on her social media and claimed Balay Dako had not reached out to her to offer any sort of apology, although she said the intent behind her original post was to “warn anyone who wanted to bring their dogs to this establishment that they’re not as pet-friendly as they advertise they are”.

Ms Antonio described her relationship with Yoda and how adopting her got her more involved in animal welfare.

“I found Yoda when I was in my early 20s – she’s the first dog I raised as a ‘young adult’ with my own ‘working girl’ money. She’s my first rescue and her love is actually what made me so much more active with animal welfare groups,” she wrote on Facebook.

“She has taught me so much about life and love. And for her whole life, and for the rest of her life (except maybe the first four months when we didn’t have her), she has only known love and will only know love.

“I wrote that post about that restaurant last Sunday out of frustration – out of anger, knowing in my heart that she was sent away because she’s an Aspin, using some arbitrary rule they couldn’t even defend.”

The Independent has reached out to Ms Antonio and Balay Dako for comments.