Sirok, the bully

Ian Alfredo Magno

NO, this is not about a kid who torments his classmates in the classroom.  Rather, it refers to a canine whose presence is more startling than any campus bully.  That is just how it seems, though.

On the contrary, Sirok is one of the gentlest beasts I have ever had the chance to come closer to. And the irony behind its rather mild temperament is its proximate blood relation to one of the most, if not the most, fearsome dog breeds in the world–the pitbull.

You got it right. Sirok is a direct descendant of the pitbull, specifically an offshoot of a long line of pitbull and American bulldog crossbreeds.  Hence, Sirok’s bloodline has since been recognized as the American bully.

The bully, as a breed, retains the muscular physique of the pitbull; at the same time, it possesses the massive torso of the bulldog; with a facial profile that closely resembles that of a pitbull (with emphasis on the very thick jaws); but acquires the tender and loving nature of a typical pet bulldog.

The American bully is a recently developed dog breed, originally recognized by the American Bully Kennel Club (ABKC). It is intended to be a companion dog and a show version of the American Pit Bull Terrier and the American Staffordshire Terrier.  Eventually, it has likewise been recognized by the United Kennel Club (UKC).  It is a small to large breed which has been divided into four categories: pocket, standard, classic and XL.

The mix has since been maintained and developed by bully enthusiasts through time, with a deliberate design to eliminate remnants of aggressive genes until it became the famed American bully breed that we now know. What do you have?  You get a tough looking, brawny, massively muscular canine with a disposition that oddly reminds you of the friendly Labrador Golden Retriever.  Such is Sirok, a one-year old pup owned by multi-awarded Bully Master Lemuel Ian Moralda, a renowned Cagayan de Oro-based bully enthusiast.

Early on, several bully competitions had been conducted in and around Cagayan de Oro, and the rest of the country as well. To set the record straight, Sirok’s mother, also owned by Lemuel Ian Moralda, was a champion bully herself.  Indeed, Sirok is a competition-worthy fiber that has the makings of a future champ.

Just recently, the Cagayan de Oro Pitbull and Bully Alliance hosted a National Bully competition dubbed as “April Bulls Day” at the SM carpark, Cagayan de Oro City on April 30, 2017.  Bully enthusiasts hailing from as far as Davao, Iloilo, Bukidnon, Zamboanga, Manila and other parts of the country participated in the event.  It was fun to watch, really.

Section 6 of RA No. 8485 as amended by RA No. 10631, otherwise known as the Animal Welfare Act, provides:

“SECTION 6. It shall be unlawful for any person to torture any animal, to neglect to provide adequate care, subject any dog or horse to dogfights or horsefights, kill or cause or procure to be tortured or deprived of adequate care, sustenance or shelter, or maltreat or use the same in research or experiments not expressly authorized by the Committee on Animal Welfare.”

“SECTION 9. Any person who subjects any animal to cruelty, maltreatment or neglect shall, upon conviction by final judgment, be punished by imprisonment and/or fine…”

As a consequence of the brutal abuse and cruelty via heartless orchestrated pitbull fights (to the death) in the past, the breed evolved a very high amount of aggression through time. Corollary to this, the public harbored a similar amount of bias against, and branded, the pitbull as a “banned” breed. In fact, due to such unfounded prejudice, a number of live pitbulls had either been euthanized or slaughtered outright in other countries just because.

Thus, among the earnest advocacies of Bully kennel clubs, and enthusiasts such as Moralda, is to hopefully redeem the wounded reputation of this otherwise gentle creature–and give back its rightful place in a less cruel community.

E-mail: ianalfredom@gmail.com