Heart Evangelista on opening the eyes, heart for aspins

And in an Instagram post, Heart shared how advocating this PAWS campaign is also dedicated to her baby. (Photo: Heart Evangelista/Instagram)

Whether it be a dog with a breed or an aspin (asong Pinoy), for Heart Evangelista’s eyes, they are all fur babies worthy of love.

“I grew up with me and my parents who loved dogs and I didn’t know the difference between [an] aspin and having a breed,” Heart admittedly said in the launch of Philippine Animal Welfare Society’s (PAWS’s) latest campaign, “Have a HEART for Aspins.”

In the same event, Heart shared how her dad’s love for dogs influenced her. The actress also confessed that maybe if she did not pursue stardom, she would have been a veterinarian because of her love for her pets.

“I grew up with a lot of dogs, siguro mga 20-plus ‘yung aso namin sa bahay so lumaki na iba iba ‘yung aso namin. May mga aspin, meron kaming German Shepherd, iba iba sila… may Chihuahua (maybe we had about 20-plus dogs in the house, so I really grew up having different dogs. We had aspins, a German Sheperd, a Chihuahua, really they were all different),” she said.

Heart also defended that the people should change their mindsets on drawing a line between aspins and bred dogs, especially with the word “askal (asong kalye)” and the behavior differences.

“Actually ‘yung first ever dog na kumagat sa akin was a German Shepherd, linapa ako sa likod (the first ever dog that bit me was a German Sheperd, it bit on my back). So it’s really not about the breed. It’s really not. In fact, I think they’re (aspins) really, really smart,” she continued.

Though Heart has experienced a biting incident from a dog in her early years, her heart was still really big for them. She is also advocating on rescuing dogs rather than buying.

“I really promote fostering. If you can, if you have extra money or extra space, welcome them in your home and take care of them. You can also ask PAWS what to do. You’ll be surprised that there are a lot of people out there all over the world who’re willing to adopt a dog. So you just have to be patient, open your heart and take care of them and foster them. The right home will open up for them,” Heart said.

In fact, one of the aspins that she welcomed into the family was one named Panda.

And in an Instagram post, Heart shared how advocating this PAWS campaign is also dedicated to her baby.

“This is a dream come true for me because I grew up with a lot of aspins. I understand how they’re beautiful and gentle animals who are equally deserving of love as any other pet. So when PAWS approached me for this campaign, it was perfect! I’ve been with PAWS since 2005, and since then, I’ve seen many loving aspins find homes through their rescue shelters,” she wrote.