A pet owner took to social media to complain about the alleged large dog discrimination she and Fury, an aspin mix, experienced at SM Bacoor in Cavite.
Issabela Villalino posted on her social media pages about the unfair treatment she and her dog received while shopping at the popular mall.
Vilallino mentioned that she had brought Fury to SM Bacoor multiple times and had not encountered any previous issues — her dog was even featured as part of the SM Super Pets Club on the mall’s Instagram page.
“We often bring Fury with us to the nearest SM to our home which is SM Bacoor. Today, I wanted to eat out and we decided to bring Fury with us. We entered the mall, visited the paw park for Fury, and ate at Chowking. We encountered no problem at all because SM is indeed ‘pet-friendly,’ right? Or so we thought,” she wrote.
Villalino said that she decided to shop at pet supplies store Pet Express, which is located inside the mall’s department store. This was when she and Fury were approached by security guards.
“They were trying to tell us that Fury [was] not allowed because he is too big, that only small dogs are allowed, and that we should carry him or he should be in a stroller. They all said these things unsurely and incoherently,” she wrote.
Villalino said she began asking them specific questions on whether SM imposed a new rule banning large dogs in malls and if they could enter the department store, and claimed the guards started getting defensive and asked her to talk to the security group’s commander. In the end, Villalino and her dog were allowed to enter the store.
She also said she spoke with the security commander about the situation, who claimed that the new rule was implemented before March.
“SM claims their establishments [are] ‘pet-friendly’ but their staff and security personnel are not at all properly informed about their own policies which in turn gets in our way and bothers us… stop claiming that you’re ‘pet-friendly’ when you’re actually not and instead of hassling your customers, orient your personnel,” she wrote.
Other dog owners said they could relate to her struggles.
“OMG, they won’t let you in but you’re welcome on their Instagram page. ‘Pet-friendly’ for clout,” one wrote.
“They discriminate especially if your dog is aspin,” another said, referring to the term for village dogs in the Philippines.
“It’s way worse for SM malls in the provinces, the guards make up their own rules,” another said.
