Manila: A farmer whose dog was hacked to death by a neighbour has attracted the attention of animal rights activists who lauded him for going the extra mile to seek justice for his slain companion.

In a country where dogs and cats were widely regarded as house pets, the story of 65-year-old farmer Silvestre Ravago and his late guard dog Ella, 7, provides a story of how far a master would go to get justice for his pet.

Ravago met Anna Cabrera of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (Paws) on November 25.

“Ella was like one of my children. She sleeps with us,” Ravago was quoted as saying by Cabrera.

Any other pet owner would have brushed aside the killing of his dog, but not Ravago. With little money in his pocket for the trip and expenses, on November 25, he endured the more than ten-hour trip by bus from Oas town in Albay in Southern Luzon to the Paws office in suburban Quezon City to lodge a case of animal cruelty against his neighbour who hacked Ella dead.

The assailant, who was drunk during the time of the attack on November 6, entered their residence and true to her job as a guard dog for the family, Ella incessantly barked at the intruder, leading the latter to lash out at the canine with the machete that he was carrying.

Village guards came to Ella’s assistance but to no avail, the wounds that she suffered were so severe that she died minutes after the attack.

Ravago said that he had at first asked the assistance of local police to do something about the attack on his pet but authorities turned him away because they said the victim was “just a dog.” In a country where animals are sometime seen as pests, crimes against dogs and cats are often brushed aside.

But insistent on getting justice for Ella, Ravago went to Paws. “I cannot just let what happened to her pass. Her killer should be punished,” he was quoted by Paws as saying.

Ravago showed the gruesome pictures of the dog including certifications and reports from village authorities.

Cabrera helped Ravago file a formal complaint against the assailant.

Cabrera said the incident only shows that despite the passage of a revised Animal Welfare Act, most Filipinos, including those entrusted to enforce the law, are still ignorant of the edicts protecting the rights of animals.

Passed in 2013, the revised Animal Welfare Act provides stiffer penalties against offenders including a fine of P5,000 (Dh408) and prison term of two years to a maximum penalty of P250,000 and maximum three years’ imprisonment.

Since the revised Animal Welfare Act was passed, animal rights groups have used the law to go after private individuals who make a business out of slaughtering cats and dogs and other animals for food, those who make money from dog fights and mistreat animals.