Animal Scene – May-June 2026

Summary

Animal Scene May-June 2026 (Volume 26, Numbers 03-04, P100) asks on the cover whether the Old English Sheepdog is really meant to herd sheep, and answers at page 60 with Richard Leo Ramos. Cacai Buenviaje opens on the Lone Star Tick and alpha-gal syndrome.

Editor Stef dela Cruz, MD, writes from her own position as a chronically ill person with a PWD card, on the autism spectrum and with ADHD, quoting the line she first read as a teenager: argue your limitations, and sure enough they're yours. She notes animals carry no stigma about disability, and hands to Martina Jain Mendoza's five disabled companions at p112.

Cliff Sawit writes on matriarchs, queens and bosses across the animal kingdom at p39, Mona Sabalones Gonzalez explains the science of zoomies at p48, and Gregg Yan meets the clownfish at p28. Albert Abadicio tracks the North Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher at p72, and Henrylito D. Tacio covers saving the Philippine Eagle at p80.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover Story

p.60 · Not a shaggy Dog story: Ye old English Sheepdog
Richard Leo Ramos asks whether the Old English Sheepdog is really meant to be herding sheep, the cover's central question. Breed histories often hide what a dog was actually bred to do. Check what your own breed was selected for before blaming it for doing that job.

▸ Health and Science

p.10 · Check out these Ticks who make people allergic to animal flesh: Have you heard of alpha-gal syndrome yet?
Cacai Buenviaje reports on the Lone Star Tick and alpha-gal syndrome, which can make a person allergic to meat. The piece walks through a hike, a tick bite, then fever, rash, chills, headache and shortness of breath days later, and the diagnosis arriving because of that bite and that hamburger. Check yourself for ticks after every walk in long grass and woodland.

p.48 · Why Dogs suddenly go bonkers: The science of zoomies
Mona Sabalones Gonzalez explains the science behind zoomies, the cover-adjacent piece on sudden dog madness. Contributors' Corner adds her dachshund Mocha Barney's habit of quietly watching when Winnie and Ashley fight. Give your dog one safe space to run a lap rather than stopping the behaviour every time.

▸ Compassionate Causes

p.39 · Matriarchs, queens, and bosses: How females lead across the animal kingdom
Cliff Sawit writes on how females lead across the animal kingdom, the cover's female bosses line. Female leadership is the norm in far more species than people assume. Look up which species in your own country are matriarchal.

p.16 · A win for the planet and for animals: Limiting animal ingredients in schools leads to positive impact
Alaina Therese L. Amilanto reports that limiting animal ingredients in schools benefits the planet and animals, tied to DepEd's move on school canteens. School food policy shapes more demand than any single campaign. Ask your child's school what its canteen policy actually is.

p.96 · Bitting farewell to animal experiments
Alaina Therese L. Amilanto writes on moving away from animal experiments. Testing rules decide how many animals suffer invisibly. Check whether brands you buy still test on animals.

p.112 · 5 Disabled animal companions living spoiled lives in PH
Martina Jain Mendoza profiles five disabled companion animals in the Philippines living spoiled lives, the cover's second lead. Disability in a pet is a management question, not a welfare verdict. Ask your vet what adaptions would help a disabled animal before assuming the worst.

▸ Wild Side and Birds

p.28 · Knowing Nemo: Meet the Clownfish
Gregg Yan introduces the clownfish in The Wild Side. Reef species are the ones most people meet through film rather than fact. Ask where an aquarium's clownfish came from before you buy one.

p.72 · Uncovering the elusive North Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher
Albert Abadicio covers the elusive North Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher in Feathered Friends. Elusive birds need habitat more than attention. Support one Philippine habitat project rather than chasing a sighting.

p.80 · Saving the Philippine Eagle from extinction
Henrylito D. Tacio writes on saving the Philippine Eagle from extinction. National birds carry the fate of the forest they live in. Check what protection covers the eagle's nesting trees.

▸ Alerts and Regulars

p.88 · Every Dog's nightmare: The e-collar
Betty Samson writes on the e-collar, called every dog's nightmare. Aversive tools suppress behaviour without teaching a replacement. Ask any trainer what they would use instead of an e-collar.

p.122 · 92 Animals recovered from Hong Kong fire
Martina Jain Mendoza reports that 92 animals were recovered from a fire in Hong Kong. Large rescues are where preparation shows. Keep a carrier and a lead by the door in case you must leave fast.

p.8 · Contributors' Corner — Hard to forget
Mona Sabalones Gonzalez names her wire-haired dachshund Mocha Barney as most unforgettable, Gregg Yan chooses the horse in this Year of the Horse, recalling weeks searching for pangolins in Palawan and a photo with the thoroughbred Double Black in Cordillera pines, and Ken Ricafort picks the hamster after pigeons, a parakeet, a wild oriole, lovebirds, ducks, chickens, rabbits, horses, guinea pigs and hermit crabs. Name your own most unforgettable animal before you finish the page.

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Editor's Take

Stef dela Cruz writing about earthly limitations from her own PWD card, autism and ADHD, then handing to five disabled companion animals, is the strongest thing Animal Scene May-June 2026 does, because it treats disability as ordinary rather than inspirational. The alpha-gal syndrome piece is the most useful: a tick bite, a delayed reaction and a meat allergy is a chain readers can act on. Weakest is the alert section, which flattens an IKEA toy, a Lebanon woman fleeing with 33 cats and a fatal cobra rescue into the same brisk tone. The Old English Sheepdog cover story is decent but thin for a cover. Buy this for the disability and tick pages; the alerts are skim material.

Strengths
• Editor writes disability from her own experience
• Alpha-gal piece links bite, symptoms and diagnosis
• Five disabled pets treated as ordinary
• Zoomies and clownfish pages are genuinely informative

Weaknesses
• Alert section flattens very different stories
• Sheepdog cover story is thin for a cover

Verdict: Selective read — the disability and tick content earn it.