Kabang: The Dog Who Didn't Walk Past
Share
The true story of a Philippine street dog who threw herself in front of a motorcycle to save two little girls, and the people from around the world who saved her in return.
A street dog from Zamboanga
Kabang was an Aspin, the Philippine street dog: no pedigree, no papers, found on almost every road in the country, and walked past by almost everyone.
She was born in 2008 in Zamboanga City, a stray puppy, until a man named Rudy Bunggal took her in. She became the family dog, and she grew up beside his daughter, Dina.
December 2011
In December 2011, Dina, who was nine, and her three-year-old cousin, Princess, stepped out to cross a busy street.
They did not see the motorcycle coming. Kabang did.
She ran. She jumped. She hit the motorcycle head-on and knocked it over. The girls got up with only bruises.
Kabang was not so lucky. She was caught in the front wheel, and she lost the upper part of her snout. Rudy pulled her free.
She came home
Frightened and hurt, Kabang ran away. One day passed. Then a week. Then two.
Then she came home.
Rudy refused to give up on her. But she had trouble eating, her wound became infected, and the surgery she needed cost far more than the family could ever pay.
Strangers who cared
Across the world, a nurse in New York named Karen Kenngott read Kabang's story online. She started a fundraiser. The first attempt did not raise enough. She tried again.
This time, it worked. Donations came in from people in dozens of countries, enough to fly a street dog from Zamboanga to the veterinary hospital at the University of California, Davis.
A long road to healing
When the vets examined her, they found more than her injury. Kabang had heartworm, and she had cancer. She needed months of treatment before her surgery could even begin.
The doctors could not rebuild her snout, but they closed her wound so it could heal and she could live comfortably.
In June 2013, Kabang came home to Zamboanga City, and her city gave her a hero's welcome.
The rest of her life
Kabang lived the rest of her life with her family. She died peacefully in 2021, at thirteen years old. Her story is still told in the Philippines, and around the world, as one of the bravest acts a dog has ever shown.
Why we still tell her story
The world walks past dogs like her every day. She was the one who didn't walk past.
Kabang at a glance
- Born: 2008, Zamboanga City, Philippines
- Breed: Aspin (Philippine native street dog)
- Family: Rudy Bunggal and his daughter, Dina
- Famous for: saving two girls from a motorcycle in December 2011
- Treated at: UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, California, 2012–2013
- Died: 2021, aged 13
Illustrations on this page are artistic interpretations inspired by the true story of Kabang, not historical photographs.
