Master of unusual pets and a rooster named Robinhood

By Izah Morales INQUIRER.net WHEN dawn breaks, his live alarm clock starts crowing and cackling, waking him up for a morning jog. For 78-year-old Felipe Obrince, this morning ritual does not bother him at all as he looks forward to an early jog with San Pedro’s (St. Peter’s) favorite pet: a rooster.
Obrince’s pet rooster, Robinhood --his fourth pet-- jogs with him around the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) campus every morning or when weather permits. According to Obrince, Robinhood has actually other names, including Kaber and Burtik. Obrince said he has been changing Robinhood’s name in the last three years to allow his talented rooster to join pet shows. In the beginning, Obrince didn’t want to join pet shows that were hosted by an organization in UPLB until students invited him in 1995. “Nagja-jogging lang ako kasama yung aso ko. Tapos bigla akong kinumbida diyan sa pet show nila (I was jogging with my dog when they invited me to join the pet show,” Obrince recalled. He grabbed the chance and luckily, his first pet dog, Monelpa, won the competition. Later, he was surprised when UPLB students dropped by his house to deliver the prize. He said he didn’t expect that the competition had a cash prize. Since then, he joined pet shows, fielding different pets, including a goat, a Japanese pig, and of course, Robinhood, his rooster. Obrince said that he has developed fondness for unusual pets “Gusto kong maging kakaiba. Ayoko ng may kapareho (I want to be different, and I don’t want to be a copycat,” he said. Training a goat, a pig, and a rooster was never a headache for him because he knew the secret in making his unusual pets obey his orders. “Maliit pa, inuumpisahan ko na (I start their training early],” he said. He started Robinhood, for instance, when it was still, er, a chick. But he admitted that training pets was not really his intention. “Noon, gusto ko lang kasi na may kasamang nag-ja-jogging, (All I wanted was to have them jog with me),” he said. Obrince said all he wanted was companionship, but somehow got more than what he wanted. He said that his talented and unusual pets were not only mere companions but now prized possessions. At the age of 78, he still wants to continue training new and unusual pets. He plans to train a deer someday. “Ang gusto ko sana ay ung usa para ipakita sa kanila kung paano sumunod at kung pano kasama ito na hindi mailap, (I wish to train a deer and make them follow and unafraid of people),” said Mang Felipe.