Meet the New Participants For The Thai Dog Project.

The light colored dog wears a chain in the left photo. In the middle photo the chain has been removed. Photo right. Little baby dog sleeping the eternal sleep. 

Last month I did spot two young dogs near the road while on my way to the big city Udon Thani. For the next few days I daily saw them on the same spot, it seemed they had been recently left there and were currently homeless.

Previous canine participants of the Adopt A Dog Thai Style Project had successfully left the project, see previous posts, so there was place for these two dogs to be adopted into the Dog Project.

Adopt-A-Street-Dog Thai Style Project.

Riding the bicycle or sitting in the park I occasionally do see a dog that needs just a little bit extra attention.

Before I continue I have to stress that underfed dogs are very rare. As blogged before, most street dogs in Thailand are well fed dogs that are taken care of by the locals.

He Is back!!

I blogged before about one of my park dogs missing since the end of last year.

To my big surprise I saw him yesterday just two streets away from his old spot near the park.

Two months ago he was a bit scruffy recovering from a skin diseases, and skinny. Now he was looking healthy again and well fed.

I am a bit puzzled why at the same time both my dogs disappeared the end of last year. Somebody chased  them away? That is a rhetorical question.

Doggy Tales from Thailand

Photo left: Feeding the dog at night. His hair has grown back and he looks wonderful!

Photo right: A well behaving and well fed street dog  waiting at a fashionable distance at a local food vendor to feed him some scraps. Street dogs in general always are on friendly terms with local vendors and local Thai people.
On the background we can see a big Thai Buddist temple, which houses a dozen or so street dogs. Neighbors of the temple daily feed the dogs with dog food or left overs. 

My Adopted Thai Park Dogs

From left to right.

This dog was more dead then alive with his skull seriously dented because of a road accident. I adopted him “Thai Style” which means give a dog food but don’t take it to your home (rather let the dog stay in HIS home which is the street) and he recovered and is now one happy dog.

I always give this park dog some dog food in the park. He is well behaved and sits with us.

Imposter!! This dog is often in the park and occasionally begs food but he actually has an owner and lives around the corner, and he is not a “street dog”.

Three years ago I settled just outside Udon Thani, a provincial city near the border of Laos. City life is exiting here, there is a “Central” department store, various (vegan) Jay restaurants, a train station, and an art museum with works of Picasso, Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc.

I am just kidding about the art museum. 

Anyway, there are also two parks. Almost daily I go to the park so my 4 year old son (don’t email me, he is vegan!!) can play there.

There are always dogs hanging around. It works like this.

Thai Street Dogs And What We Can Learn

I blogged about dogs in Thailand before, and it is still one of my favorite topics, and a topic that still teaches me very much about how to view and really respect animals, and how to “adopt” animals, without trying to controlling them.

DOGS IN THAILAND Part 3 The Thai Way Of Adopting Dogs.

Photo left. The Thai way of adopting dogs. A street dog is “adopted” by the local motorcycle taxi station and get the daily leftovers of all motorcycle taxi drivers.

Photo middle. The owner of a modest apartment building in Banglampu, Bangkok, gave the local pregnant street dog shelter and food.

Photo right. 4 former puppy dogs dogs in my current ruralish neighborhood that have been adopted by the local Thai people.

I have seen it one time in Bangkok city and one time in Udon Thani, a provincial city near the border of Laos.

A cardboard box with a litter of puppies was seemingly dumped in a vacant lot.

Now that sounds cruel, eh. On closer examination though, it turned out that somebody daily did feed the weaned puppies. And the box with puppies hadn’t been “dumped” randomly, the location on both occasions was an empty spacious lot with bushes and grass, ideal for the young dogs to play, what they did, AND very visibly for the neighborhood people.

DOGS IN THAILAND Part 2 A King And His Dogs.

Photo left: King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Thong Daeng at Klaikangvol Palace, 2002

Photo middle: King Bhumibol Adulyadej with Thong Larn, dog nr 18 of the Royal pack. Adopted from a litter of street dogs. Chitralada Villa, 1999

Photo right: On each official Happy New Year photo the King poses with his adopted dogs.

To say that Thai people love the King would be an understatement. From a young age Thai children learn at school about the King and his virtues life. The King is one of two role models for Thai people when it comes to values and moral. The other role model is the Buddha.
In short, the King is deeply loved, respected and looked upon by Thai people.

It happens that this King is an animal lover,and has adopted many street dogs, and isn’t shy to talk about it.

DOGS IN THAILAND Part 1 Introduction

Dogs in Thailand? You must have guessed it, this article is about the (written with double decker capitals accompanied with suspenseful background music) Dog..Meat..Trade….NOT.

The >dog meat trade<  understandably still  is a favorite for meat eating westerners who now can clear their conscience with a “I might eat  pigs and cows, but at least I don’t eat dogs like THEM.”, but the truth is that >eating dog<, once normal in some rural parts of Thailand, now is rare and has almost vanished.

Now pig meat is the poor men’s meat. Western style concentrated pig farming, with the typical western style pig breed and all the western style, has replaced the age old Thai pig farm, with more natural Thai pigs who at least roamed free in large pens outside. Animal cruelty in Thailand? Pllllease don’t start about dog meat or Thai markets with bush meat. Thai animal cruelty? Don’t think exotic cruelty, think factory farming, pigs, chickens, massive numbers and the same endless cruelty that all factory farm animals worldwide have to endure. In ruralish northwest Thailand where I currently live, I don’t see dog catchers or dog meat, I only see everyday day pick up trucks and large trucks filled with pink pigs to their way to the slaughterhouse

This article is about street dogs in Thailand. Unlike in many other countries like Mexico, where skinny and scruffy street dogs live a pitiful life, often mistreated by local people, Thai street dogs are well fed and well taken care of by local people. 

The Thai street dog story is a heart warming and unique story and involves the Thai King, who is a well know animal lover and rescued many animals.

Street dogs in Bangkok lying on the sidewalk. They are well fed and not begging for food, and with a healthy fur. Unlike street dogs in other countries, they are on friendly terms with people, nobody bothers them. 

Bangkok street dogs taking a nap in a telephone boot. Again, no skinny scruffy dogs but well fed and healthy looking dogs.