Thailands Soi Stray Dogs

[PeteC]

I'm as old as you're going to be before you know it. As for me, I'm 29, each birthday. Unless one has some kind of mental disease it's your body that starts to fail, but your mind stays the age you want to be. Pete

[Aussie Mark]

I might be able to help out as I'm over in 5 weeks and I will hire a 4 WD with a big roo bar

[PeteC]

The photo you're going to see with the below article is shocking, even to me. What those animals are going through during transport is worse than the swift end they'll encounter when they get to Vietnam's restaurants. Now they've been rescued, but simply re-caged in a facility almost four times over capacity. Perhaps would have been best just to let the smugglers proceed.

It's in our nature to feel softhearted about dogs and goes back to the stone age when we first domesticated them and made them pets and partners. However, this country and many others has a problem that needs to be addressed and if export for food is one solution, at least do it humanely and in a controlled manner making sure someone's dear pet is not kidnapped. In the meantime, please neuter your dogs and cats and preach that to everyone you know here. Pete

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/08 ... 62662.html

For a larger photo go to the front page of The Nation at http://www.nationmultimedia.com/index.php (index 1)

[dotx]

Spaying females is not as expensive or difficult as you might think. I've done about 50 dogs on my own. Catch them, take them to the vet, spay them and release them back into the streets. Granted, it's not the ideal solution and I wish I could find homes for all of them. However, in the four years I've been living here, the number of dogs in my area has declined enormously. For every dog I spay, I'm preventing dozens from being born in the streets. It makes a huge difference after a couple of years.

The Hua Hin dog shelter has a spay/neuter program once a month. You bring a dog there and you only pay 100 baht for the surgery. I've use them very little because sometimes I can't time the catching of a dog to the exact date they offer surgery (I mean, when you have a chance to get the dog, you get it). I've never been bit and most of the dogs just let me pick them up. A few were not so happy, but the vet helped me get them (with a pill or a rope or whatever was necessary to catch them).

It's a shame the Thai government doesn't have a spay/neuter program in place, but if each one of us would at least spay the females around our own houses/complexes, it would make a huge difference.

[PeteC]

An update on the dog smuggling drama. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/08 ... 63054.html

Interesting to see the involvement and donations. If people would do that in their local communities concerning neutering and general organization concerning the dog population, Thailand wouldn't have a dog problem. Another example of a knee jerk reaction I guess.

Maybe Hua Hun needs someone to do something similar. Get a flatbed truck and 500 cages, fill them up with dogs and park it in front of city hall. Probably then something will get done. Pete

[PeteC]

The story continues, and perhaps a fate worse than if they had proceeded on their original journey. Pete

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/09 ... 64327.html

[dtaai-maai]

I was browsing around and came across this site. Those of you with an interest in soi dogs' welfare might be interested, if you haven't seen it already.
http://temple-dogs.com/index.php

[charlesh]

Starving dogs not eating commercial food - you must be kidding. I suspect that the poor bastards were diseased and on their last legs!
Tahm di dai di tahm cheua dai cheua. - those basta-ds involved in this obscene trade will be reincarnated hopefully as a rabid dog next time!
In the provinces they come round offering plastic containers and sundry items for stray dogs - strange that many Thais are actively complicit in this!

[Takiap]

Yes they do trade buckets for dogs, although I have noticed that not all the Thais up in Isaan eat dog meat. In fact, very few of them do, and those who trade in the dogs usually only trade them in if they become a nuisance.


BTW.....dogs will often refuse to eat commercial dog food if they've never had it before, but I don't think they'll refuse to eat it to the point where they die from starvation. I know many many people who keep dogs think they're doing the right thing by feeding their dogs "human" food, but the truth is, commercial dog food is actually better, unless you really go out of your way to prepare a properly balanced diet for your dog. I've always fed my dogs commercial food, and have to date never had a problem.

As you say, most of those dogs that died probably had underlying health problems.