Readers may remember the little white terrier, who appeared in this column last January with his best friend Petch the cat. At the time, the family already knew that Bank's end was close. Nearly blind, he could no longer walk, and the vet said his kidneys were barely functioning.

Every night, the father would carry the old dog very gently to his sleeping place so that Petch could groom him before curling up next to him.

"Did Bank pass away quietly?" I asked. I expected him to reply matter-of-factly, "He went to sleep one night and never woke up."

Instead, there was a pause.

"He waited for my parents that morning," the caller finally answered. "When they came out to see him, he cried to them, and they knew something was wrong. So they carried him inside the house. Then he died."

Bank had lived with the caller's parents for nearly 20 years, becoming as much a family member as any of their children - but they had become his family as well, and they were the ones he turned to in his last moments.

In one of those unhappy coincidences, another friend phoned a few days later with news of another death. You met Namchok last year, when the tiny kitten was trying to kiss a huge Alsatian-friend, and you saw him again a few months ago, finishing up all the doggie food in his friend's dish.

Fully grown, Namchok had taken to wandering the sois, always returning home for food and attention. People in Thailand regularly let their cats outside.

"Cats," they tell me, "love their freedom. It's cruel to keep them inside."

Perhaps I'm too protective. Unless I have to, I would never let my cat-herd wander outside. Although you see elderly soi dogs (not that many, it's true), you don't see any elderly soi cats. Few cats survive much more than five or six years on the streets. Dogs, cars, unkind people are all dangerous.

Some cats must be allowed to roam, though. If you adopt a cat that's spent most of its life on the streets, it may become extremely stressed in the confines of a house. You must let it go outside, but to protect the cat, make sure that it has all the shots and has been neutered.

Living in Hua Hin, Namchok's owners thought the young boy would be safe in his wanderings. One morning they found him lying in the garden with blood pouring from a wound. They never found out what had happened to him, whether the injury had been caused by a dog, a snake or a car. They rushed him inside, trying to staunch the blood, but it was too late. He had found his way home to die.

What a terrible gift these loving creatures bestow upon us! Their unconditional love can be heart-rending, when they ask us only to be with them in the final moments of their life.

Questions about your pets? Fax (02) 751 4446 or e-mail laurie@nationgroup.com.