PET TOPICS
When a wat becomes a dumping ground
Last week's column inadvertently caused a "puppy rush". When I put in the photo of the sleepy pup resting in Luang Por Boonsong's gentle hands, I meant only to show people one of the doggies that had been dumped at Wat Makkasan in the past few months. People saw something else, though.
The photo was taken by Tharinee ("Carrie") Wipuchanin of dog rescue group Pic-A-Pet4Home. She had already dropped by the wat late last year to help Luang Por take care of abandoned doggies. The wat on Petchburi Road is easily accessible to people who wish to get rid of unwanted animals, especially female dogs who are pregnant, and the number of dogs in the wat seemed to be growing. At that time, Carrie helped the monk have the dogs vaccinated and neutered and then found homes for a number of them, thus reducing the wat's canine population considerably. After a few months, she dropped by again for a visit a few weeks ago. Instead of a happy, stable population, she found that the situation was worse than during her previous visit. Over the past three months, 12 mother dogs had given birth to a total of 35 pups. Luang Por was trying to take care of them as best as he could, but he was the only monk in the temple who was interested in the dogs and the mushrooming population had deluged him. It would be wonderful if people would adopt a dog from the temple. Carrie, who arranged to have the mother dogs neutered yesterday (or as many as she could catch) offers to give the pup of their choice its first vaccination when the new family comes to pick it up. If you don't care about colour or sex, she'll even arrange to have the pup delivered to you. The problem is that as soon as the photo of Luang Por's hands holding the pup appeared in last week's column, people began phoning me. "Laurie!" screamed one caller. "I want that dog! It's obviously a shar-pei!" Among the dog breeds in Thailand, the shar-pei, with its cute wrinkles, is growing in popularity. Despite people's willingness to pay big baht for this dog, some dog rescuers have found shar-peis abandoned on the streets. This breed originates in southern China. In cooler, drier climates, it would be low-maintenance, but in Bangkok's humidity, the thick folds of its skin are prone to fungus. Rescuers suspect that owners grow bored of caring for the dog's skin problems and eventually let it wander away. Much to the disappointment of readers who thought they might get a pure bred for free, the pup in the photo last week is not a shar-pei. She's simply a three-month-old Thai dog, and her wrinkles will disappear as she grows older. This pup is pretty, though, as is the doggie whose photo appears this week. He's also at the wat, a friendly, well-socialised creature. Luang Por's phone number is (06) 881 7018, but he doesn't speak English. You can contact Carrie at (09) 669 1690 and she can act as a liaison for you. By Laurie RosenthalQuestions about your pets? Fax (02) 751 4446 or e-mail laurie@nation-group.com.
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