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To raise public concern for the welfare of domestic animals, Her Royal Highness Princess Siribha Chutabhorn has created masterpieces to highlight the bond between man and his best friend, dog.

With more stray dogs roaming the streets and infesting Buddhist temples, local artists are coming together to voice their concern about the plight of this increasingly uncared-for animal in an exhibition called "My Friend", which is set to run from now until June 30 at Central World.

Through these paintings of pet dogs, it is hoped people will become more aware of the plight of easily abandoned pets.

The Princess was glad to be able to display her own paintings for the first time. "I want to raise a point that dogs can be our best friends who share the world with us. Each painting takes more than a week. I painted them quickly but as best as possible," the Princess said.

The Princess says she has 50 dogs in her family, six of which are her own. Their names are Sasa (a golden retriever), Halloween (a bull dog), Eden (a beagle), Angel (a stray from an Ayutthaya temple), Valentine (a stray plucked from a temple fair) and Kasalong (found helpless at a petrol pump in Uttaradit province).

"Kasalong is all white and smart too; he can open and shut doors and open taps himself. I find most stray dogs are more intelligent than foreign dogs. I love my dogs equally and each has a different behaviour," she said. 

The Princess wished there would be lesser abandonment of these pets by dog lovers and less abuse by others. The Princess said dog owners should not love their pet only when they are small and abandon them when fully grown. "Some of us may forget them. But dogs never forget their owners," the Princess said.

"My Friend" is set to run from now until June 30 at Central World.