Homeless Street Dogs of Bangkok
Usually, you may think of dogs as the beautiful pets who enjoy a pampered life in a nice house, being well taken care of and always sure to be loved by their owners. Yes, it used to be like this, long time ago, but things have changed since then and today many of them share the harsh life of the Bangkok Street Dogs.
There is now a growing number of abandoned dogs walking the streets of Thailand and conservative estimates already talk about 300,000 street dogs in Bangkok alone. The exact figure of their population is, of course, unknown but you can easily find them everywhere you go – in the big streets, the adjacent Sois, the temples and schools yards, public parks and places or along the many Khlongs throughout Bangkok.
Kind-hearted Buddhists who feed the strays, and poor public infrastructure to handle their control, mean that the stray dog population is rampantly growing. Unwanted dogs are often rounded up and dumped at the local Buddhist temples where monks won’t turn them away.
Many times the dogs are killed in an attempt to control the population. The real key to controlling the pet population is to have these animals spayed and neutered. That is the only way to stop the cycle of animal suffering.
It is a national tragedy, and adding to Thailand’s disgrace is the fact there are no humane shelters, no effective SPCA-type organizations as yet where animals can be taken or abuse reported, no well-run Government adoption facilities, no animal rights, no sensible laws governing pet ownership and certainly no animal law enforcement, no educational programmed or Government campaigns, and sadly euthanasia is practised only rarely due to religious beliefs.
Shamefully, no funding is available for medicines to aid recovery, no treatment is given for illnesses, no isolation facilities for dogs obviously suffering from contagious diseases [distemper, parvovirus, mange] and no vaccinations other than for rabies. The dogs are piled onto wheelbarrows, dumped in holding pens, and left to lie in their own urine, blood and faeces. Many trample over other sedated dogs as they stumble back into consciousness. Not surprisingly, many wounds get infected. Some dogs die.
Gratefully though, there are not-for-profit organizations offering the homeless dogs second chance and help them have a better life!
Bangkok is not alone in this phenomenon, most cities around the world suffer the same problem. Usually, there are animal welfare organizations in these areas where you can contribute either your time or money to help them make a difference. Whether you are a casual traveller or a serious backpacker, there are many ways you can help while on the road. Seek out these organizations and offer whatever support you can. No matter what you are able to do, it will make a huge difference.
fA few Soi Dog Resources:
http://bkkstreetdogs.blogspot.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_dogs_in_Thailand
Vocabulary (kam sàp)
หมา/mǎa/ = dog
ประชากร /prà-chaa-gɔɔn/ = population
วัด /wàt/ = temples
ทุกข์ยาก /tǔkyâak/ = suffering
ที่พักอาศัย /tîipákaasăi/ = humane shelters
ศาสนา /sàatsànăà/ = religion
ยา /yaa/ = medicines
องค์กร /ong- gɔɔn/= organizations
ปรากฏการณ์ /praa-gót-dtà-gaan/ = phenomenon
By Mod
Thai Language Hut Teacher
