Street dogs

Having recently returned from a trip to Thailand, street dogs are on my mind.  I often find myself wondering what their stories are. 

We stayed in a low-key district of Bangkok, called Thewet, it’s modest with no high-rise buildings.  It’s certainly not swanky at all, but we love it.  One of the major advantages of Thewet is that it’s close to the great river Chao Phraya that flows through Bangkok.

As a family we love to use the water bus – yes, it’s a novelty for us, but for Thais it’s an ordinary way of life.  We find ourselves walking from our hotel to Thewet Pier to catch the water bus.  One day a rather handsome street dog joins us, he trots along beside us, looking healthy and in good condition.  He’s clearly all male, he exudes a positive yet gentle energy, he’s a nice chap.

I’m not a fan of petting street dogs, you don’t know anything about them, least of all their fears.  We don’t encourage him, we just let him be.  He escorts us from getting off the water bus until he turns into a Buddhist Temple, which is possibly where he lives.  We comment on what a nice dog he seems to be, just lolloping along, clearly escorting us, but also casually marking his territory and half-heartedly chasing the odd cat.  He’s a merry soul.

A couple of days later we do a similar trip, and there he is again.  Then Harry Husband does the same walk late one evening - and there he is again.

I’m not telling you this story for any profound reason, I guess it’s just nice for a dog to find its place in the world, he certainly appeared to be enjoying himself.

AJK