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Photo taken by: Louis Blair (LouisBlair)

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Recent Galleries

Dogs :

Updated: May 15, 2013 5:22pm PST

Posing Pets : Pets and other animals being posers.

Chantal Sellers

Pets and other animals being posers.

Updated: May 13, 2013 7:44pm PST

Soi dogs/cats (street dogs/cats) in Thailand : <a href="http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/349968-local-attitudes-towards-neutering-animals/">Local (Thai) Attitudes Towards Neutering Animals</a>

<a href="http://www.stasiareport.com/the-big-story/asia-report/thailand/story/land-smiles-and-stray-animals-20120805">Land of smiles and stray animals</a>

"The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man's" - Mark Twain

“A dog wags its tail with its heart” - Martin Buxbaum

<a href="http://www.thaiwebsites.com/dogs.asp">Bangkok's Stray Dogs</a>

<a href="http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/349968-local-attitudes-towards-neutering-animals/" rel="nofollow">Local Attitudes Towards Neutering Animals</a>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stray_dogs_in_Bangkok">Soi dogs Wikipedia</a>

<a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Dog-Saves-Dog-On-Highway">Dog saves dog on high-way</a>

<a href="http://www.one-voice-for-animals.blogspot.com/">One voice for animals</a>

Thai Attitudes Towards Animals

Animals are living creatures, just like us, who have the right to live just as we do. The first precept of Buddhism is Respect For Life: Not to Kill; To Protect. This applies to animals and plant life just as it does to people.

The Thai attitude towards animals is the same as it is towards most things. There is a natural law of order which applies to all aspects of life so don't interfere with it. As mere humans we can do little to alter the powerful laws of nature.

Animals are pretty much left to their own devices. The Thais do not sterilise animals and generally they don't cull animals unless there is an Apec summit being held in Bangkok and the government are afraid that the stray dogs will be an embarrassment to visiting dignitaries and George Bush.
The animals breed unchecked, many young animals die and those that survive continue to repeat the cycle. To Western minds it can be difficult to accept because there are a lot of abandoned kittens and puppies that are obviously suffering.
The Western solution would be to find homes, and to sterilise animals, in order to try to get the problem under control. Thais don't see it this way. It's just one of those aspects of life that is different between the two cultures.

Where societies have tried to control human population by limiting the number of children born into any one family it has caused massive problems. Chinese and Indian families all wanted their only child to be a son and used whatever method they could to make sure this would happen. It resulted in a huge demographic imbalance where one generation was desperately short of females.
More often than not, when humans start interfering with nature it upsets the balance. The Thais respect this and interfere very little. It seems cruel at times to Western eyes but so is nature cruel.
Thailand is not a great place for cat lovers. The stray dogs seem to survive pretty well even though most look appalling, but cats struggle. Wily old tom-cats who have managed to survive their first couple of years get by but for females and kittens it is a different story.

I like to make friends with Thai cats as I do with Thai people but several of my feline friends have met premature deaths from dog attacks, eating rat poison or being hit by vehicles. The females are in a constant cycle of pregnancy and giving birth, and kittens normally have to fend for themselves from a very young age. Many don't last very long.
Credit to the Thais, they do show compassion for animals and if an animal just turns up uninvited - as they often do - the Thais will normally let them stay. They will usually take care of pregnant females and give them a box to sleep in to look after their kittens.

I have constant struggles with my conscience when I meet abandoned cats, which is quite often. I went through a stage of trying to rescue cats but it didn't work. I can't keep animals where I live and the ones I took to the temple were attacked and killed by dogs. I ignore them now but it still hurts.
Thais use Buddhist temples as animal dumping grounds but it causes problems for the monks. The sign above - posted outside a temple - tells people to love and take care of animals; not dump them at temples.

Courtesy: <a href="http://phil.uk.net/thailand/index.html">Thailand Travel Guide</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC5Yf9rmKto">"How much is that doggie in the window?"</a>

<a href="http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/08/26/heartbreaking-video-dog-mourns-at-his-navy-seal-owners-funeral/">Heartbreaking Story: Dog Mourns at His Navy SEAL Owner's Funeral</a>

Although these dogs are fed lots of times with left-overs there are still hugh amounts hungry and skinny. However the main problem is that nobody is giving any health-care (except of course the aid-organizations) so one sees the whole day scratching, limping and even half paralyzed dogs with awful wounds because of dragging the paralyzed part over the roads. Limping because of nasty mauling by a competitor. Even very young puppies and/or adults which cannot be helped anymore cannot be put into sleep because of the Buddhist rule that one doesn't kill.

Underneath you find links. Be prepared to see some shocking pictures of animals before - and very nice pictures of the same animals after treatment!

DUMPING DOGS AND CATS IN THAILAND:

Commercial cat and dog breeders abandon animals once past the ‘cute’ saleable stage, or after a lifetime of constant breeding renders them sick and of no further use. Pet owners abandon animals for a variety of reasons – behavioural issues; disease; expense; lack of interest; relocation. Legislation is in place to prevent animals being abandoned on highways (as part of ‘obstruction of highways and waterways’ legislation) but this is not policed with regard to individual dogs and cats and it is not unlawful to abandon animals in temples or rural areas.

Extract from the site of <a href="http://www.scadbangkok.org/abc/strayanimalmanagement.htm" rel="nofollow">www.scadbangkok.org/abc/strayanimalmanagement.htm</a>

West Van Man Rescues Asian Dogs

Wed, April 23 2008

By Lucy-Claire Saunders

NamfaceEarle Bingley has worked for months to sponsor Nam. At only five
years old, the Thai orphan has been beaten, abused and thrown away like a
piece of garbage. But next month, Nam will make the journey halfway around
the world to her new home in West Vancouver.

But Nam is not a child. She is a dog, and like many dogs in Thailand, she
has found life on the streets to be cruel.

"Nam had boiling oil poured over her when she was puppy by a vendor in the
street," said Bingley. "She's healthy now but her ears are really bad and
she has scars all over her body. A lot of her fur is ingrown."

Bingley, 74, is the founder of Canadian Voices for Animals, a non-profit
dedicated to helping abused animals by finding them homes and lobbying
governments to create legislation protecting the four-legged companions. He
is Nam's only hope.

A few months ago, Bingley received an e-mail from a German veterinarian
about an unsanitary and degrading animal shelter in Hua Hin, Thailand, where
Nam was staying.

Not 30 minutes later, Bingley initiated a mass campaign condemning the
inhumane treatment at the shelter.

It turned out the e-mail sent by the German vet misidentified the shelter.
But the damage was already done and Bingley had to write a formal letter of
apology to King Bhumibol Adulyadej explaining his mistake.

But it was too late. The city council of Hua Hin decided the shelter would
be downsized and the city official in charge of animal services at the
shelter, Dawn Poon, would be axed. Bingley's campaign had ignited
unfavourable press coverage and public outrage.

"The city council is getting rid of her because of all the fuss I made,"
said Bingley. "They want her gone and the space (in the shelter) she's in
charge of to build coffee shops and stores for a tourist attraction, instead
of taking care of the animals properly."

In an effort to right his wrong, Bingley has partnered with Poon to find the
remaining dogs permanent homes. And just to completely distance themselves
from the Hua Hin city council, they have taken it upon themselves to rename
the shelter Head Rock, the literal translation of 'Hua Hin.'

"I couldn't believe the shape these animals were in," said Bingley. "The
government takes dogs from off the street and they throw them into the
shelter. Eventually most of them are killed or sent to Vietnam for food."

The existing law in Thailand neither allows nor prohibits dog slaughter, and
there is no animal welfare legislation. There is only one clause in
Thailand's criminal code, which states, "a person committing the act of
cruelty or killing an animal by means which induces unnecessary torment
shall be sentenced to one month in jail or fined one thousand baht ($32) or
both."

The term cruelty is not defined and not one conviction has ever been made,
according to the Thai Animal Guardians Association.

Nam and two of her canine companions will be flying out to California at the
end of May -thanks to Bingley's friend in San Mataeo, Barbara Kohn, who
donated her
air miles to rescue the three dogs
from the shelter. From there, Nam will make her way to West Vancouver,
provided Bingley finds the funds to fly her on the last leg of the trip.

Bingley, who lives in West Vancouver, has championed animal rights since he
was 13-years-old. In 1992, actress Dorris Day wrote an article in a
California newspaper in Carmel about Bingley, saying he has a "heart that
overflows with love for the animals."

Bingley hopes that governments like that in Thailand incorporate an animal
welfare policy that uses reproductive control measures instead of reacting
to the problem by turning a blind eye to mass slaughter. He has already set
up similar projects in Norway, Argentina and Peru.

He encourages anyone who is interested in Nam's story or the other dogs that
need rescuing to visit Canadian Voice for Animals at
<a href="http://www.canadianvoiceforanimals.org" rel="nofollow">Canadianvoiceforanimals.org</a>.

<a href="http://www.thaiwebsites.com/dogs.asp" rel="nofollow">Bangkok's Stray Dogs</a>

Soi dogs/cats (street dogs/cats) in T...

Local (Thai) Attitudes Towards Neutering Animals Land of smiles and ...

Updated: May 13, 2013 8:31am PST

My Ducks

Updated: Apr 27, 2013 6:03am PST

Phy-chan : Her name is Phy. We call her Phy-chan.
She is ferret. She is precious family to us.

Yuji Hanamura (yujideveloper)

Her name is Phy. We call her Phy-chan. She is ferret. She is precious ...

Updated: Apr 14, 2013 6:22am PST

Pet Photos :

Updated: Apr 02, 2013 7:05pm PST

Pets :

Updated: Mar 23, 2013 6:29pm PST

Pets :

robertbowlinphotography

Updated: Mar 19, 2013 7:56pm PST

WWRC NOTRA 3-17-13 : ***When purchasing, during checkout, use the coupon code WWRC for 50% off your purchase.***

WWRC NOTRA 3-17-13

juliewardphotography

***When purchasing, during checkout, use the coupon code WWRC for 50% ...

Updated: Mar 17, 2013 5:32pm PST

pets :

Updated: Mar 04, 2013 5:18pm PST

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Kaylee at Rice - Feb 2004