Dogs of Difference on Thai Streets

A selection of street photographs of dogs from Thailand with some extreme contrasts in their lives. Some of these are true unowned street dogs earning their living through begging and scavenging, while for some of the others their paws will probably never be allowed to touch the street. Which style has the better life is open to debate.

One point of interest in Thailand is the rarity of leashes. Dogs are either free to roam or firmly held in hand or behind a door.

Sitting comfortably

For me, dogs seem to have an uncomfortable position in this country. The long history of unowned village dogs who have a close relationship to people but live unrestricted lives is getting over-taken by, and confused with, the largely imported ideal of keeping them as pets. The confusion leads to pets left to wander and a care-free attitude to abandonment. Emotionally, there is the full spectrum from deep love to intense hate of dogs with plenty of indifference in between.

Niche

And yet somehow they fit. The country is very visibly full of them and I find their lives fascinating. They have a range of niches which usually have both positive and negative aspects to them. They can be loved and provided for but very restricted, or the opposite with freedom to define their own days but a poor diet and poor health. But it actually seems to me that a surprising number of them have both freedom and a good quality of life.

Showtime

Holding and cuddling puppies is hard to resist, of course, I just hope these and others like them get the chance to explore the world by themselves at ground level sometimes.

Alien

This one (above) is sensibly not being given the chance to wander in a crowded street market but I bet it would love the chance to sniff my camera. The one below is probably a dog.

iDog

The sign says that this team of performing dogs is trying to raise money for looking after abandoned dogs. They look healthy and well-cared for but I'm not a fan of using animals for this kind of entertainment whatever the cause. One positive worth pointing out here is that being a group they will always have the chance to interact with their own kind and we shouldn't underestimate the value of that. But, still, seeing them like this makes me react like the dog below!

If you are going to use a dog to advertise a hair-dressers then I guess a poodle is a good choice but it looks like it's itching to get outside.

And talking of itching these three illustrate one of the problems of freedom. It could be fleas or mange, both of which do well wherever dogs live in high densities with no healthcare.

Synchronised scratching

And temples are the classic places for people to dump their unwanted pet knowing they will at least get some basic food. But the numbers of dogs at some temples becomes ridiculously high and disease runs rife. This is not the same as the typical situation with village dogs living in smaller numbers with more space.

Ornate mange

Dog pretending to be a cat

Most of the dumped dogs have not been sterilised so the mixed breeds end up producing a real motley bunch of mongrel puppies, which happens to be my favourite type of dog!

Muttley crew

I may be going against the tide here but I love having dogs on the street and am sorry to see the traditional way of dogs living in Thailand slowly getting edged out by the modern attitude that all dogs should be owned.

Against the flow

This dog below is what I am always happy to see. A healthy, unconstrained dog, comfortable around people and accepted by them as part of the community. Just looking for a small share of the respect and food on offer. In return they can give some affection of their own, clean away some of our waste and help keep our shared area safe.

No beggars here