"Yea, I Miss You Guys Too"

This is Barley, a 4 year old brownish dog who used to drift around the alleys and streets of Bangkok, but now lives in America. Barley was (and still is) one of the most popular individuals in the Bangkok street dog community, and still has a huge group of friends. Barley is not only a friendly dog, he's also an athletic one. And like my friends High Jumping Harry and Stretch, Barley used to apply his athleticism to help obtain food for his friends.

Barley's most legendary exploit was the time when he somehow managed to knock over the cart of a roasted chicken seller in a Chinatown market who wasn't paying attention. I don't know how Barley did it, he kind of just threw himself at the cart, and the thing toppled over, spilling several delectable roast chickens into the street, where they were summarily devoured by me and several other street dogs. Damn, that was a great day.

Barley, like Ricardo, another good friend of mine, was adopted by tourists when he was a pup, an event that whisked him away from the near-certainty of a hardscrabble life in the Thai capital. Now Barley lives with his family in San Francisco, California.

But Barley still misses his buddies back in Bangkok. And he's pictured here during one of his weekly marathon phone calls to his friends there. He just calls a pay phone down in the Silom district of Bangkok and a bunch of us dogs go down and pass the phone around and reminisce about the good old days.

Don't get me wrong -- Barley loves San Francisco -- but there is undeniably a piece of his heart that never really left Bangkok.

Introducing Sally

Hey everyone, I'd like you to meet Sally, a 2 year old female who's pictured here snoozing on a Sunday Bangkok morning at 6:45 a.m. Well, she's actually trying to pretend she's still asleep, when in reality, her mind is spinning like a hamster wheel. At this moment, life is spilling in on the fringes of Sally's consciousness, in the form of people and cars and motorcycles arriving to chase her out of the vacant market area and send her reluctantly into the day.

Sally is sick and tired of breathing in the constant stream of pollution emanating from vehicles in the Thai capital. She's holding out hope, however, that people will heed the words of His Majesty The King, who recently urged Thais to step up their use of biodiesel fuel in order to begin reducing the city's choking air pollution.

Sally isn't overly idealistic though. She's fully aware that changing peoples' habits and effecting environmental change are slow processes that require infinite patience. She plans to help further the cause herself by spreading the word in the Bangkok street dog community. As soon as she finishes this nap.

Ricardo the Art Aficonado

This is Ricardo, a brown 4 year old brownish hound who really looks nothing like any stray dog you'd encounter on the streets of Bangkok. And that's because Ricardo had the good fortune of being adopted when he was younger by an Italian family and brought back to their homeland. His story is testimony to the efforts of organizations both inside and outside Thailand that help street dogs find happy homes all over the world.

Since coming to live with a family on the outskirts of Florence, Italy, Ricardo has become a big art aficionado. And that's why he's pictured sulking in this photo. He enjoys visiting Florence's Uffizi Gallery, where many of the world's finest pieces of art are displayed. But he wishes that the reportedly large number of works at the Uffizi that remain stored away in back rooms, out of the gaze of the public, will someday be accessible. So that they may be treasured like the rest.

Ricardo hasn't been back to Thailand since being adopted, but his human family has, and they recently brought back several paintings that they purchased from local Bangkok artists at the Chatuchak Weekend Market. After seeing these paintings, Ricardo was very pleased to see that the engine of artistic creativity is alive and well in the city of his birth.

Introducing Monty

Meet Monty, a 1.5 year old black and white male who possesses a friendly, confident demeanor, despite his position as a Bangkok stray dog. Some might expect a dog that finds himself at the bottom of the social ladder would withdraw into a shell, or become bitter and angry, but Monty's not that type of dog. He's an upbeat fellow with a spirit of social awareness and activism, the type of character whose energy is positively contagious.

Recently, city officials investigated Bangkok's Pata Zoo after reports that the animals were being kept in less than acceptable conditions. Although the zoo passed the inspection, Monty was upset over the possibility that his animal brethren could be suffering.

So, he rounded up a bunch of other Bangkok strays, organized an effort to collect scraps of mango and other fine fruits sold at the Klong Toey market, and brought them to the animals in the zoo after closing one night. That's just the kind of guy he is.

Monty is also a big fan of the London-based World Society for the Protection of Animals, which announced plans in September to set up its Asian headquarters in Bangkok.

Monty isn't the kind of activist who carries the world on his shoulders, however. He believes that meaningful change as it applies to improving the lives of his fellow Bangkok street dogs doesn't necessarily have to happen quickly to be effective. But he does think it should be steady.

Introducing Julie the Entrepreneur

This is Julie, a black and white mutt that lives in the Chatuchak Weekend Market in northern Bangkok. She's zoning out, looking at the crowds of people walking by, from all over the world, and it's hot, and humid, and blazingly sunny, and you might even say the weather conditions aren't fit for a dog.

But there's great shopping here. Julie knows this, and she's contemplating just how powerful the draw of the market is. And she's trying to figure out how to capitalize on it by opening up her own business. Because that cart full of feather dusters to her right is just not the glamorous, hot item that shoppers are flocking to on this day.

But Julie has no business experience, which means she's jumping around from idea to idea - dog toys, liver flavored milkshakes, and tongue massages are a few of the ideas she's come up with -- but she has yet to come up a guaranteed moneymaker of an idea. Once that happens, Julie plans to open her own shop in the empty space upon which she's standing.

Introducing Sam

Meet Sam, a shy, 3 year old brown mutt who in this photo is seen lounging outside a shop in the Chinatown district of Bangkok. He's a quiet fellow, but there's a lot of thinking going on inside that canine cranium.

Sam has been sitting in front of the same shop in Chinatown since he was a pup, content to watch life pass by in the busy way it often does in that part of the capital. It's noisy, dusty, hot, and smoky sometimes, but it never seems to bother Sam or interrupt his thoughts.

If Sam looks a little forlorn here, that's because he just broke up with his girlfriend, Rosie, a 2 year old grayish mutt who I never liked much anyway. I wasn't surprised when she broke my buddy's heart, and I tried to warn him, but hey, sometimes the toughest lessons you have to learn all by yourself.

Anyway, I'm meeting up with Sam later and we're going to head out to the Klong Toey market to tip over a few trash cans and hopefully feast on whatever edible scraps we can find. I don't know of a better way to lift a friend's spirits than to snuffle through some fresh garbage together.

Introducing Rowdy Roger and His Pals

This jolly chap is Roger, an orange, fox-like 2 year old Bangkok street dog who loves running around with his buddies and getting into trouble, although the behavior is usually good natured and friendly. When other dogs get bored, they tend to lounge around and sweat and sleep, but Roger gets out there and explores the Thai capital. He's just real energetic that way.

In this photo, Roger and his pals were running around near the port in Klong Toey, in the southernmost part of Bangkok. They like to hang around and watch the cargo ships come in, and the dock workers sometimes throw them scraps of their lunches. The big prize, however -- and the real reason they like the docks at the port so much -- is that sometimes, large shipments of dog food come in from abroad. And they all dream of going to town on some gigantic shipment of kibbles and bits while there's no one watching!

Recently, Roger and his buddies were hanging out at the docks and saw the Heidleberg Express, a cargo ship out of Bremen, Germany, steam into port. According to the Bangkok Post, the ship was carrying several cargo containers of kibble. As the dogs gazed longingly at the dock workers unloading the containers, Roger and friends began drooling at the almost incomprehensible delights that could possibly lie inside.

But a strong moral compass, and cognizance of right and wrong, keeps Roger and his pals out of trouble. Although they probably could have hatched a scheme to steal some of the dog food, perhaps by distracting one of the dock workers with a staged dogfight, Roger and the boys instead reluctantly left the port and decided to go check out the scene in Lumpini Park.

Caught In The Act

I caught this sneaky little devil -- a good friend of mine -- catching a drink from a roadside noodle stand very close to the Queen Sirikit Center in Bangkok. She think's no one's watching, but she's wrong. But Bessie, a two year old white hound of mixed terrier/ridgeback heritage, can drink to her heart's content at this particular noodle shop, because the proprietors always leave a full bowl of fresh water out for her.

Bessie is thirsty because she's been chasing cats in the 95 degree F March heat. In Thailand this time of year, it gets so hot you can feel it in your soul, but that doesn't keep Bessie from engaging in her favorite pastime: Scaring the holy hell out of cats by chasing every one she sees on the streets of Bangkok.

It's pure sport to Bessie -- she's harmless -- but the cats don't usually stick around to verify that for themselves.

In fact, in this photo, Bessie had just sensed a cat passing by across the street, behind her. She's actually got very strong rearview radar, and about 10 seconds after I snapped this shot, was hot on the trail of a grayish brown stray cat. I could hear the sound of her howling and barking as she receded from view into the crowded Klong Toey market.

Later, as we sat and chatted together on a sidewalk in the humid night, Bessie recounted the story with a kind of childlike enthusiasm that made me smile.

Introducing Marco the Intellectual

Marco is a 5 year old white dog who doesn't bathe often, but still manages to maintain a large circle of close friendships with other street dogs in Bangkok. The secret to his popularity is the fact that he's a tough guy, a real bruiser, but also a bit of an intellectual as well.

This unique combination of brains and brawn means that Marco can hold his own in a variety of settings. He's just as comfortable taking part in a snarling junkyard dogfight as he is dropping by the local library for a Kafka reading. Marco's views on postmodernism have landed him in many a debate with local canine thought leaders, but somehow he always emerges from these discussions as the clear winner, leaving other pseudo-intellectual dogs to lick their wounds, so to speak.

Whenever I talk to Marco, I'm amazed by how he's able to get right to the truth that underlies all things. That's a tough thing to do when you're a street dog in Bangkok, and life's realities are mostly harsh. Most dogs prefer not to think too much, and we mostly live in the moment. Which isn't a bad way to get through the day, I guess.

But Marco's an old soul -- he sees that his predicament as a stray dog in a large city isn't as bad as it seems. Marco's friendships, and the knowledge he's built up over the years, prevent him from ever getting lonely out there on the dusty streets of the Thai capital.

Introducing Lenny

No, he's not an laughing hyena. But doesn't he kind of look like one?

Meet Lenny, a 5 year brown street dog of Chow Chow ancestry. He's pictured here sunning himself on the sidewalk of a busy city street, chuckling as he watches the madcap procession of people, motorcycles, cars, and trucks pass by. That crazy smile on his face causes people to give him a wide berth, but Lenny's one of the docile creatures on this earth.

The urban cacophony of Bangkok is deafening, but Lenny doesn't mind sitting and watching life go by. He loves just being out there on the streets, soaking it all in, laughing at the improbability of life. He also loves thinking about the interconnectedness of all things, and how, when its all said and done, and the sun has sunk below the Chao Praya river horizon for the last time, his molecules will mix with those of the cosmos.

Pondering such things is more than just a way for Lenny to get through the rough realities of being a street dog. Its a badge of belonging that he wears, one that that makes up for the collar he doesn't have around his neck - i.e. the one he would have if he had a home.

But you'll almost always see Lenny smiling if you happen to catch a glimpse of him someday. (Except when he's eating, because it's kind of hard to smile when you're eating without looking like a disgusting slob).

And that smile is Lenny's way of saying, "There are too many things to be happy about in this world."

Introducing Ronnie the Racer

This is my buddy Ronnie, she's a two year old light brownish mutt who loves to run, and spends most of her time training with sprints up and down the streets of Bangkok. She's developed a healthy enthusiam over the years for racing cars and buses, and more often than not she wins these races easily.

Ronnie is pictured here catching her breath after spending an afternoon doing wind sprints up and down Ratchadapisek Road on a humid, 95 degree day. She also loves going to the motorcycle races that take place all over the capital on Saturday nights, which are fueled by large numbers of bored young people looking for excitement. (Much as they are in the rest of the world, from what I hear).

Ronnie has yet to win one of her races with the motorcycles -- which is hardly surprising when one considers that the motorcycles often exceed speeds of 110 miles per hour -- but she regularly beats tuktuks and taxi meters whenever they challenge her.

In a city where every human and dog seems to be constantly running from one place to another, Ronnie has carved out a niche as Bangkok's premier canine sprinter. The 2008 Olympics are just around the corner and I wouldn't be surprised to see Ronnie bring home a few medals from Beijing.

Meet Vanity the Clothes Hound

Hey, I'd like you to meet my friend Vanity, who is in this photo engaging in one of her favorite pastimes: browsing a local market and shopping for clothes. Vanity is a three year old brown and white mutt who loves to shop and has a real nose for bargains, although some Bangkok store owners aren't exactly overjoyed when they see her rummaging through the clothing racks.

Just after I took the above photo, Vanity ended up buying the lime green blouse on the left, which I frankly think is a ghastly color. But, then again, I'm a guy with very little fashion sense, so what do I know?

In fact, Vanity once offered to help me with a wardrobe makeover, but I declined her offer because, well, I don't need anyone giving me advice on how to get ahead and score points in the game of romance, know what I mean?

She might not look like the cleanest dog in the world in these photos, but Vanity knows how to look her best when she attends local dog shows and other canine high society events in the Thai capital. She's always impeccably dressed and well coiffed, and there's usually a good looking male dog by her side.

As for me, Vanity and I tried dating once, but it didn't work out. We've still stayed pretty close though, and she loves telling me all the gory details from her nights out on the town. Which she has made me promise not to relate in this blog, for fear of cannibalizing sales of her upcoming book on the subject.

Introducing Hanging Chad

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to meet my buddy Chad, a 2 year old white mutt who in this photo appears somewhat brownish in color (he really needs a bath). We call him Hanging Chad because he's a slow paced guy who enjoys just hanging out, sitting and relaxing and watching life go by from spots all over Bangkok. He loves just hanging out, relaxing and not worrying about stuff.

In this photo, Chad is chilling out in a shady spot in a vacant lot off Sukhumvit Soi 22, and ruminating on philosphical subjects, one of his favorite pastimes. Chad also likes to sit along busy, traffic-choked streets in Bangkok and think, and sometimes even sits in the road itself, believing that the noise and chaos actually help clarify his thoughts. Chad once tried to climb a tree in Lumpini Park in order to meditate among its leafy upper reaches, but slipped and fell, landing on his head. However, Chad said the mishap -- and the ensuing concussion -- enabled his to reach parts of his inner psyche that he'd previously been able to reach only while asleep.

Chad has a very accepting outlook toward life, and he once told me that despite the hardship that many Bangkok street dogs experience in their lives, he feels it's much better to be a dog than to be some sort of horrid creature like a beetle, rat, or a cockroach. And that's how Chad manages to keep a smile on his face during the rough times. He's one of the most stable and truly happy hounds I've come across.

My friends have always thought he was a nutcase, but Chad is just a free spirit who does things his own way -- and makes no apologies for being different from the pack.

Introducing Flash

Meet Flash, a three year old white poodle-mix who hates having her picture taken and was in the process of beating a hasty retreat when I snapped this photo the other day near a bus stop in the Victory Monument neighborhood. She's an extremely fast dog, and I've never been able to take a photo of her, but we're actually pretty good friends.

Flash hates having her photo taken because she believes that each snapshot takes away part of her soul -- a belief she shares with the Aborginal cultures of Australia and the South Pacific. Although she's pretty relaxed when no one is pointing a camera at her, Flash's skittishness keeps her from hanging out in touristy areas like the Grand Palace and Khao San Road.

Being one of the fastest dogs in Bangkok has its advantages though. For example, Flash has a habit of teasing bully dogs that cause problems for her friends, and being able to outrun these angry hounds after insulting them keeps her from being devoured. One time I myself was cornered by a couple of mangy bullies in a dark alley, and Flash bailed me out using this very tactic.

"Hey morons, a thousand baht says you can't catch me!" Flash shouted to the bullies, who immediately gave chase. Flash led them through a maze of back alleys and around a corner onto a main street -- and into the open doors of a Bangkok municipal dog catcher's van. She's a good friend.

Butch the Political Activist

One of the most widely overlooked side stories of the recent Thai election was the crusade of Butch, a 4 year old grayish street dog who staged a peaceful 6-day protest in the bus lane opposite Bangkok's Klong Toey market. Butch's sit-in was aimed at securing better representation for street dog interests, and although it ultimately didn't succeed from a political standpoint, his campaign did gain exposure for some important issues.

The main issues of Butch's campaign were the creation of tax breaks for Bangkok citizens who leave food scraps for street dogs outside their doorsteps, and municipal bonuses for street vendors to provide fresh drinking water for passing strays. In a moving display of commitment to his cause, Butch laid in the street and endured the heat, exhaust fumes, and blaring horns from angry drivers. Although no new laws were added to the books to protect street dogs, Butch told me he's confident that in the next election, things might turn out differently.

Butch won't tell me what he's got in store for his next protest, but whatever it is, the dedication of this up and coming figure in the Bangkok political scene is sure to amaze.

Introducing High-Jumping Harry

There are some Bangkok street dogs who gaze wistfully at food opportunities on the other side of a metal fence, and others, like my buddy Harry, who actually do something about it.

Harry, a two year old brown mutt of mixed Greyhound, Alsatian, and Bull Mastiff ancestry, is pictured here contemplating how to scale a fence outside a seafood restaurant in the city's Asoke district. This muscular hound has the ability to leap even higher than my friend Stretch, which means he can get over many of the barriers humans put up to keep us street dogs out of places where food is stored and tasty garbage is collected.

About 30 seconds after this photo was taken, Harry had jumped over the fence, grabbed a plastic bag full of crab and prawn remnants, and jumped back over, before anyone except a few amazed pedestrians had even realized what was going on. The best part about Harry is, he loves to share the spoils of his raids -- as long as you listen to his war stories about previous "missions", as he calls them.

Hey, I don't mind listening to a few self-aggrandizing tales if it means getting to dive into a smelly bag of seafood scraps!

Introducing Lai Fu

This is my friend Lai Fu in her usual posture: Laying around moping and worrying about the future and the fate of the world.

In this photo, Lai Fu, a six year old black poodle who lives in the Sukhumvit Soi 101 area, is wondering -- and worrying -- about who will prevail in Thailand's upcoming election to be held April 2. For the next few hours after this photo was taken, Lai Fu nervously pondered the effects the outcome that the snap election called last week by the Thai Prime Minister might have on the future of press freedom in her country.

But Lai Fu doesn't just worry about complicated matters: She worries about the small stuff as well. For example, the other day Lai Fu spent 45 minutes worrying if her paws were dirty after walking through the grimy local market in search of food scraps. Later, after finding a fresh pile of garbage and feasting on it, Lai Fu worried about developing high cholesterol from eating too many fatty foods.

Lai Fu's friends have tried to get her to relax and enjoy life more, but when we tell her not to worry so much, Lai Fu asks "Oh my, perhaps I have been worrying too much and will soon have a heart attack!"

Introducing Rocky the Bus Cleaner

Bangkok's municipal buses ferry hundreds of passengers every day, and by the time they pull up at the bus depot at the end of the day after lurching back and forth through the crowded city streets, these vehicles are usually awash in crumbs and sticky drink spills. Although there are city employees whose job it is to clean these buses, they're unable to reach all the nooks and crannies in a bus, which over time leads to a quick buildup of gnarly grime.

Rocky, an enterprising two year old black mutt who lives around the Victory Monument area (along with dozens of other street dogs), used to always sneak into the open doors of buses when they pulled up at the local depot, in order to lick the sugary spills and crumbs from off the bus floor. He’d wait until the drivers opened the doors to air the buses out, and then bolt with cheetah-like speed into the empty vehicles for a feast. He's pictured here with a bone from the spoils of one of his daring daylight raids.

One day about six months ago, an entourage of city officials was touring the area, followed Rocky as he snuck onto a bus, and watched him scour the floors with his toungue until the bus was spotless. Instead of scolding Rocky (as many bus drivers had done when they'd caught him in the act), the officials immediately offered Rocky a job as a city bus cleaner. Since then, Rocky has won the municipality's Employee of the Month three times, and his comprehensive cleaning style has become the model for other, human bus cleaners to emulate.

Introducing Chester: Raconteur Extraordinaire

My good friend Chester, who lives on Silom Road near the Chao Phraya river, is a bit camera shy, and always starts whining whenever someone points at camera at him. "Get that damn camera out of my face, will ya?" is his usual plea.

But once you get past that shyness, Chester's a fun dog to hang out with. He's an exceptionally gifted storyteller who likes to embellish his tales with sensational details.

One of Chester's favorite stories is about the time he caused a miscreant mongrel that had been bullying the local street community to lose face. This bully, who went by the nickname of Jaws, would always drop by with several of his mangy mates to steal food and terrorize any dog that was unfortunate to get in their way.

But one day, when the bullies showed up and demanded food, Chester was ready for them. The previous night, he'd found some scraps in the trash and managed to cobble together a chicken pie. Then, he found some prik kee noo -- the ferociously hot chili peppers used in a variety of Thai dishes -- and ground them up and incorporated them invisibly into the pie.

Anyway, when Chester presented the pie, Jaws immediately dove into it, finishing the whole thing in about 6 seconds. But then, the chilis started kicking in, and before long, Jaws was reduced to a howling, squealing shell of his usual bully self. As he lay on the ground writhing in pain, me and the rest of Chester's buddies erupted in laughter, and Jaws' mates ran off with their disgraced leader in tow.

The moral of this story is: Don't mess with guys like Chester -- it's the nice guys like him that you have to watch out for if you ever get on their bad side.

The Story of Doleful Danielle

Bangkok has a lot of traffic jams. A lot less than there used to be, but people still spend lots of time in their cars, waiting for traffic lights to change. That spells opportunity for enterprising street dogs like Doleful Danielle, who earned her nickname by pulling sad faces and soliciting change and food scraps from sympathetic motorists. She's pictured here working the intersection of Asok and Sukhumvit during the evening rush hour.
Danielle is quite good at her craft, and regularly pulls in more cash than any other street dog. But she's smart about her success: Instead of blowing her earnings on frivolous expenditures and fancy meals, Danielle decided to join a gym, to keep in shape and enable her to maintain the level of athleticism needed to dart in and out of traffic while collecting coins. One look at those rippling muscles and perfect physique tells you all you need to know about Danielle's commitment to fitness.

Her plan is to work a few more years, make some investments, and then start channeling the fruits of her successes back into the Bangkok street community. She's going to give lessons on how to really work the sympathy angle with motorists, thereby sharing her natural talents and helping other dogs to leverage their own innate skills.

Inertia Creeps

Yeah, I know: I've been very lame by not posting for the last several months. I offer no excuses, although I did spend a couple of weeks during the past five months in Bangkok, where I took dozens of new photos for this blog. So despite me being a total slacker of late, the good news is there will be lots and lots of new photos posted soon.

I met a lot of new dogs while I was in Bangkok - even got chased once. I was taking a sleeping older dog's photo as he slept underneath a highway overpass on Ratchadapisek Road near the Klong Toey market, and the camera flash apparently woke him up. He woke with a start and then rose to his feet, growling in a low, guttural tone that convinced me to quickly hightail it out of there.

Anyway, apologies for the lack of posts in recent months. Inactivity has a way of creeping into the mind and settling in the bones. I'm back now though -- bear with me while I shake off the rust, please.

Introducing Gentle Joe

This is Gentle Joe, a 4 year old scraggly sheepdog-type of dog who hangs out mostly near Siam Square. He is normally found lounging on the cool stone walkways outside the area's many shopping malls, where the occasional breeze from within the shopping emporiums will blow out some welcome frosty air.

As a matter of fact, this may be why Gentle Joe is such a calm, cool character. Unlike other Bangkok street dogs, who will fight over the slightest trangression (perceived or real), Joe doesn't get involved in the snarling sidewalk brawls that greatly tarnish the reputation of street dogs due to their noise and general viciousness. Instead, Joe takes in the world at a very leisurely pace, and is usually content to sit gaze as the world passes by.

"My view is, why should I get involved in these silly dog street fights?" Joe once told me. "It's already way too hot out here during the day and also at night. Energy is in limited supply, and I prefer to use mine in more, shall we say, productive ways."

Introducing Bruno the Heckler

Bruno, a two year old brown and black mutt who hangs out near the lake at the Tobacco Monopoly of Thailand on Ratchadapisek Road, is the Official Heckler of the Bangkok street dog community. His favorite activity -- and one that takes up most of his energies -- is sitting alongside busy roads and sidewalks and making cutting remarks about other dogs that pass by.

Part of the reason why Bruno is such a verbal bully is that he's very self-conscious about his looks -- I mean, let's face it, he's not going to win any contests for handsomeness. In fact, Bruno's mom was actually not a dog, but a hyena! She escaped from the Bangkok zoo in July 2003 and led animal control experts on a wild chase around the city, apparently finding enough time to become pregnant before she was captured. Bruno endured a lot of teasing growing up, which is probably why he became such an insufferable nuisance!

Bruno aims his invective at both street dogs and dogs with owners. He particularly loathes small, fancily-coiffed dogs such as poodles and terriers, and he becomes extremely agitated whenever he sees one. Just after I took this photo, Bruno noticed a well-groomed Chihuahua yapping noisily at him out of the closed window of a passing Mercedes, and erupted with a staccato burst of unrepeatable insults. "Hey tough guy, why don't you come over here and bark in my face?" laughed Bruno, his voice dripping with derision. "I've eaten breakfasts bigger than you, you little fluff-ball!"

Introducing Jim the Canine Saint

(Many thanks to William McLay for use of this photo)

Life for a street dog in Bangkok is no picnic. Nor is it a walk in the park. In fact, you can pretty much plug in any cliche for something enjoyable, and a Bangkok street dog's life will not resemble it.

Although there are some kind human souls in the city who regularly give stray dogs water and leftover scraps of food, and allow stray dogs to hang out in front of their homes, the canine competition for limited resources is quite fierce. As a result, Bangkok street dogs have to look out for themselves, because for the most part, they face the world alone.

However, there are some selfless (and clever) canines who have taken it upon themselves to do whatever they can to help their street dog brethren. Jim, an extremely intelligent, crafty 5 year old street dog of Alsatian ancestry, is one of these special souls. He is seen here using his talents to collect spare change from pedestrians on an elevated walkway near Bangkok's Victory Monument.

Jim was once one of Thailand’s most sought after canine actors, and appeared in dozens of television commercials, for products such as dog food, pet shampoo, and allergy medicine. However, around the time of his third birthday, Jim began to take a long, hard look at his life and decided he was not doing enough to help others. So, Jim decided to leave his family home and set out to raise money to help the cause of his fellow Bangkok canines.

Jim’s most effective fund-raising method is to dress up in ragged clothing and gaze up with mournful puppy dog eyes at pedestrians on elevated walkways and sidewalks all over Bangkok. Few passersby can resist dropping a few coins in his collection bowl. At the end of each day, Jim donates the money he has collected to organizations that help street dogs in Thailand, such as Soi Dog Rescue, Dogchance, Hua Hin Dog Rescue Center, Soi Dog Foundation, and others.

Jim is an inspirational example of a dog who changed the path of his very comfortable life specifically so that he could use his abilities as an actor to help others. “Although the financial rewards from my acting career were great, the rewards I have gained from helping other dogs are far greater,” says Jim.

The world could use more souls like him.

Francine the Stress Relaxation Expert

The street level sounds of Bangkok have to be heard to be believed. The traffic (when it’s actually moving) generates quite a din, with vehicles of all shapes and sizes -- motorcycles, tuk-tuks, pickup trucks, 18-wheelers -- all competing for space in a vicious motorized ballet staged daily on the narrow city streets. Making matters worse is the constant noise of construction taking place all over the Thai capital -- jackhammers, welders, cranes, cement mixers, etc. -- that combines with the traffic sounds in a continuous assault on the eardrums of man and beast.

If you're a Bangkok street dog who spends his or her days awash in this cacophonous chaos, oftentimes all you want to do is curl up in a ball, shut your eyes, and try to just keep the noise from intruding on the inner areas of your psyche. In this photo, Francine -- a four year old brown mutt who lives in the Saphan Kwai section of the city -- appears to be doing just that by having a nap. But actually, Francine is not sleeping at all – she’s meditating.

You see, Francine is a experienced practitioner of Zen meditation, which she uses to achieve a deep state of relaxation that enables her to block out the noises of her street environment. In this photo, Francine is in a deep meditative state despite being curled up in the middle of a busy sidewalk brimming with pedestrians, fruit sellers, and other dogs. Her breathing, pulse, circulation, and metabolism have all slowed dramatically, and her mind is completely at rest. She may appear to be asleep, but in fact she could not be more awake.

Meditation has enabled Francine to maintain a calm and positive outlook on life as a Bangkok street dog, and she has recently been talking about opening a meditation school to share her knowledge and technique with other homeless hounds. I’m thinking about trying it, as my nerves have been kind of frazzled lately by the tuk-tuk army that goes whizzing by my area every night. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Jake: On the Road to Better Days

Jake the Tuk-Tuk Driver (formerly Jake the Party Hound) waits for a fare outside the Hualamphong train station.


Well, I have good news to report about a troubled Bangkok street dog who appears to have worked out his issues and improved his outlook! The last time I profiled Jake the Party Hound, he was passed out in the back of a tuk-tuk after a night of alcohol-fueled debauchery. Earlier, when I first introduced Jake on this blog -- with a photo of him sleeping off a wicked hangover -- some folks actually thought it was a dead dog lying on the sidewalk!

I'm happy to report that since then, Jake has eschewed the hedonistic lifestyle and adopted a much more stable outlook towards life in general. And, in a wonderful stroke of irony, Jake has been gainfully employed for the past six weeks -- as a tuk-tuk driver! The friendly fellow is pictured here waiting for a fare outside of Hualamphong train station, a high-traffic area that's bustling with locals and tourists in need of transportation. Tourists in particular enjoy riding with Jake because he never cheats them and always provides a running commentary on sights around town as well as current events in the news.

Jake tells me that one of his favorite things about driving a tuk-tuk in Bangkok is that you get to meet a fascinating array of passengers who provide a cross-section of society that's available in few other occupations. According to Jake, sometimes the passengers exhibit bizarre behavior, like the American tourist who climbed onto the roof of Jake's tuk-tuk while they were traveling at a high rate of speed down Ratchadamnoen Avenue.

Other passengers have brought along some rather unusual cargo: One elderly Thai woman purchased a King Cobra at Chatuchak Weekend Market, only to have it slither out of her bag and coil itself around Jake's leg during the trip home! Luckily for Jake, the cobra had recently been milked of its venom, and wasn't in the mood to attack. (Nonetheless, Jake subsequently declared his vehicle a "No Reptiles" zone!)

I told Jake that he should think about starting his own blog detailing the behavior of his passengers -- until he does, I'll continue posting his updates here. In any event, I am very happy to see Jake doing well and headed in a better direction.

The Story of How Joe Found a Home

Joe, a three year brown mutt with distant German Shepherd ancestry, isn't really a street dog per se. Although he used to roam the area around Sukhumvit Soi 81, Joe was actually 'adopted' by a family about six months ago, and now spends much of his time living within the walls of their comfortable, happy home. He's pictured here getting a vigorous (and much-needed) scrubdown from his owner, Pi Dang.

Joe's story is one of a down-and-out street dog who had the very good fortune to be in the right place at the right time. Joe used to be a real nuisance in the Soi 81 neighborhood, and used to hang out with some pretty rough dogs who would often engage in vicious street brawls late at night. The resulting noise -- a horrific cacophony of snarling and shrieking -- would often wake up residents of the otherwise quiet neighborhood.

One night, after Pi Dang's wife and three daughters were woken up at 4:30 a.m. by a particularly nasty dogfight just outside their doorstep, an enraged Pi Dang came down with a cannister of pepper spray to dispense some vigilante justice to the still-battling hounds. But just as he was about to mace the dogs, Pi Dang's daughter, watching from an upstairs window, cried out "Wait, Dad, that dog right there (pointing at Joe) -- he's cute! Can we keep him?"

Pi Dang looked at Joe, looked back at his daughter, sighed, and took his finger off the trigger. The street dogs all ran away, except for Joe, who came trotting slowly over to Pi Dang, with a friendly, sheepish posture, as if to say "Sorry for all the noise, man."

The rest, as they say, is history. Joe is now a much loved member of Pi Dang's family, and although he has to endure the occasional bath, he tells me that its well worth it to be off the streets and in a real home. Although Joe's story is unusual, it does give the rest of us Bangkok street dogs hope that somewhere out there, in the endless eternal city, there's a family for us.

Introducing Samantha

Ladies and gentlemen, behold the face of youthful canine disappointment. This is my friend Samantha, a hyperactive 8 month old pup who lives with her mother near the Landmark Hotel on Sukhumvit Road. Samantha is sad because her mom (seen in the background) won't let her go out and play with her Bangkok street dog pals. That's why in this photo, Sam's mournful expression and furrowed brow make it seem, to the viewer at least, like her world is about to end.

Now, before you go getting all teary-eyed at this poor pup's plight, you should know that Sam's mom has many good reasons to punish her! Youth sometimes has an intoxicating effect (on both humans and animals) and the rebellious Samantha has been going through a stretch of behavior that has been, well, less than exemplary. For example, Sam has recently developed a penchant for digging, barking loudly at passing cars, and stealing ice cream cones from small children.

After her last transgression, in which Sam absconded with a 2 year old girl's cone of chocolate chip ice cream, Sam's mom decided enough was enough, and grounded her. And that means Sam was unable to join us for a roam down to the Chao Praya River when I took this photo. Her whining could be heard all the way down Sukhumvit Road!

Actually, I have to agree with Sam's mom on this punishment -- I mean, I'm all for being opportunistic, but you can't just take a kid's ice cream cone away from him/her. That kind of behavior has a way of coming back to bite you.

Re-introducing Casanova (the author of this blog)

If you haven't already seen my welcome message from a few months ago, you're probably wondering about the dog behind this blog, and why I started it. Well, my name is Casanova, and I'm a 3 year old male dog of extremely mixed heritage who lives near the Klong Toey market in Bangkok, Thailand. Over the past couple of months, I've used this blog to highlight the life and times of some of my closest pals in the Bangkok street dog community. Now it's time for you to learn some more about me!

Despite my extreme good looks -- as evidenced in the photo collage above, which I have put together to convey every nuance of my rugged, yet handsome visage -- I am still a pretty down-to-earth dog. My personality is simple and loyal, as my legions of street dog friends can attest. I would do anything for a friend in a time of need, and am confident that my friends would return the favor. And that's what it's all about when you're a dog roaming the lonely, dusty streets of Bangkok.

How many of us street dogs roam the capital's streets? No one really knows, but the newspapers estimate anywhere from 100-300,000. As I mentioned before, Thailand's Buddhist influence means they don't round us street dogs up and put us to sleep on a regular basis. However, some pretty hideous things do happen to me and my brothers and sisters, and many of us do carry dangerous diseases such as rabies. I started this blog not to gloss over or ignore these harsh realities, but to give us dogs a voice, and hopefully, portray us in a positive light.

I'm not asking you humans to pretend like the problems we cause don't exist, I just want you to realize that most of us dogs are pretty kind-hearted creatures. Also keep in mind that no other animal is as closely aligned with humans as dogs are - it's a fact. Unless you count dolphins or killer whales, but it's not like they can guard your house if a burglar breaks in, know what I mean? And they're not exactly cuddly either.

Anyway... I'm Casanova and I hope you enjoy my blog.

Introducing Donny Daredevil

For most street dogs, surviving in Bangkok is a day-to-day struggle in which dangers -- in the form of speeding cars and motorcycles, predatory fellow street dogs, disease, and poisoning by heartless humans, to name a few -- lurk around every corner. You might assume, then, that the chaotic life of a city stray would be anything but boring. And that's true for most dogs -- except for a crazy 4 year old white-haired mutt known on the street as Donny Daredevil.

The thrill-seeking Donny, who lives near Bangkok's Grand Palace, loves to play street games in which he risks life and limb -- and the gnashing teeth of Bangkok's mind-boggling array of vehicles are all too happy to oblige. He's seen here playing his favorite game -- called "Pancake" -- which consists of Donny positioning his tail in the roadway and then moving it out of the way just as a car is about to run over it, while of course managing to avoid getting run over himself.

Donny always gets this maniacal, glassy-eyed grin on his face after he has played this game for a few hours, after which his friends will team up to drag him to the safety of the sidewalk. He actually used to play Pancake using his front legs, but on one unfortunate occasion he was too slow to remove his left front paw, and it was severed by a passing cement truck. Luckily, a fellow street dog knew someone who knew someone in the emergency room at Bangkok General Hospital, and this doctor was able to re-attach Donny's left front paw -- although it's not completely straight, as you can tell from the photo.

Introducing Chops

Yeah, I know what you're thinking: This is one terrifying and ugly hound, who actually looks a lot like a canine version of Hannibal Lecter. But, as they say, appearances can be deceiving. That's not a muzzle around the snout of Chops, a 2 1/2 year old terrier/mastiff mix who lives near a small market in Bangkok's Din Daeng district -- it's actually an orthodontic harness that works in conjunction with dental braces to straighten his teeth.

Yes, you heard that right: Chops wears braces. Because for most of his life, Chops has sported a smile that could best be compared to that of a smashed Halloween jack-o-lantern, with gnarled, twisted teeth going every which way, giving him a rather frightening and vicious appearance.

As a result of his scary grill, Chops hasn't exactly been popular with the female dogs. In fact, he can't even get a phone number when he goes out to clubs. And that's a shame, because Chops is actually quite a kind, gentle dog who just wants to be appreciated by the opposite sex.

So badly does the romance-minded Chops desire a beautiful smile with straight, pearly white teeth that he's willing to not only endure the physical discomfort of the braces and the harness, but also the ridicule that is rained down on him by many other (heartless) members of the Bangkok street dog community. These mangy hounds may think it's funny that Chops is trying to improve his looks, but they probably won't be laughing when the braces come off and he is transformed into the most handsome dog in Bangkok (except for me, of course).

Jake the Party Hound's Wild Night

You may recall my earlier profile of Jake, a perpetually unkempt 4 year old white male carousing canine who doesn't really care about much except for partying and ingesting massive quantities of whatever alcohol he can find. After seeing my blog entry about him, Jake told me he was a little freaked out and was going to chill out for a while and get some much-needed rest. Well, unfortunately it looks like Jake has fallen back into his old routine, going out every night with the kind of reckless abandon and feverish intensity one usually sees only when the nuclear bombs are raining down and Armageddon is imminent.

Jake’s latest drunken episode took place last Thursday night on Silom Road, where he went to check out the scene at the Patpong Night Market. With all its bright lights and delicious aromas from streetside food vendors, Bangkok’s Silom district provides a rich sensory environment for street dogs that like the feel of a big city, and the Night Market provides ample cover for dogs to sneak around and forage for scraps of food on the grimy sidewalks and in the gutters.

Jake, however, loves the Night Market for a different reason. The Night Market vendors selling t-shirts, watches, and cassettes will often drink whiskey while they're waiting for customers, and Jake has developed a system in which he’ll wait until a vendor is distracted and then swoop in and gulp down whatever's left in their glass. Last Thursday night, Jake was able to steal four drinks in about 15 minutes using this tactic. Naturally, he quickly became a stumbling mess. But while most dogs would know when to stop, Jake just kept soldiering on through the market in search of more unattended whiskey.

Finally, Jake came upon a full glass that, unbeknownst to him, contained straight Sangthip whiskey, which is not the greatest tasting stuff around but definitely packs a wallop. He told me the last thing he remembers is chugging the whole glass, staggering around, making a romantic overture to a nearby garbage can, and then passing out on the street. The next morning (as pictured above) Jake woke up in the back of a tuk-tuk with a devastating hangover and several new (and painful) scratches all over his booze-battered body.

Jake reckons that after he passed out, someone took pity on him in his drunken state and tried to send him home. Although grateful for the Good Samaritan's gesture, the next day Jake was in no mood to look at the bright side of anything. "I’m never drinking again, man – NEVER."

Introducing Sandy the personal trainer

Sandy, a 4 year old tan and white spotted mix of several different breeds, is an inspirational example of a former Bangkok stray dog who managed to find a way off the streets and into a better life. On the strength of her impressive swimming ability and overall athleticism, Sandy was recently hired as a personal trainer at a special new pool for stray dogs with arthritic conditions that will open in Bangkok this week.

The Suvarnachad Canine Pool is a project initiated by His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who, as I mentioned in an earlier post, is a big supporter of Bangkok street dogs. Located at Bangkok’s Kasetsart University, the pool is named after His Majesty's pet dog Thongdaeng, who is himself a former street dog.

The pool will have two sections: one for healthy dogs to exercise, the other for suffering dogs to undergo physical therapy. And that's where Sandy comes in. She'll be working as a personal trainer providing therapy to the sickly street dogs, coaching and helping to push along their swimming exercises to help them gain maximum healing effect.

It's a high profile job, and a far cry from Sandy's humble beginnings as a pup wandering the crowded, dusty Chatuchak Weekend Market in northern Bangkok. "I was lucky to find a way off the streets and into a higher position in society," explains Sandy. "Now, I just want to give something back to my street dog brothers and sisters."

Introducing Gramps: Street Dog Patriarch

Nowhere is the intense grind of a life spent scrounging out a living on the streets of Bangkok more apparent than on a stray dog's face, many of which bear scrapes and scars from past brawls and wrinkles from the tropical heat and sunlight. Street dogs aren't known for their longevity either -- in fact, you may have noticed that none of the dogs I've profiled previously are older that four or five years of age. Even if they don't fall victim to the fast-moving traffic on Bangkok's notoriously crowded roadways, stray dogs oftentimes succumb to disease, other predatory dogs, or worse, to malevolent humans.

That's what makes Gramps, a ten year old skinny brown mutt who hangs out near Wat Po, such an unusual study. Gramps has seen Bangkok change dramatically during his decade on the streets, and although he's not getting around so well these days, and his eyesight is failing, he's always eager to tell a story or two about the old days.

One of Gramps' favorite horror stories is about the chaos that gripped the street dog community in early 1997, when the city began construction on the BTS Skytrain system. "One minute, I was snoozing peacefully on the sidewalk, and the next, my reverie was smashed apart by the appearance of the gigantic, noisy construction machines," he laments. "My afternoon naps were never the same after that."

But not all his memories are bad ones. Gramps told me his favorite memory is of the year 1995, when he was just a puppy. He's a huge rock music fan, and that year an unprecedented number of high profile bands came to Bangkok to perform. Gramps used to be quite the athlete in his youth, and he was able to use his quickness and elusiveness to slip past security and gain access to several concerts all over the city that year. "I got to see the Beastie Boys, Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, Phil Collins, and even Michael Jackson," explains Gramps, with obvious excitement.

But then, his smile fades and he becomes melancholy. "It's a shame what's happened to Michael... I can't imagine he would do such awful things," says Gramps.

Introducing Bruiser the Bully

So far in this blog, most of the dogs I've profiled have been either friends of mine, or friends-of-friends. Well, I'm going to break with tradition here and introduce you to Bruiser, a nasty bully of a dog who has a well-earned reputation for causing trouble wherever he goes. This 3 year old mutt from the wrong side of the tracks just oozes aggressive canine machismo, and he backs up his trash talk with a tenacious fighting ability acquired during the almost daily brawls he instigates with dogs all over the city.

All a dog needs to do to provoke Bruiser is to make eye contact. While I was taking the above photo the other day, Bruiser was already growling and making threatening overtures, even though I had my buddy Spike (a.k.a. "The Enforcer", whom I profiled in an earlier blog entry) with me as a bodyguard. Spike's not one to back down from a challenge, and the two dogs quickly became engaged in a classic canine staredown, with hackles raised and teeth bared. The air was electric, and a crowd of street dog onlookers quickly converged on the scene.

Then Spike said "Hey Bruiser, aren't you afraid of getting your little booties dirty?" -- a reference to Bruiser's white paws, which look oddly cute and out of place on such a mean-looking dog. Bruiser immediately lunged forward with a ferocious snarling attack, and the fight was on. Now, Spike is a much larger dog than Bruiser, but in a dogfight, anything goes, and the two battled on for several minutes without the emergence of a clear victor. Eventually though, Spike managed to wear down Bruiser with his superior endurance, and forced the bully to flee. Bruiser ran a few hundred meters, and then looked back at Spike with an expression that said "I'll get you back, just you wait."

It seems kind of strange and stupid to me for a dog like Bruiser to be so aggressive and want to fight everyone all the time. I chalk it up to excessive macho energy and an inflated self-image -- a potent combination that has led to the downfall of many a man and beast.