Bangkok Street Dogs

A place to learn about the lives of street dogs in Bangkok, Thailand, with emphasis on the individual characters of the Bangkok street dog community and their stories of hardship and humor.

View Casanova's Welcome Message

Sunday, January 02, 2005

A welcome from Casanova

casanova

Hello, and welcome to Bangkok Street Dogs, my first foray into the blogging world (I abhor the term 'blogosphere'). My name is Casanova, and I'm a 3 year old male mongrel who lives near the Klong Toey market in Bangkok, Thailand. The purpose of this blog is to document the lives of several prominent characters of the Bangkok Street Dog community.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Thailand and its capital, Bangkok, let me provide you with some background. Thailand, as a Buddhist country, does not believe that stray animals should be rounded up and put to sleep. It does happen, but not with the same sad frequency as in other countries. And that means that the streets of Bangkok, and other Thai cities, are teeming with large communities of homeless hounds.

Although we're happy just to be alive, life in Bangkok is tough for us street dogs. We oftentimes live in unkempt, filthy conditions - you might even say that most places we sleep aren't fit for a dog! But amidst the squalor, I can tell you that great things do emerge from our community. Great characters are constantly developing and standing up for themselves against all odds. Survival instincts take over and carry us through the sometimes difficult conditions.

In short... us Bangkok street dogs may be poor, wretched, and desperate, but we do have each other, and telling our stories is therapeutic for our lonely souls. We also have the love and support of Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is a dog lover and has adopted a former street dog named Thongdaeng.

With me as your guide, this blog will serve as a place to meet members of Bangkok's street dog community, and hear their anecdotes. In reading my posts, you'll get a keen sense of the challenges Bangkok street dogs face, and perhaps better appreciate their ability to stay positive during all the hot, dusty days and hungry nights spent scraping out a living in the Thai capital.

Sincerely
Casanova

36 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you Casanova! Your blog has touched my life. I feel like I know you and we are continents apart! I can tell you are such a brave dog and any humans who come in to contact with you must surely be amazed by your inner beauty.

10:15 PM  
Blogger genine said...

Hey there!

Hahaha, i like all the pictures of err.. ur fellow bangkok dogs..

pretty cool.. and sad at the same time. :)

Tana

11:05 PM  
Blogger CountRemo said...

The plight of these canines has turned the blind eye of the society..gone unheeded!! There will come a time when a dreadful pandemic like 'bird flu' will emanate from canines and death toll rises among humans.

2:23 AM  
Blogger Brad said...

Love this site. Good on you!

10:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh...these photo's break my heart. What can we do to help these precious loving animals?

7:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This site is amazing, and I know I'll be returning frequently. It is touching to know that someone is out there looking out for animals. I love this site, and thank you for making me smile and feel warm.

7:23 PM  
Blogger Lenity said...

I love your site! I just happened to stumble across it and ended up linking to it from my site. I'll be visiting Thailand for the month of July on a mission trip and hope to meet some of these friends there. Thanks!

p.s. I went to check out the link to "Thongdaeng", but it was broken.

9:37 PM  
Blogger Casanova said...

Hi Wendie, sorry about the broken link, here is a link from the BBC about Thongdaeng: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2515203.stm

10:04 PM  
Blogger saba said...

Amazing blog :) You turned a boring day at work into an inspirational one.

1:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like your site. Is really an eye opener for a lot of people. But at the same time, there are a lot of hungry and poor people out there in Bangkok. Sometimes it make me wonder whether to feed the hungry humans first or the starving animals. What do you think?

9:52 AM  
Blogger Yip said...

I am a flowing RIVER and I say: "Great work, er.. dog. Finally, we hear direct form the dog's mouth. No more we human think, dog should be like this or like that. Let the dogs do waht they want. "

8:55 PM  
Blogger S* said...

Hello and welcome Casanova. It is great to see you introducing humans to you and your furry friends. Without your blog, we would perhaps have forgotten about you guys

6:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

bankok has so many dogs in street. it is quiet different from us.

7:27 AM  
Blogger The General said...

Cassanova, several years ago the General had an opportunity to travel to Thailand for several weeks. During that time, I noticed the many street dogs living in Bangkok and Thailand other major cities. I'm heartened to see a site finally calling attention to these tragic, yet couragous animals.

4:30 PM  
Blogger samiam said...

Great site- I have been there and loved the country as well as the city- mixed feelings on the dogs- ture, they are homeless and roaming around, but they are alive as opposed to being rounded up and.... sad situation. Great site- keep up the good work little Mr. Casanova! :)

9:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've been all over Thailand & sympathize with the plight of the street dog. You are all beautiful creatures of god, live long & prosper !!!

12:44 PM  
Blogger Sheila said...

The number 1 reason not to return to Thailand (besides the use of children and young adults as sex toys) is the heart break at seeing all the mangy dogs. The only solution I can think of is to have veterinarians go there and provide free services like we do for people. But it would take a massive effort. Very disturbing.

9:28 AM  
Blogger Pisal said...

I am not happy with Thai pet owners. To be exact, you'll see lots of Temples teeming with animals that were discarded by petowners who deemed them a surplus to requirements.

Its a sad reflection of society on their commitment to pets, and the lack of committment at times is worrisome as it is reflected in how people raise their children also - mostly neglected.

4:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Casanova, Great site! I have a couple questions: what's it like for the females in heat, who I have seen trotting endlessly, followed by a dozen drooling males? How can they stop to rest or eat or drink or pee or poop in peace? What's it like for them to be constantly pregnant or nursing pups?
And how many street dogs are YOU responsible for producing? Do you pay puppy-support?
Blog-on, Cass!

12:48 PM  
Blogger BIG WOLF said...

HI CASANOVA MI NAME IS SHOUGMANITOUTANKA AND I LIVE WITH "ADOLFO" AND NATALIA" IN BOGOTA COLOMBIA
"ADOLFO "HAVE" 13 YEARS WITH ME AND "NATALIA" IS 10 YEARS OLD BUT I FIND HER IN THE STREET TWO YEARS A GO
I HOPE YOU COME TO MI BLOG TO MEET THEM...SORRY FOR MI BAD ENGLISH ,MI NATIVE LENGUAGE IS SPANISH AND I NEVER STUDY ENGLISH
A BIG HUG FOR YOU CASANOVA
http://granespiritu.blogspot.com/

BYE

12:08 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Thank you for a lovely blog.

1:43 AM  
Blogger High Power Rocketry said...

:O)

6:24 AM  
Blogger Aileen said...

hello casanova... im very touched by your posts. i wish my dogs were as, uh... insightful as you are. here in the philippines, the life of street dogs are pretty much the same... i wish i could take them all home but we already have around 7 dogs and 10-plus cats.

thanks again... you made me smile today! :)

8:36 AM  
Blogger Funny! said...

Hi Casanova... awesome man awesome... may God bless you and bring peace upon all the dogs in this world... (including myself!)

7:46 AM  
Blogger La Louve said...

Wonderful blog there Casanova....so original! will be around more often.

-- fellow dog lover

10:51 PM  
Blogger O. Balcells said...

Dear Casanova, I'm so, so touch by your blog. I'm from Chile, I'm a dog lover, and I have taked in and adopted many dogs like you, in my country.
Thank you for this nice, beautiful site; sometimes I really would like to create a similar blog, with all the Santiago StreetDogs...

Olaya

olaya.balcells@gmail.com

6:00 PM  
Blogger Andre said...

Dear all (and especially Casanova),
I am currently researching the street dogs of Bangkok (soi dogs) for a documentary film, to bring the story of these animals to an even wider audience.

This blog seems like the right place to maybe find some more information. If anyone (especially Casanova) has interesting information, contacts, or stories on this subject then I would be very greatful if you contacted me. (andre.holzinger@gmail.com)

Thank You

PS Great Blog!!!

6:42 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Casanova,

There is a harsh truth in your life. I wish the society could do a lot of things to improve it. Continue telling us your touching story. You are one brave and handsome dog.

11:44 PM  
Blogger lovedog said...

Hey, I love your blog. I'm an art student and I'd like your permission to do portraits of some of your friends based on these images. I'll send pictures when I'm done! Let me know what you think.

mlombard@mills.edu

Thanks!

Melanie

2:40 PM  
Blogger Sunny said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

8:13 PM  
Blogger Ami loves- said...

Hey Casanova!
I LOVE your blog, LOVE your pictures and LOVE all the stories and profiling of your buddies. I think we all need a blog like in each of our countries esp. here in India where our street dogs are always viewed down as vermin, but they are so NOT so! All of you have so much to offer and so much to learn from.

Much love and hugs to you! I wish thee and thine friends always safe and happy times.

MooMoo

4:37 AM  
Blogger Matron said...

Casanova, you are a star! I keep coming back to your blog to meet up with your friends. I would be honoured if you could contribute to my DOGBLOG, by sending me a photo to post. Come visit and see my plan. I want all my readers in England to find out all about you. You must know how much the English adore their dogs?

11:19 AM  
Blogger Rajashree Khalap said...

Hi, I love this blog! Lovely photos and personalites. I work with a street dog sterilisation programme in Mumbai and I also started the Indian Pariah Dog Club, an "un-kennel" club for pariah dogs and mongrels who have been adopted as pets. Do visit our blog at http://indianpariahdog.blogspot.com
Also check the website of the NGO I work for, www.wsdindia.org

12:21 PM  
Blogger Rajashree Khalap said...

I'd like to put the link to this blog on our Indian Pariah Dog Club blog
http://indianpariahdog.blogspot.com
Hope this is OK with you?

9:36 AM  
Blogger noodlesvsrice said...

Hi Casanova,

You must know of Moo who has been been living at the bottom of the stairs (on the soi 10 side) of Nana BTS station, for years. Moos been there for years and doesn't have much time left. Moo also has a friend who lives on the walkway stairs a few metres on, who has a detatched broken leg that just hangs after getting it caught in a motorbike wheel. Can you visit them and do a feature on them. If anyone else passes them, please give them something to eat, a drink and some love. They love, the love!

10:30 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

hi I also want to make an media package on
bangkok street dogs I have many pictures and love many. as well all feel sorry for these dogs I would like to point out the good...

most thai people let these dogs live in peace. you can see many a dog sleeping front of 7-11for the air conditioning or right by a food cart seller being loved and taken cared for. many places in the world like canada or u.s.a will just catch them and kill them. so yes they have a harsh life but free life as well. come and go as they please. I love it.

casanova if you want email me at warpedworldphotos@gmail.com maybe we can work on a project together

8:49 PM  

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