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.

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Thursday, July 28, 2005

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.

19 Comments:

Blogger udonotknowme1 said...

Yes I agree. This site is very facinating. I wish we all had ideas like this. This is what seperates a good blog from all the crap I am typing in mine...

9:47 PM  
Blogger Tom Green said...

As a dog rescuer (we have 19) and someone who lived in Bangkok for two years (1975-76), I am happy to see someone bringing attention to these brave animals. You approach this with a lot of class and respect. I appreciate it.

8:49 AM  
Blogger Danielle said...

Cute site, Casanova! Such a handsome dog...

10:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

you are my new idol...you're such an inspiration!

3:11 PM  
Blogger Michael said...

This blog is just so wonderful. Amazing as it is, it's a joy to read each new post, compared to blogs like mine, this is a wonderful talent, while the others are just trivial.

8:08 PM  
Blogger .. said...

I like your blog a lot..It's so cooL!!.All street dogs in Bangkok have named which is very interesting;They sound like celebrity.
Oh well,it's happen often for the dog who came from up-country to live in Bangkok. They try to change their names ..Why? ask Casanova!

11:06 PM  
Blogger still_figuring_out said...

jim is such an angel.

1:14 AM  
Blogger Darren said...

Great blog! I just recently purchased a two year old Siberian Husky and have had a surge of interest with all sorts of dogs.

5:19 PM  
Blogger StupidHollyWolly said...

What Jim should do is to get someone from one of those dog rescue organizations to represent him in negotiations on film contracts. He's probably make much more money than being a street performer....

5:49 PM  
Blogger agirloutthere said...

These pictures are hilarious! May I suggest the Kick Ass Party?

6:57 PM  
Blogger Mr RM said...

What a cool website! I love Thailand and being a Buddhist, I always carry dog biscuits whenever I am in Krungthep or Hat Yai.

You are doing a very good work here. Sadhu for all your efforts!

1:26 AM  
Blogger A little girl at heart said...

I absoulutely love your blog,
gramps and casanova are the cutest dogs! I live in upstate new york which should be full of dogs in homes, but my camp on cranberry lake,ny has a ton of dogs just like these in your site. we keep bring more and this summer the newest arrival was a tiny little daschaund named wiener! we live on a windy camp street where we spend the summer and i have come to love all the dogs and admire how they stick together, maybe your dogs and my dogs could meet for a date!;) just kidding but it would be funny wouldnt it!

6:28 AM  
Blogger Pipi Longstockings said...

This has to be the best blog I have stumbled upon in ages! I am currently working in Surat Thani but I will be in Bangkok at the end of this year. I hope I can do something to help

8:42 AM  
Blogger Vishwa said...

Hi casanova. Your blog's real good buddy. You remind me of two things.... first, a little pup we had 10 years ago, which got killed when some freak stoned it on the streets. And the second... a novel I read long back, told in first person by a tiger( A tiger for malgudi--- by R.k.Narayan ). Good work, keep it up!

2:50 AM  
Blogger Hale McKay said...

Great blog! Interesting and entertaining. What a novel idea. Kepp up the good work.

6:05 PM  
Blogger Erika said...

Thanks for creating such an amazing and insightful blog. I'm happy to know that you're bringing attention to the stories of these dear animals. I'm embarking on my own small-scale animal rescue effort in my own backyard here in Texas:

http://hideawaycatfamily.blogspot.com

My best to you!

In the spirit,

Erika

1:14 PM  
Blogger Rebecca Jane said...

There's always an interesting new dog to meet on here! Thanks for introducing them all to us.

1:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Canine Jim is an inspirational role model.. He does his bit for street dogs more than I do! Aww thanks for showing me the way Jim. Oh and you too Cassanova! :)

4:27 AM  
Blogger Soi Dog Rescue said...

Hey Jim, thanks for helping out us poor strays. Do you wanna come visit some of us at the Soi Dog Rescue Center so we can thank you personally? Apart from stopping puppies being born all over the place, Soi Dog Rescue helps us to feel better again - they feed us really well, give us the medication we need and loads of love and cuddles. Some of us are pretty crook you know - there's a couple of real cuties that get by on 3 legs now after they got run over by cars and some puppies who got taken away from their mamas and thrown away at the temples.There's one real babe who got smashed in the face with a stick or something. Me, I came here with no hair at all and my skin all cracked and bleeding because I had something called mange. I couldn't find anything to eat for days and days at the temple where I was dumped. I'd just about given up on living when this real nice lady appeared from nowhere and took me away with her. Now I feel GREAT again. So if you wanna come visit and see how you can help us out - Wendy's the one to contact: wendy@soidogrescue.org See you later man - SCRATCH, Soi Dog Rescue. www.soidogrescue.org

6:58 AM  

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