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.