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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Monday, March 19, 2007

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.