Soi dogs - Poisoned!!

[MajorBloodnok]

Hello,

My faith in 'humanity' has been badly shaken by my first negative experience here in Thailand.

Yesterday morning two of our three adopted soi (street) dogs were missing.
My wife found JACKAL, one of my beloved soi dogs, dead (poisoned) in the field in front of our plot.
The 2nd dog was nowhere to be found.
The third dog must have managed to evade the cowardly perpetrators. Of course, he is traumatised, sad and looks for his comrades of many years.

Well, JACKAL is in dogs' heaven now. He has experienced love & affection, and he died with a full stomach. RIP
I curse the cruel, evil perpetrators! May their souls roast in hell!

[hhfarang]

If you adopt them, you gotta keep them in the garden or house. If they are allowed to run free anything can and will happen eventually.

[GLCQuantum]

I'm a big dog lover and do frequently feed a couple of stray dogs near my 7-11 ('Big' and 'Zero'... I didn't name them).

I also realise that they are both dirty, wild animals that will probably be killed soon enough by something or someone... they made it 3 years with me - a good innings in my book.

[Bristolian]

Major B, sorry for what has happened. As a dog lover I feel for you. However and it is a strong however, hhf is right, dog owners are responsible for their dogs and need to look after them If they belong to you, you have the responsibility for keeping them under control.

Next to my home is a pack of very aggressive dogs, Rottweiler crosses. In the early morning or late evening, as a pack, will attack anything that moves, including my SUV. Ok for me in my steel car but I have needed to rescue a number of motorcyclists by driving my car directly at the attacking pack. Children would stand no chance against this pack. Believe me, I have considered disposal of this pack also but have so far teetered back from the brink of actually doing something....for how much longer I don't know.

I have never intentionally hurt a dog in my life....but I would never forgive myself if I allowed this pack to injure or kill an innocent person.

[Homer]

I have never intentionally hurt a dog in my life....but I would never forgive myself if I allowed this pack to injure or kill an innocent person.

I agree. Learning to accept how the Thais treat dogs was difficult. Three times it has dawned on me the local dog pack had been at half strength for a few days and the missing dogs weren't coming back. Never found any dead dogs, they just vanished, or were disposed of before I went out in the morning.

After the last time an adjacent pack was culled, the local pack expanded their territory and gained a new leader. He's fine with people unless they're outsiders passing through his territory. Others that rarely chased motorbikes or cars now join him. My landlady warned it's likely the chasers will be killed one night. The dogs I feed are among the chasers, so I've wondered about what I could or should do to the leader ...

In the US if a dog bites someone who was doing something stupid to the dog, the dog gets a pass. Otherwise he is put down, which is the way it should be. Since I left the country I've heard of dog rehab. Some dogs get a second chance, but not a third.

[Takiap]

Sorry to read about your experience, but as others have said, if you have dogs you need to keep them inside your property.

Despite popular belief, it is not only grumpy old expats that moan about soi dogs. There are many Thais who detest them, and then there are those who will tolerate them, but only so long as they are not being directly affected by them.


In fact, reading this thread has just made me realize something. At the end of our little dirt road we ended up with a pack of around ten to fifteen dogs. These were drawn to the area thanks to a new restaurant opening, and left over food being put in the street. There were also a few other people who would actually drive to the area to drop of food, not thinking at all about the people who have to put up with the dogs. Now it's just dawned on me that we no longer have dogs here anymore. Sadly, I am inclined to think that my own in-laws might be responsible for their disappearance. The dogs had killed I don't know how many chickens, and in Thailand, chickens are generally more valued than pesky street dogs.

In short, soi dogs sign their own death warrant if:

1. They kill any type of livestock
2. They threaten or scare locals who frequently need to pass through their territory
3. If the chase motorcycles and cause someone to come off


If we put emotions aside, at we look at reality, then we need to acknowledge the fact that Thais don't have many options available to them when it comes to stray dogs that pose a risk to their safety. I mean, it's not as if they can call a number and then somebody comes around to remove the dog or dogs. Yes you can maybe go dump them at a temple, but how many people are willing to try and capture stray dogs in order to do this, and even if they do, if the dogs aren't accepted by the pack/s at a temple, they simply end up back on the street.

I honestly don't for a minute believe Thais go around poisoning dogs just for a laugh. They do it out of frustration and as a last resort.

[Frank Hovis]

Can I ask if those of you who have 'adopted' or 'support' soi dogs also take them to the vets for their rabies shots every few years?

[Big Boy]

I've owned dogs all of my life, and have to admit, I've never heard of rabies shots . Please tell more.

[Frank Hovis]

BB - Vaccination against Rabies (the virus) ?

It kills more people than Ebola http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies

[Dannie Boy]

I've owned dogs all of my life, and have to admit, I've never heard of rabies shots . Please tell more.

Where we live we come under Cha Am administration and they offer a once a year free rabies injection service, so if your dog does bite somebody, they won't get rabies - not sure whether HH offers the same or if you have to pay for it.

[Big Boy]

Yes, I know what rabies is and what it does, but I wasn't aware that there was an injection. The vet visits us every 2 months to inject our dogs - is this something I could ask him to do?

[PeteC]

I bet he's already done it BB, and the rabies serum is included in the package. It's not expensive at all.

If you or anyone you know gets bitten by anything, there are shots now that go in the arm rather than the stomach as before. I think a series of 3 shots over 2-3 weeks? I think there is a vaccine for people now also who are in high risk jobs etc. Pete

EDIT: Rabies vaccine for dogs is once a year I believe.

[Big Boy]

There is an annual injection they get, but the vet is Thai, and Mrs BB is Thai, so I'm not sure what they get - I leave it to the vet. I'll check next time.

[PeteC]

There's a little aluminum tag they are supposed to give the owner after the rabies vaccine. In a perfect world that should go on the dogs collar for quick reference that the dog has had the vaccine that year. I think the tag issue is a gov reg. Pete

[Frank Hovis]

BB - Yes, vaccinations for dogs have been available for years and if you have the vet in every few months I'm sure your dogs will have been vaccinated. The sticker from the vaccination should be in their 'doggy health record' booklets. Of course, the UK has been rabies free since before the war and I don't think it was a requirement to have your dog vaccinated in the UK, even when you needed a 37 1/2p license.

Prcscct - Human post bite treatment is 3 injections over two months and one a year later here I think.

Dannie Boy - I'm also nearer Cha-Am than Hua-Hin and our village has an annual rabies + Parvo shot 'weekend' and it's free. Last year they had a free sterilisation offer (for dogs!).