It's a dog's life

ANIMALS: A homeless man has devoted himself to taking care of 300 stray dogs which have been abandoned at a temple in Ayutthaya

STORY BY CHOMPOO TRAKULLERTSATHIEN

Although her rear legs are crippled, the mongrel tries to drag herself forward from a cool spot under the tree when she sees an old man coming and starts wagging her tail enthusiastically.

"Hello Joy," the old man calls out her name. The mongrel licks his hand to greet him. And when he gently strokes her head, she gives out a grateful groan.

Joy became crippled when she was hit by a car three months ago. Had it not been for the old man's attentive care, she might have starved to death by now.

The old man has a bucket of food with him. But Joy is more interested in getting some affection from the man she adopted as her master. They sit and play for a while under the shady canopy of a big tree. Then the man puts some food in Joy's bowl and leaves. He cannot afford to be tardy. After all, he has more than 300 mongrels to take care of yet.

"It gives me immense joy to see injured dogs get back on their feet again," says Koon Sae-Heng, 64, a tall, slender and soft-spoken man.

"I have no friends. I am poor, homeless, jobless and childless. The dogs are my loyal friends," he said, smiling.

It is a common sight to see Uncle Koon carrying a food bucket around the grounds of Wat Klang in Ayutthaya province, feeding the stray dogs there.

Like many other temples, Wat Klang has been a dumping ground for dog owners who no longer want to take care of their pets.

Uncle Koon now lives in a small shack in the temple. When the abbot noticed that Uncle Koon, a vagabond who has made the temple his refuge, took it upon himself to look after the stray dogs, he gave Koon a small area at the back of the temple where he could look after the dogs.

The spacious area is dotted with big trees which provide shade for the old dogs' afternoon naps and serves as a playground for the young, active ones. Food bowls and water buckets are scattered around the area.

It has been several years now since Koon became the mongrels' guardian. And their numbers have now passed 300, many of them old and sick.

"I have loved dogs since I was young. I remember when I was 15, I had more than ten dogs. They ate and slept with me. When they died, I cried a lot. Even now, I still remember vividly their love and loyalty," says Uncle Koon.

Homeless for more than 20 years, Uncle Koon used to be an itinerant labourer, moving from province to province to work at different construction sites. As is usually the case with construction workers, when he got older, nobody wanted to hire him, so he returned to his native Ayutthaya. Koon's daily routine begins when he gets up at dawn to prepare food for his "children". Feeding time is at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The dog food includes boiled chicken bones, canned fish and the leftovers from the monk's meals. The puppies are also fed milk.

At 10 a.m. Uncle Koon gives the young dogs a bath to prevent them from getting skin diseases. After the bath, he also sprinkles their fur with flea powder. There are now more than 50 young dogs that need regular baths from him.

Noon is his resting time. After finishing his lunch, he takes a short nap under a big tree behind the temple, ever surrounded by his dogs.

At 1 p.m. Koon starts taking care of the sick dogs that are kept separately in small wooden pens. He cleans their wounds and applies medication. Most of them, he said, are stray dogs that have been hit by cars on the street. Many end up crippled.

"Almost every day I have to walk along the streets to save these injured dogs. I take them to the temple and try to cure them myself with some simple medicines I have. Some fortunate ones manage to recover, but many can't survive their wounds. They die in my arms. And I bury them in the temple grounds," says Koon.

The old man is resentful towards careless and cruel drivers. "When they spot the dogs crossing the road or walking along the street they should reduce their speed. All animals love their lives like we human beings do. Do we have the right to take away others' lives?" he asks.

Not all dogs under his care are mongrels born on the street. Many dog owners took their dogs to the temples themselves, asking for temporal care and promising to return and take their dogs back.

"But they never came back. Not a single one of them," he reports.

"Many people only care for their pets when they are young and cute. When the dogs grow big and troublesome, they just dump their dogs here because they believe that the temple, being a holy place, must give their dogs food and shelter."

According to Uncle Koon, many owners secretly come at night to abandon their dogs at the temple. Most of the time the new arrivals do not get along with the old ones. They end up fiercely fighting one another.

"Mind you, it's not an easy job stopping the fighting matches. Sometimes the dogs bite me while I'm trying to separate them. But I'm not angry. They don't mean to."

With an ever-increasing number of dogs, the temple is facing a bigger burden now that donations are declining in the midst of an economic crunch.

According to Koon, a sack of rice lasts only six days. When times are bad, the dogs get fed only once a day.

Apart from rice, the temple must spend an average of 1,000 baht a day to buy milk for the puppies and basic medicines for the dogs. Most of the money comes from public donations.

In the evening, when he finishes a long day of caring for the dogs, Koon relaxes by cleaning the temple grounds that have been dirtied by the dogs' excrement.

"I have to keep the area clean for the sake of the animals' health. The young can easily develop parasitic diseases if they live in poor condition," explains Koon.

Particular with hygiene, the old man pays special attention to the cleanliness of the dogs' living areas as well as their food and water containers.

During his free time, Uncle Koon befriends the children who play in the temple grounds and teaches them to be kind to animals. He seems to be succeeding. Some children often come to help him feed the dogs and give them a bath.

"I ask them not to hit and kick the dogs. I told them that they must respect others, whether they are human beings or animals.

"But not all children are kind. Some naughty ones use the temple dogs to test their shooting skills with their slingshots."

With less donations now coming in, Uncle Koon says he is sad to have to reduce the dog's food rations.

Although he has seen many owners abandoning their dogs, he has not lost his faith in people's generosity.

As for himself, he says the dogs of Wat Klang can count on him to always be there for them.

"The dogs makes me happy. They make me feel needed and useful," he says. "They are like my own children."

Those who want to donate money and rice can directly contact Phra Kru Soonthornwattanakorn, the abbot of Wat Klang, at tel (035) 39-9009. Wat Klang is located at Moo 2, tambon Mahabrahm, Bang Ban district, Ayutthaya province.