But there is on difference: You rarely see dogs suffering in Western countries. If someone sees a sick dog, they try to help. In Laos, still only a few people really care about the dogs health. Although the number of patients at Dr. Khamdengs clinic is increasing, it is just not enough. Many people claim the lack of money as a reason, but that is just an typical excuse: they have enough money for other less important things, even if they are poor. (and yes, I am aware I am talking mainly about city people. In rural areas it is a different story).
I observed people in my Lao peer group how they handle dogs. One neighbour cares, but no cation, not even a tick collar. They really love the dog and even try to keep it away form the street. But no way they get him to the vet.
Other neighbours care a lot: They took their Cocker Spaniel to the vet for a surgery when she lost a lot of blood. They are not rich at all, not even middle class.
A quite wealthy family loves their dogs as well, but you always see them disappearing after a while. They get hit by a car or die by untreated diseases. Same goes for a poor family - sometimes I even think they eat the dogs since they mainly disappear when they are 1.5 - 2 years old.
One wealthy family has a dog who has distemper. He shows all the signs, he looks really sick. The family just extended the big house, they have 4 cars, one of them with a government plate. When I asked the daughter if they ever took the dog to a vet, she said no. She did not even understand why.
We spend some money to get neighbours dogs spayed and neutered and vaccinated. The owners appreciated the help, but would never ever do it themselves. Maybe they are spoiled by foreigners who pay for it. Paws4Thoughts is doing good work with vaccinations, but I have doubts about the return rate for the follow ups as longs as it is not free.
Is it faith, that people here give up so easily?
So some advice for the few Lao people reading this and caring:
- Get you dog vaccinated, no matter how old he or she is.
- Get the dog neutered/spayed - there are still enough dogs in Laos, no need to get more.
- Keep the dogs in your yard, and walk them on a leash so they can't get hit by a car - and can't get infected by other dogs that easy.
Dear Abby , sort to speak , Lol ..... ,
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of all canines breed , as well as being an animal lover . I have three male dogs which I call them my boys. Everywhere I go , I take them with me at all time, even to go overseas . I don' t ever leave them behind as I consider them as being my babies , and they are a part of my growing family that I now have . I treat them like a child , as they all are part of my family . My English Terrier is a bit older ( 10 yrs old ), & is a bit laid back kind of dog , but still have that hunting instinct in him , as every time he sees wild rabbits roaming in our front yard , he' ll go running like a wild crazy dog after them , trying to catch any of those rabbits for fun . My second boy , which is a mix poodle ( a cross from a Shitzu and a poodle ) , is more of a rambunctious type of dog , and lot younger at age ( 2 yrs old ). He like to frolic the bare land next to where we live , and runs for miles on up , as it is his only way of exercising . I call him " Rainbow " , because he is always happy all the time , like we are whenever we see a rainbow . He has a pure white curly coat, & it is very soft as a cotton too. My third boy is named " Shadow " my little blue pomeranian of 3 kg . He has a very different character over the other 2 boys. As being a very small breed to begin with , he acts like he is the King of the Jungle seems like it , lol ...... He is very protective of me , and never leaves my side ever. If anyone tries to enter my room , although they are a member of the family , he would barks at them non stop until I tell him to stop doing so . He is a very good watch dog despise his little itsy size that he is , I think we all are not born the same to learn to love our four legs friends, like the way the westerner do . As for me , I ' ve always been an animal lover all my life , especially when it comes to dogs. And to treat them like you would want to treat a human being, would sure take a special kind of person to do so, and to understand that animal do have feeling too. Dogs have always been considered to be a man's best friend that always give their unconditional love to their master .