Jim's quiet musings . . .

This is a typical afternoon feeding arrangement.

The large, circular pan is for Blondie and her pup, Speedo...as well as any newcomers who happen into the yard.  This plate has double the kibbles and rice, compared to the rest of the mix. 

The yellow bowl is Bandit's...and he knows it.  Bandit is sort of the "Boss" since he was the first stray to show up after Puppy and Chok's death.  Anytime I pick up that yellow bowl, his tail starts to wag like it's gonna fall off, since I've always fed Bandit with that yellow bowl, and I always feed him first.

The metal bowl in front of Bandit's is devoted to the Kitties....Boo Boo and her four, still unnamed, kittens...but only recently I've switched to a pink bowl, which is a small version {Medium Size} of Bandit's yellow bowl.  Larger and easier to accommodate Boo-Boo and four kittens. 

Finally, the metal bowl off to the side is devoted to Sexy Socky. 

That's nine animals.  Expensive, to say the least.  But, there was a time, not too awful long ago, when I was entertaining up to fifteen or sixteen animals, mostly dogs.  You see, all of these guys are strays except for Boo boo and her four kittens.  But, if we want to get technical....Boo boo was a stray to begin with, before I picked her up at the end of our road. 

I have a tenth little guy....Mr. Runt Man.  But, Mr. Runt Man is NOT consistent....he shows up some days, then disappears for weeks running.  However, whenever Mr. Runt Man shows up...he is always welcome and is immediately afforded the TOP Class, highly social, regular food on the menu of the day....Ha!

This is Thailand, which remains a third-world country due to several factors....Corruption  is the biggest factor, with a severe lack of laws and / or enforceable laws in important areas.  Animal control is one factor, but certainly not a major factor....unless you begin to look at issues such as the rabies situation.  But animal control is certainly not high on the list of things to work on, when you've got to change the constitution to allow a crook such as Thaksin Shinawatra to re-enter the country, animal control is a very small issue to most Thai's, who mostly place animals on the very bottom of the "Must care about," issues.

So, I'm doing my part because I care about animals....much more than I care about people.  I love animals because of their natural ability for unconditional love, and their silent innocence. 

The large group of mostly stray dogs showing up at my cottage lately...has whittled away.  I don't know why....but I know that some die of natural causes, some are purposefully hit and killed by animal hating drivers who don't think twice about swerving to intentionally hit a stray animal...especially a dog who has an affliction for chasing cars and motorcycles. 

Others are poisoned. 

Poisoning animals is a routine practice here in Thailand.  There exists hateful people who quite literally take pride in poisoning animals who pick through their trash, or annoy motorists by chasing cars and / or motorcycles or bicycles.

Again...This is Thailand.

Different rules and laws {or lack of} than second or first world countries. 

No way you can walk into a hardware store or feed and grain store in the U.S., and walk out with a potent poison such as Strychnine or Arsenic, without producing Federal, Food and Drug Administration approved documents. 

But, here in Thailand it's everyday stuff.  I can walk into the local feed store {There are many} and purchase pure....Strychnine or Arsenic....in enough volume to kill more than half my village, should I want to....by adding the shit to the local water supply. 

The lawlessness here is just never-ending. 

Animals who once roamed the roads, are found dead and bloated in the pucker-brush...victims of some retarded jerk who stuffed a piece of raw pork with a healthy dose of Strychnine.  It doesn't take much, as I know all too well...having placed a tiny amount of the poison down on the floor in my bedroom, for the rats....and forgetting to pick it up in the morning. 

My cat living with me at the time...got upstairs and ate the tiny rice and Strychnine offering because I forgot to remove it after I woke up.  The result was devastating...seizures, foaming at the mouth, internal bleeding....vomiting...and finally a very dramatic, terrible, excruciating death. 

So, I'm careful to keep my strays close....this is easy, just feed them regularly.  I feed them every day.

I don't care...I love animals and I make good money, so this is my contribution to the animal world, which I view as a gift, to me, for their love, affection, entertainment, appreciation and wonderfulness!  Animals are wonderful!  And,. no matter how  we treat them, they always treat us as Kings or Queens!

Jim