Jose

I do find it very strange that when I am out biking or walking and an aggressvie dog approach me(ready to attack) and I have my big stick/rock and ready to kill it the owner seem shock, love and have nothing what against animals, but if attack if will take it out if I can.

I do find it very strange that you carry your own personal big stick/rock with you. Life must be very dangerous where you live!

Hint: leave your big stick/rock at home, and life will be a lot more peaceful for you.

Very good looking Dog...

... And he's got a gem of a personality.

Actually, I think he's half Alsation, half Poodle! Go for him Maccaroni Man!

I think that you're right, Nod - Tin Tin also looks half Asian to me.

Please, Maccaroni Man, consider adopting Tin Tin. I think that he is about 50% German Shepherd.

Please PM me if you and/or your son are considering Tin Tin as a new member of your family.

jose '-)

This reminds me of the nature vs nurture argument. It's turning out now to be both.

So far as keeping a Thai Dog relatively sane, I find the only answer is Walks !

I agree vehemently. This is a prerequisite for sanity, for both man and his best friend.

'Pepsi' is sometimes violent and aggressive beyond belief. She especially dislikes the large trucks that pass in front of her Shop House and does her damndest to chase them away if not calmed.

Callous, Indifferent & Insensitive is a lot more apt than 'Land of Smiles' most of the time; or am I getting jaded after 11 'wonderful' years in paradise?

No, you are not jaded, AjarnChan - you have come to the point where you now see past the (generally speaking) superficial smiles. Having said that, there are a few Thai gems to be found out there - but alas, they are usually not where falangs live.

From Science Daily:

Study shows that factors that cause aggressiveness in dogs are:

1) first-time dog ownership;

2) failure to subject the dog to basic obedience training; (*guilty)

3) spoiling or pampering the dog; (*guilty)

4) not using physical punishment when it is required; (*guilty)

5) buying a dog as a present, as a guard dog or on impulse;

6) spaying female dogs; (*guilty)

7) leaving the dog with a constant supply of food; (*guilty)

8) spending very little time with the dog in general and on its walks. (*guilty)

(* My score: score 6/8 - How about you?)

jose '-)

Hope it works out for you and Tin Tin.

Thanks Gator.

It's touching to receive personal messages of support and goodwill for Tin Tin, specially from kind souls such as Elfe who is constantly struggling to save so many pups (90+!).

Elfe's World

Tonite Tin Tin begun whimpering as we begun walking to the bike - he knew that I was taking him far away again.

He is a strong and healthy dog, and could easily make it impossible for me to take him on the bike. But he just looks at me with those big eyes and resigns himself to let me take over his destiny. He is such a well-behaved dog...

Anyway, I didn't take him far tonight on account of his cut rear paw pad - it would be too cruel to let him ran from afar on three legs at the moment. When we got there (a quiet beach) I gave him a nice treat - a full BBQ chicken and some vitamins to help him along. But then when it was time to leave, he knew. Even if you've never seen a sad face on a normally happy dog before, there is no way you'd miss this one - the saddest big round eyes, on the saddest face imaginable.

Tin Tin may not be the kind of cute little pup that children and some Thais want for a cuddly pet, but his kind nature, his survival instinct against all odds and willingness to overcome enormous difficulties, all this can be an inspiration to the rest of us whenever we face the hurdles of life.

Tin Tin, the most-traveled dog in Koh Pha-Ngan, is tonight still looking for his home.

If your limit is 4 dogs and Tin-tin is #5 but he's a great dog and no matter how far away you take him he makes his way back home. Maybe he has earned a spot in the Top 4. Have you considered taking one of your other dogs to the other side of the island and leaving them?

We have five dogs (all neutered), which is about two dogs too many for the local conditions.

I have tried in the past to send some of them on an "extended holiday", but it's too heartbreaking to see them pining for home to the point they stop eating.

I will adopt Tin Tin.

Although I've yet to be contacted by Deeptidil, this post strongly suggests to me that it may not work out for Tin Tin with someone on a 15-day tourist visa.

Tin Tin is still on the beach outside, hoping to hear from any caring local resident (KPG or Samui) who could offer him a permanent humble home.

Any help whatsoever would be most appreciated.

Many thanks for your kind offer to adopt Tin Tin, Deeptidil. I think that you will be very pleased with this amazing youngster.

We are on the beach in Bantai, Koh Pha-Ngan - I've PM'd you with our details, but if it's easier for you I can also bring Tin Tin over to your place.

Many thanks again to everyone - I'll keep every kind soul here posted on the outcome of this story.

jose

Tin Tin is back in Haad Tien beach tonite

Well, it only took him 36hrs to come back from 15Km away - the only difference is that he did it on three legs this time, as he now has a cut (coral?) to one of his hind paw pads.

Patsycat, I would normally agree with you, but the reality here on the ground is quite different.

We are practically surrounded by dog-phobic people. These are the kind that normally wouldn't hesitate to kill dogs for little reason other than their presence on the beach spoils their view.

These are the kind of people that have generally dug themselves into a hole, and are constantly looking for an external excuse to justify their poor lot - so what better excuse than to blame their irritation on some poor defenseless animal!

Dogs don't ask for much, just a place to sleep, a little food, some love, a feeling of belonging. Unlike another species, dogs are not on a rampant path to destroy the earth, sea and air around them.

Dogs are not the problem in this world - to the contrary, they help keep us in touch with nature and help keep our minds and hearts balanced in an insane world.

Tin Tin is still desperately looking for his home.

It doesn't have to be much - just a secure place to sleep, some food once a day, and a pat now and then. If anyone here knows someone that can help out, please contact me asap.

I'll also add a month's food to my offer of a free Vet checkup and spading. Please help if you can.

sent this on to a long time resident friend in chaloklam, one can hope.

Much appreciated, TS.

Tin Tin is back in Haad Tien beach tonite - hopefully it will take him a while to find his way back, as we are now getting all kinds of serious threats from the Thai neighbour with six poodles - she is terrified (in a hysterical kind of way) that Tin Tin (or any of our dogs) will make a meal of her tiny pets.

Thanks, Gator - it's a good feeling to hear from caring souls, both on this thread and privately.

Everyday Tin Tin digs a shallow hole on the beach in which he spends his whole day snoozing, generally trying to stay out of the hot sun and remain unnoticed by unfriendly neighbours.

In the evenings I give him some food so that he doesn't have to go around digging up garbage, and also so that he remains in good shape for any potential owner.

Afterwards I take him along the back roads towards Thongsala and try to leave him in a quiet spot. He is always back in the morning, now and then with a new bite on his hindquarters to show for his dog territory-crossing journey.

This pup wants to be part of a home so desperately - originally he must have come from a really good home.

It's sad to see any displaced dog, but for this guy it is specially so.

Thanks for the kind thoughts, Patklang, PoorSucker.

BTW, although this is the kind of fine dog one may consider breeding, I'm offering to pay for his spaying if required for a good home.

Unfortunately Tin Tin's adoption of our beach is out of the question - this area has some distinctly dog-unfriendly neighbours.

One falang has already attempted to poison our dogs with baited pork, and another (Thai) is threatening to do so.

Tin Tin's stay could well be the catalyst for a disaster. Tin Tin's stay here seriously threatens all local dogs' lives, not just ours.

The photos above don't do this pup any justice - he is surely the best-looking and best-mannered dog I've come across in a loong time, and that's saying a lot for someone heavily biased towards his own dogs!

"Tin Tin" wondered into our beach (Bantai KPG) about two months ago, a quiet but playful, healthy 12-16 month old pup.

This gentle but strong pup would refuse to engage in any challenge with the local dogs, but would stand his ground without growling or barking.

It's as if he knew that attracting the wrong kind of attention could lead to the kind of trouble that means moving on...

Tin Tin made friends with the local dogs in no time, and you'd often find him chasing them and being chased on the beach and sea - he is an excellent swimmer.

TT knows "sit", is lead-trained, and comes running when he hears the usual dog-call whistle.

My guess is that he previously had a falang owner, as he also seems very friendly and affectionate towards tourists.

I'd love to keep this handsome pup, but being already "overcrowded" with five dogs, and surrounded by neighbours would wouldn't appreciate another addition to the "family", it left me with little choice but to take him away.

So, I took him on the bike to Haad Yao, about 12 Km and 200 dog territories away.

It was heartbreaking to leave him behind, and see him running after the bike with all his might...

He was back at our beach in just three days.

The next morning, after a good feed and a new collar, I took him even further away, beyond Chaloklum.

He was back that evening, looking a little tired from his epic trip but as happy and playful as ever.

Tin Tin is looking for a good home.

This super-intelligent and affectionate pup will make an unforgettable pet for a caring owner.

If anyone would like to give him a permanent home, either here in KPG or Samui, please PM me.

jose '-)

Prefixes for civilian vessels identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship.

Shows you how much I know about naval prefixes...

Let's try again:

nb Orion, aka GS Coral Vandal.

* ("GS" for GarbageShip)

SS Orion, aka SS Coral Vandal:

Closeup of the conveniently-placed garbage disposal system:

But I didn't I just carried on drinking and throwing water about and only posted of my complete anger here on the forum ?????

And what makes you think I was "drinking and throwing water" at the time? Not everyone is interested in your kind of lifestyle.

Whats Songkran got to do with complaining about it.

Songkran had to do with the fact that the roads were blocked at the time, and I would not be able to catch up with these thugs.

Hey... you're complaining about "1/2 a page of this screen", and you go on to re-post it? What's the problem, BIC - too many words for you to comprehend? Perhaps this is the reason it took you a week to respond.

FYI, I'm not complaining about rice nor wages - just letting prospective visitors to this eatery know that "quality", as you've put it, is definitely not on their menu.

I don't know where the operators get their 2-stroke jet skis, but the majority seem to be of the older 700cc 2-stroke variety.

Jet skis (personal water craft - PWC) are very efficient by regular boat standards, but they still have to displace a lot of water to shift their 400Kg combined mass, and this requires a lot of energy. By comparison, a road bike or car only has to put up with minimal rolling and wind friction. I doubt that any recreational watercraft can achieve better than 3km/litre - by comparison, I regularly get 50Km/litre on the small bike.

There is a round-the-island tourist operator with a large brown ex-navy (long) boat operating out of Bantai pier in Koh Pha-Ngan. This boat used to be run by a falang, but it has been re-fitted and perhaps may now have different owners.

Anyway, this morning on their way to pick up tourists in (probably) Thongsala, they sailed metres away from the edge of the local Bantai coral reef and promptly dumped the contents of a 200-litre blue plastic rubbish bin into the sea. Plastic, bottles, all kinds of crap flew out the back of the speeding boat. Watching this vandalism left me so enraged that if it wasn't for the Songkran celebrations, I would have caught up with these thugs to let them (and their clients) know how I feel about their wanton destruction.

It seems totally pointless to have an onboard rubbish bin if it all ends up in the sea, and dumped on the last remaining semi-healthy local coral reef at that.

I know that local fishing boats dump all their rubbish overboard, but is this the way to operate an eco-tourist outfit?

Is it possible the boat's (Thai?) crew is vandalizing the reef without the operator's knowledge?

Are there any enforceable laws regarding the disposal of waste around a coral reef?

If anyone here has any contact with this lot, please, ask them to stop.

I've always wondered about the rental prices for jet skiis. I mean you can rent a car for 24 hours for the same price you can rent a jet ski for 20 minutes.

Car rental fees usually don't include gasoline costs, but these are obviously included with jet ski rentals.

A typical 2-stroke jet ski will swallow up to 20l/hr of gas at full throttle, about 600 Baht/hr at current local prices. Add to that a very unforgiving (corrosive) sea environment and expensive replacement spare parts, a relatively short lifespan (5 years if lucky), and it's practically impossible to run any jet ski for under 1000baht/hr in running costs.

What a dumbass, useless invention!

You've obviously have never been on one. The fun factor is unmeasurable, specially away from crowded beaches and/or out in the open sea swells.

"All over Dubai, crazy projects that were Under Construction are now Under Collapse.

They were building an air-conditioned beach here, with cooling pipes running below the sand, so the super-rich didn't singe their toes on their way from towel to sea."

The dark side of Dubai

Thinking of moving to Dubai? Some points to think about:

The dark side of Dubai.