Beach dogs
(Dog guarding table: Koh Samet, Thailand)
One of the most striking peculiarities of Koh Samet, and probably most Thai coast and islands, is the amount of ‘beach dogs’. There were hundreds of them over the entire island, content to keep people company for an hour or two. Bangkok had an abundance of street dogs; I learned quickly that none of them had actual owners; they belong to no one and everyone simultaneously. There when you need them to amuse children or eat your scraps and easily chased away when they become pests. Near Pete’s home, there was a litter of small, round-bellied cross breeds, chewing each others feet in play and rolling in the scrubby grass at the side of a road. A girl, not yet old enough to start school was lifting them up to show me, but their chubby middles kept slipping from her grasp.
The dog here is a genuine beach dog, much less mangy looking than the city mutts, apparently because the seawater keeps their skin free from disease. They still get bitten though – I saw several dogs curled up and chomping on their haunches to relieve the itching. The strangest trait of the dogs is that again, they belong to anyone; their loyalty to someone is derived from food they receive and how they are treated. Pete fed one russet, fox faced dog the remains of the fish head from our dinner and he stayed with us for hours, barking at any trespassers near our collective territory. This image captures the moment before the situation turned a little heated with a sudden pack of dogs appearing at our feet. This dog darted under my seat, completely cornered, and the pack responded to her growling with barking and snapping. My legs were up by my ears at this point and as Pete and I began to arrange an elaborate escape, the bar owners appeared with broom handles to scare them away. We were left with our Sangsom bucket*, loyal companion and an elegant female dog, stood on the table, nonchalantly avoiding the action.
The dogs even followed us home, different ones each night to lie on our wooden balcony like temple Nagas (snakes either side of the steps), protecting us from intruders. I like the beach dogs and I appreciate their efforts in making us feel at home, all they need is the same in exchange.
*more on that phenomenon later.
