Neglect is unacceptable. I loathe writing a blog on this but it’s constantly at my figurative, and quite literal doorstep almost on the daily living in Thailand. 

For those of you that follow this blog, you may remember me talking about Cocoa. He was my next door neighbor’s dog, and was given almost no care other than a small amount of food, and not on a regular basis. He passed away a few months ago from kidney failure, on the street. My other neighbor and I had tag teamed on feeding and looking after him for the last couple years of his life. He had a big brother in Chocolate., and they were inseparable. Not only has Chocolate lost his best friend in Cocoa, but he has basically been shut out of his yard now as well. This is where he at least could rest from being on the street.

Chocolate is a giant Scooby-Doo-type of dog, a big sweet goofy bear of a dog. He is a lab after all, but looks crossed with a great dane. He’s an enormous boy full of love and slobbery kisses to give, yet no one in his ‘family’ ever gives him even a pat on his head. It’s so sad. I cannot tell you the times I’ve seen labs and retrievers completely ignored,. chained or caged while living here. Why do people even get a dog they have no intention of sharing love and kindness with? I’ll NEVER understand. And particularly to have a breed of dog that is so focused and thrives on affection, makes it even harder to comprehend why or how, people can be so heartless as to not care for their very own pets. For me, my dog is a family member, and is treated as such. Spoiled rotten. 😉

You see, Chocolate has lived on a porch and the street his entire life, since he was brought home as a puppy. He developed hip dysplasia early on, and walks with quite an unusual gate. I’m not sure if it’s painful, doesn’t appear to be, but it’s hard to watch.. He’s been the same for the whole time I’ve lived next to him, over three years now. I took up feeding him and Cocoa the past two years and tried my best to keep up with his spot on, and other treatments that came along. One such treatment was the terrible condition of his eyes. Fortunately WVS stepped up to help fix this problem, only for them to bring him back ‘home’ with eye medication that was never used.. This poor boy has been overlooked throughout his life, is always ravenous from years of malnutrition, and he is never bathed.

To say that the past year was a blur for me personally, would be a gross understatement. I’m just now coming out of my fog and back to some form of clarity, feeling able to dedicate more time caring for the dogs I’ve taken responsibility for. This is quite obviously my dog Jackie Chan, my 7-Eleven dog Dam, and now Chocolate.

Fortunately the neighbor next to Chocolate’s ‘home’ loves him and is helping to care for him. Mind you, the sanitary conditions would not meet most of own standards for how we would care for our dogs, but he is getting attention and scraps of whatever they’re eating. We are once again working as a team to give Chocolate the nutrition and medication he needs now that he has contracted e-canis(blood parasites). Chocolate has been checked several times over the past few years and this is the first time he came up positive, and is currently being treated. However, what I’m more concerned about now are all the bloody tumors that have popped up on his body, including his legs, mouth and tongue. They have been tested and are melanoma, not sure where this will go other than to make him as comfortable for as long as it’s possible.

So for now we’re trying to heal him up a bit so he can be bathed and in turn, not drive himself mad with constant itching. We’re going into hot season and it’s going to be brutal very soon, and hard for dogs that live outside. Chocolate is 8 years old now, and certainly looks like it. At least he has a roof over his head, and the food and medicine he needs for his health concerns for now, a lot more than countless street dogs living in Thailand.. What is bringing some comfort is that he is being looked after from day to day.

My neighbor gets the day shift, and I get the dinner and night shift when Chocolate eats well, then walks all the way up the street with me to the kiosk, and back home. We take short breaks and he cuddles up against me for some human contact, that he is desperate for.. I’m going to love this boy up as much as I can, and will try to start bringing him in the yard while Jackie Chan is inside. I’d love to care for him in a clean loving environment. Fingers crossed it’s a success. Hoping for a peaceful and pain-free outcome for this beautiful boy Chocolate.