Pets in Bangkok: It is becoming more and more popular
Bangkok has more pets now than ever before, something on the order of several hundred thousand.
I returned to Thailand from the US in 1989 and since then I have seen more pets in this city. My wife and I are pet lovers. We have three dogs, two Golden Retrievers and a local brand dog.
Chihuahuas and other small dogs are also very popular here, due to their pocket-sized profile. They are perfect for apartment and condo dwellers.
Other traditional pets like goldfish in a tank are also on the rise, you would see them in local restaurants and hotels.
We really enjoy our pets. Every time we come home from somewhere, these barking children greet us happily. A Golden Retriever would greet us with a quick bark while still holding a tennis ball in its mouth.
In many neighborhoods of Bangkok you can find pet stores and veterinary clinics. We have a very good veterinary clinic not far from our house. There you could have your pets checked. At one point, we had to take one of the Golden Retrievers in for an exam for a symptom of loss of appetite.
The clinic had kept her there for a few days, so it was almost like a short hospital stay. By the way, they also do home visits.
In a pet store, you will find all kinds of pet supplies; dog food, cat food, bird food, chew bones, as well as cat litter boxes. These items can also be found at a supermarket such as Big C and Foodland. Some of these stores may also carry pet clothing, especially for dogs and cats. It gets cool for a few days in December and January.
There are some unfortunate aspects of some of these pets, such as stray dogs. There are too many stray dogs on some streets. This is because some people took these dogs in for a while and then abandoned them. The merchants in the streets feel sorry for them and feed them. From time to time you saw a very fat dog walking along a sidewalk.
Lately, the Bangkok city administration has taken some action on the issue of stray animals. They have announced that all dogs in the city must have microchips. The city now wants dog owners to be responsible for their pets. Dogs will not be allowed to roam the city without collars and tags.
This is a drastic move because the only place you can tag your dogs is at the city manager’s central branch, and there are several hundred thousand dogs. So you see, it is difficult for dog owners to take their pets there. It will be a while before all the dogs are tagged.