dogs, cats, fish and mosquitoes

hey there. i know i just left a massive messege two day ago, but this one will be quick.

although i have seen a similar case of wild dog culture in other places (especially turkey), i think i get to notice all sorts of things because of my unique situation teaching over here. as an animal lover, it really is hard to not wince, just ever so slightly, when you see dogs walking around all tattered and carrying one leg dead limp in the air because it has either been brutally attacked by another dog or, more likely, hit by a car. it's really a different attitude here. which is why i could not resist cracking a bit of a smile, or maybe even a smirk, when while teaching class the other day, a teacher came around with students collecting money for something. i asked one of my students what it was and she explained that it was to help handicap dogs, dogs that have been hurt and left to die so to speak. things that make you go hmmmm...perhaps a fundraiser for spaying and nuetering might work? i actually can't quite figure that one out. kwang once said that there are so many because people would give dogs to the temple as a show of respect. was it that or was it because they needed someone to take care of them? i know that in turkey spaying and neutering are very expensive, and can only imagine it is so here. it's just that if they were revered as temple dogs, i don't imagine i would see the ill treatment i see. i just don't know. but i won't ponder this any longer. i just, always, take it for what it is. interesting.

it's not all bad though. my family has two very wonderful dogs. they've had them since they were only weeks old. one of them is trained to perform the "wai" (the placing together of hands in front of you while saying the hello) for treats. it's cute. they are a special sort of thai dog. can't repeat the name to tell you the truth, but they have an extra toe on each foot and a different sort of pronounced spine than most dogs.

every morning i woke up a would hear these strange wails. i thought to myself that they sounded like cats. but there was something odd about them and i settled on figuring that it was some sort of morning bird. i started to hear them in the evening as well. one day, when we arrived home from school, i heard them quite loud and i asked kwang what that was...

opps. cliff hanger. i've got to finished getting ready for school!