Dogs' balls

The wild dogs on Kho Phrathong island are causing problems with the local wildlife. They kill whatever they can for food. They're a mangy lot. Many have festering sores, hairless because of mange so bad they're bald, so think they're nearly invisible. But they're still well able to propogate. So much so that on one part of the island, Tapa Yoi village, there are now about 80 dogs.

The villagers were offered the opportunity to have the dogs nutered. The heads of all three villages on Kho Phrathong agreed and so a plan was devised. The dogs would be fed in the late evenings, close to the villages for a few days prior to the pending neutering. The villagers would capture the dogs the night before the veterinarians were due to arrive so that it would be a quick fix and release operation. The 10 veterinarians were offering their professional services for a very small fee to help solve the dog explostion problem on the island.

Tung Dap village went as planned, many dogs were neutered successfully. But the Pu Yai (Chief) of the village hadn't done the requested work. In fact he's a bit of a charlatan and is only in any project for what he can get out of it. As Chief of the village he has a lot of power and pretty much has caused the Tapa Yoi people many unnecessary difficulties since the tsunami than there needed to be. So much so that the village decamped to the local Wat on the mainland of Kuraburi at one point, even though their houses hadn't been destroyed by the tsunami. To chose to live in a tent in the grounds of the Wat in preference to your home tells you how much he affected and continues to affect their lives.

Anyway, at the end of the day only 10 dogs were captured and neutered at Tapa Yoi. But the volunteers on the island for the weekend of neutering were able to get some satisfaction from the Tung Dap success plus getting some clearing and replanting done in the mangroves. Another laptop and blackberry were found in the mangroves, washed their by the wave.