If you regularly read these updates you may already know a thing or two about the local minor-celebrity dog that chose years ago to reside at the top of the Tiger Cave Temple. This place that he calls home is up a series of 1500 steps that people find very grueling to get to the top of and it is a lot of exercise in the hot climate of southern Thailand to get up there. Panther, for whatever reasons, seems to prefer the solitude of the top of the mountain over being down below where over 100 other dogs reside and I can't say I blame him. I too enjoy a bit of peace and quiet every now and then but it must get lonely and a bit scary up there at night where other than a few insects, nothing lives up there at all.
Someone had noticed that Panther was acting aggressive towards people about a month ago and this was concerning because he had always been so friendly to everyone to the point where he started to be an attraction himself. People would go to the top for religious and scenic reasons but also because they had heard there is a very friendly dog that keeps watch up there as well. So when he started acting mean towards people we suspected that something might be wrong with him. We were correct and he had a bunch of problems with parasites and other internal blood issues that needed to be tended to. He had also lost a lot of weight and it wasn't because he didn't have access to food. Thankfully a couple of friends who are regulars at the temple went up to the top, found him, and carried him to the bottom so we could transport him for treatment.
When we took him in he weighed 13kg, he is going back home at the weight of 16kg.
I think all of us are a bit sad to see Panther go, but we don't have the space for him and since that is the case it is important for us to put him back in his home area before he grows to accustomed to being looked after. He still will be looked after once he arrives back at the temple, the monks as well as the thousands of visitors to the temple every day see to that.
We will be leaving it up to Panther about if he wants to go and live on the top all by himself again this time. Maybe he has had a change of heart. It will be interesting to see what he chooses.
Panther's doggy friends clearly remembered him and there was no aggression when we brought him around. Dogs tend to remember other dogs for a long period of time, perhaps even longer than they remember humans. You can see in the background of this photo the start of the 1500 stairs to the top.. They are steep and they never seem to end. It's not for the faint of heart, that is for sure.
Panther was a unique case. Word of his ill health spread really quickly and we had a rush of donations to help him, which of course is always appreciated since we operate entirely off of donations. So if you are one of the people that donated to help Panther, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I will keep everyone updated on how Panther is doing because I return to this temple on a regular basis since it is our "pet project."
if you would like to see how you can help out or simply spread the word, please visit our website at
http://krabianimalwelfare.org
Krabi Animal Welfare is a charity run entirely by volunteers and are a registered non-profit organization in Thailand and the U.K.. We aim to relieve the pain and suffering of dogs and cats within Krabi Province.
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