Pet Department

One of the hardest parts about our nearly annual trip to Laos is leaving Dao Noi, our 3-year-old Golden Doodle. She is very much a momma's (and daddy's girl). The Goddesses of Noi—Rosanna, Sally, and Sue—have taken on shared surrogate parenting of our dearest (sorry hens) daughter. She will no doubt come out of the experience with new friends and a new understanding of the meaning of suitcases and the sound of zippers. But we know she's in loving hands, and we are hoping, in turn, she will show off her most loving side and make it fun for those by whom she is being cared. Fingers are crossed.

Knowing Noi's back home waiting for us, I decided long before I went to bed last night, our first in Bangkok, that I would dedicate today and this blog to her. Be very glad, most beautiful girl in the world, that you are safe at home. This is no place for you.

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Map of the Jatujak Market

Five years ago, together in Bangkok, Andy, Chip, Disty, and I went to Jatujak (Chatuchak) Market, what is considered the world's biggest weekend market located near the Children's Museum i the north of town. One could shop for days and get the very best and worst of what Asia has to offer: clothing, household goods, hardware, garden supplies, and food.

It reminded me of the distant memories I have of the original 1950s Modell's on Long Island. But one special "department" at Jatujak has stuck with me since then like a bad meal. There in the very back of the rows and rows of covered stalls was a distinct area of stalls which could only be described as the "pet department." Among macho Thai men, disfigured and disabled hangers-ons, foreign tourists, and  I suppose locals looking for exotic pets or worse, was a dream world of caged, tanked, and free-range domestic and wild small animals, unlike any I'd ever seen.

"In recent years the market has gained considerable notice among conservationists and the World Wildlife Fund; Chatuchak has become a notorious hub for trafficking illegal and endangered species, notably in the north west corner of the market which is all but isolated from the rest of the market. This activity was covered on CNN's "Planet in Peril" series. Despite publicity, Thai law is rarely able to pursue a course of action in preventing the illegal trade as it would just go underground elsewhere." —Wikipedia

Getting ready for the show?

This year, we arrived on a Sunday, and Disty was set on going back to the market, and I was excited to revisit the "pet department." For the very same unknown-to-me reasons why I find Las Vegas one of the most interesting places on earth, I am drawn to the irony and comicality of this otherwise cruel place. Even as we set out, it was as if every dog of the city was acting in a burlesque warmup, readying us for the main show.

It was not quite as I remembered. Gone was the side-show aspect of the place, even in the five years since we'd been here last. In its stead, were some of the more interesting aspects of pet ownership, culture, and pet fashion chronicled by Disty and her camera, Little Red...

This fake grass could come in handy for a dog needing relief.

 

 

 

 

 

Could Noi become "Pequeño?"

Or we could bring her back some bling

A bulldog for a logo.

A sugar slider would make a nice pet.

Very YMCA.

Easy girl.

I've always wanted to go to Guinea Pig World.

Too big to carry home!

Super Emiden! Wow!