This is a story about an extraordinary dog, whose profession happens to be a tour guide in Chiang Dao, Northern Thailand. Her name is Son, a small gold hair dog who resides at Malee’s Nature lodge.

After an early breakfast at Malee’s, I decided to go on a leisurely nature hike with the amiable middle-aged German couple that I had met at the lodge. As we left, we noticed that we had an unexpected companion for our hike - it was Son, the cute gold hair mutt whose status as alpha dog at Malee’s had been usurped by a young Lhasa Apso by the name of Jennie. Son assertively took the lead, and led us up the narrow paved road for about 400 meters before she exited onto the nature trail just off the side of the highway. Smart dog! Khun Malee briefed the German couple about the trail – it was about 5KM long and ended up at the Chiang Dao Cave, a popular tourist attraction in the area. Son stayed in the lead, always wagging her tail, from time to time stopping and looking over her shoulder to make sure that we were following her. It was quite obvious that Son was intimately familiar with this trail; we surmised that she had escorted many visitors at Malee’s on such excursions. The trail wasn’t well marked and there were several secondary trails that forked from the main trail. About an hour into the hike, Son took a detour that meandered up a steep wooded slope and we followed. After about 10 minutes of hiking up this secondary trail, the German couple and I determined that Son had inadvertently chosen the wrong path and we decided to return to the main trail. We speculated that Son had taken birdwatchers on this side route before. Upon reaching the main trail, Son assumed the lead again and expertly guided us to the caves.

The German couple, having taken an excursion of the caves the day before, decided to return to Malee’s. Bidding adieu to them and Son, I continued on the tour of the Caves. After completing the tour about an hour later, I was greeted by a friendly face and a familiar wagging tail - sitting patiently near the entrance of the caves was Son, who unbeknownst to me, had waited for me to return. What a wonderful dog! To reward my tour guide for an excellent job, I bought her a skewer of meatballs, which she graciously accepted and devoured. After finishing her snack, Son and I walked back along the paved road to Malee’s about 2KM away. This has to rank as one of my most memorable travel experiences.

In Thailand, it seems that all the guesthouses and households that I have visited in the countryside have at least 2 or more dogs who live on the premises. The dogs are more than just pets - they are also provide a certain measure of security as they deter unwanted intruders from entering. Among the dogs, there usually is a social hierarchy or pecking order – invariably one dog establishes himself as the alpha dog and all the other dogs fall behind in rank. Sometimes there is a shuffling of the pecking order, when a new dog is put into the mix.

I observed this ‘shuffling phenomenon’ or changing of the guard on my last visit (Nov 07) to Malee’s Nature Lodge in Chiang Dao. Son, the small gold hair dog who impressed me so much with her leadership abilities and personality in November 2006, had been pushed aside by Jennie, a relative newcomer on the scene. A 2-year-old Lhasa Apso, Jennie parades around Malee’s like she owns the place. Jennie no doubt is a very smart little dog but she acts too much like a primadonna. Because of her attitude, I have nicknamed Jennie, the little tyrant. Displaced by the more forceful personality of ‘the little tyrant’, poor Son now spends most of the day moping around upstairs on the sundeck. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, Son relishes leaving the compound and escorting some guests on a nature hike or birdwatching
expedition.

As Hanumann, the chief of all the monkeys, I admit to having a special kinship with dogs. In Thailand, I often find their company preferable to people - especially to some of the rude, inconsiderate chain-smoking Euros and loudmouthed Americans that I frequently encounter. At least, dogs give Ling Yai his proper due and recognize his greatness. That being said, here’s a brief profile of some of the dogs that I have known during my travels to Thailand.

Son

I met Son while staying at Malee’s Nature Resort in the small mountain resort of Chiang Dao in Northern Thailand. Son, somewhat aloof and regal in bearing, is the alpha male and lead security dog at Malee’s. The other four resident dogs at Malee’s keep their distance from him but also follow his lead. Often standing on top of one of the patio tables watching over his dominion, Son has a very commanding presence.

Peepee

Peepee, a 8-year-old French toy poodle, is the official greeter at Ram Derm Restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 22 in Bangkok. She loves to greet each and every customer that walks through the door with a friendly wag of the tail. Not the shy type, Peepee loves to pose for pictures

Panda

Panda is one of Khun Lek’s fourteen dogs at her lovely garden estate in Chiang Dao. Nicknamed Panda, because her fur coloration is similar to a Panda Bear, what separates Panda from the rest of Lek’s dogs are her beautiful brown-gray eyes.

Batdog

Another one of Khun Lek’s minion, Batdog, while small in stature is quite big in heart. Named Batdog because his face resembles that of a bat, he has ‘a mug” only a mother could love. Often running around with his left foreleg in the air, Batdog oozes with personality and is a bundle of energy. I admit that Batdog is by far my favorite Thai dog; whenever I see him, I often start scatting and half singing the melody from the 60’s TV sitcom Batman….