Animal House

Thailand has a large amount of wildlife and even in the towns on sees tropical birds and other critters. Like all people Thais have pets but a few differences from Western countries. For instance there are packs of semi-wild dogs that roam the street; they look like a yellow dingo type dog. These dogs are left alone (part of the Buddhist ethic) for the most part. You can see little dishes of left over rice and meat on the side walk, sometimes with incense sticks in them. This is part of food offerings to the spirits, a hold over of animist beliefs. I've seen dogs eat this food and even a few homeless people eat from this.
The dogs that Thais keep for pets are mostly small lap dogs and they're carried around like a child and in the mornings sport little sweaters. They lead good lives.
Cats aren't seen as often. Even cats as pets in homes are more skittish, probably from all the dogs ;) Thai cats are leaner and smaller looking like Siamese but not of the color they we see that breeders have in the US.
Horses are fewer, and used to pull small carts. Since Thailand is more mechanized today there a fewer horses than I saw in the past. Like the elephant the job of hauling loads is now done by trucks or small three wheeled vehicles with a side-car like attachment. The elephants that you see are mostly for tourist rides and show.
Well, I'm off to study now. I'll try and keep the site updated better. See y'all later.