Dogs of Burma

 

While I very much enjoyed my time in Burma, I did get a little sad at times seeing all the street dogs and not being able to interact with them.  Resisting the urge to pet the pups when they'd approach with their tail wagging was very difficult.  Due to the possibility of rabies and the general unsanitary condition of the Yangon streets, it just wouldn't have been a safe decision.

And there were a lot of dogs roaming free.  At night we would see them running in packs on the streets, during the day they would lounge about trying to escape the hot sun.  Sometimes they'd be difficult to spot and I almost stepped on a grey puppy because he blended in so well with the sandy ground.

There were a few dogs who looked well taken care of.  The two I snapped a picture of outside the reclining Buddha were being cared for by the local monks.  I wondered if they were a long lost distant cousin of Libby because they were scavenging in a garbage pile licking the last crumbs of a potato chip bag. 

Unfortunately it seemed like everywhere we walked there were either pregnant or nursing dogs.  I'm sure spaying and neutering is not a priority in a country where many children go to bed hungry at night.  It really broke my heart seeing one of the pointy-eared pariah dogs sitting in one of the monastery gutters trying to both escape the heat and find any morsel of food in the discarded wrappers.  If I would have gotten him on video I surely would set a Sarah McLachlan song to play in the background.