By Lily Bond

I really enjoyed the recent Feature Story on the dogs of Power Station Beach on Lamma Island (Power Station Beach Energizes Canine Capers, August 27, 2006). Being a hopelessly smitten dog lover, I appreciated the slant of it.

As a resident of Chiang Mai, Thailand, I observe delegations of dogs (and a few packs, but the difference in their behavior is clear to see) who amuse me with their antics, distress me with their mange and ticks, and pull on my heartstrings with their big, begging eyes and hollow tummies.

I’ve made particular friends with one canine, named Scherzo by my husband who thinks it’s a bit of a joke how attached to her I’ve become. We first encountered Scherzo almost two years ago. Even after my absence for six months on leave, she seemed delighted to meet me again. This was evident in the wagging of her tail and rolling onto her back with a look on her face suggesting, “Come on then. Give me that tummy rub you do so well” once I came into view from her favorite lounging spot on the roadside opposite my office.

A few months ago, while giving the obligatory tummy rub, I noticed that Scherzo felt more rounded than usual so I wasn’t surprised when she introduced seven puppies. All the youngsters survived the initial rigours of street life. Three were taken into good homes. The four remaining are unwanted because they have defective tails with no fur on the tips.

Every day at 3 pm, Scherzo wanders over to the office. You could set your clock by her. She knows that I will finish teaching and go along the street for some goodies for her about then. The time has arrived when she competes with her pups for solid food.

Scherzo’s pups are growing. They’re really sturdy with cute characters emerging. Scherzo has been a good mother with milk for them all. Everyday when I go to feed them, I check out their toes for ticks.

For me, it’s hard to feed them and then leave each day. I want to gather them up, take them home and protect them from the harsh realities of life on the streets or in rubbish dumps.

Since I live in an apartment, this isn’t possible. Instead, I must come to terms with the fact that they each live “a dog’s life”.

Editor’s Note: Homeless animals face tough, tragic and short lives. On the same day that Cairns Media Magazine published this story, one of Scherzo’s puppies, a male named Tip (seen peering from a doorway above), died violently, run over by a motorcycle. Scherzo and the remaining youngsters sought refuge in a “big carpark area” that the author calls “filthy and dangerous”.

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Homeless puppies have curb appeal.

Scherzo seeks shelter for her pups.


A reliable mother, Scherzo pauses.


The nearest food seems distant.


Is this pup destined for a dog's life?


Scherzo scrounges for scraps.

Mother battles pups for nourishment.