Our little dog that we left back in Melbourne with family, Sticker passed away in March this year when he was hit by a car. We were devastated. We had hoped that when we returned to Australia in 2012 that we would have our precious little guy back and to hear that he is dead really struck home. It was a the hardest decision to leave our little dogs when we got the offer to live and work in Thailand, it was even harder when I realised that I would have to permanently give away my precious Lance. In hindsight we should have just brought them both with us as we now have met alot of other expats who have brought over their pets from Australia and even though they know the process of taking them back again is difficult they see it as worthwhile. We had secretly hoped to bring Sticker back with us after our trip to Melbourne back in April but that was not meant to be I suppose.
We have all felt the void of not having our pets with us and even though we took care of the dog Lady for our friends recently, she was not the right dog for us. We are small indoor dog people and to have a large, excited dog just wasn't the right fit. Thankfully I found her a new family with acres of space and other big dogs to play with but we were again left with that empty place. I couldn't really put my finger on it until Marcus started talking about getting a puppy. It was then I realised that he was missing having our boys as well and that he was feeling sad over the loss of Sticker just as much as I was. We discussed it over some weeks and we never really came to a decision.
Then I had a bit of a hard week last week with the kids and feeling quite lonely and isolated and then Marcus told me that he is leaving in 2 weeks to work in Uzbekistan for a month so I woke up Friday morning with an idea to go puppy shopping. First I got online and searched all of the relevant information we will need in order to take the dog home with us when the time came and an approximate cost which I felt was acceptable. I promised myself that I would not be buying a puppy for the short term. I have felt guilt for the past year about abandoning my two dogs to come and live in Thailand, a pet is a pet for life and I have always believed that but I do understand that I cannot put pets before my husband and kids and I had to make a choice. But now we are settled and have signed on for another 12 months and I have more of an idea of what life is like over here and how many services there are around Asia in helping people and their pets move from country to country and I have spoken to people who have done it and who are planning to do it and I feel confident that I can take on a new member to the family and I will do whatever it takes to keep it safe, healthy and with us regardless of which country we live in.
So I sat down with the kids and spoke to them about what I planned to do and asked them if they would help me with this new responsibility and of course they said a big YES! So we hit the road in search of a pet store. Now pet stores are few and far between here in Pattaya and pet ownership is still relatively new to Thai people. I mean they have had dogs and cats for years but the concept of pet ownership and the responsibilities that entails is still not very common hence all the soi dogs and cats spreading disease and roaming the streets. Unfortunately the pet stores I did find (a total of 2) didn't have any poodles so I ended up having to swallow my morals and take the kids to the Pattaya Tai markets that run every Tuesday and Friday and sell everything from amazing Thai food, toys, clothes, shoes, fabrics, electronics to puppies, kittens, fish, squirrels, mice, turtles and little rabbits dressed in tiny dolls clothes. Being an animal lover its hard to see things like this but since living here for a while now I have come to ignore alot of it. I mean I have to or it will eat me up and cause me to resent Thailand and its people and I wouldn't enjoy our time here. Its the same with seeing the kids living in poverty or the babies used by beggars to get money from tourists and the young girls selling their bodies for sex. Every country has its good and its bad and I just have to focus on the good parts.
So this market is amazing, busy, hot and cramped and we were barely able to get our little stroller through the aisles. There were 2 stalls selling puppies, the first guy was rude and mean and wouldn't even let us pet the little guys. I didn't bother trying to explain that we live here and I wanted to buy one so I just walked over to the next guy who was friendly and nice and he let me choose the puppy I liked. Straight away I picked up this little female black pup who was the only pup sitting up in the litter looking about. She was so tiny she fit in one hand. The stall owner told me that she was a miniature poodle and she was 7 weeks old. I didn't even bother looking at the others, she caught my eye and it was love at first sight. She had good clean teeth and gums and very alert. I then asked the man how much she was and he surprised me by saying she was 1800 Baht! Thats like $55 AUD. The other places I went to were asking for 4800baht up to 10000 baht. So even though I knew I couldn't guarantee that she really was a miniature poodle I have had poodles long enough to know the shape of the snout and eyes that she was close enough. Her fur was so soft and long and she had 2 white socks on her back paws and a white little goatee on her chin. Judd was happy with her, but honestly he would have been happy with a pet duckling or turtle as well. I paid the man and he gave me a 3 day warranty and I then had to manage steering the stroller with Lillie in it, hold Judd's hand and carry the puppy all the way back to the car while sweating so much it was running into my eyes. It wasn't an overly hot day but it was very humid. Crossing the busy road was interesting and scary but thankfully a nice man on a motorbike stopped traffic for me so we could run over to our car. In the car I put the pup into a little bucket I had and she obviously was a little stressed because she pooped and stood in it so the car stunk the entire trip home but it was all worth it.
I asked Judd what he would like to call her and he immediately said Sticker! So we now have a Sticker II. Straight away everything felt normal again. I was right when I realised what the missing piece in our life here was. Little Sticker has settled in nicely, she had her first vet visit yesterday and got her first round of vaccinations and worming medicine. I went out and bought her a pen to live in when she isn't out playing with the kids and its also a safe place for me to put her when I have to leave the room and she is alone with the kids. She is so little that she easily gets under our feet or in the way of the kids when they are running about the house. She has taken to potty training easily as well, she goes potty every time I take her outside and I can sense already that if we are diligent with her training she will learn very quickly. Judd and Lillie are in love with her already, they care for her, talk to her and get so excited when she starts to play and leap about.
As time moves on and our stay here in Thailand draws to an end I know it will get stressful when its time to move her to Singapore for her 6 months stay and quarantine to then qualify for import into Australia. I secretly hope that Marcus can land some work in a "approved" country so we can all stay with Sticker while she has her quarantine time. But this is all months away and we still have the possibility of staying here longer.
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