Quite some time ago I wrote about a very well-mannered temple dog that has been named "Ice Cream." Whenever you encounter a temple dog that has been given a name at all it is a good sign that the dog stands out from the pack because there are so many of them that the monks don't really bother to try to name them all. The dogs that get named normally are the ones that exhibit a great love for their care-givers and Ice Cream was definitely one of those. Ice Cream also had been at this temple for around a decade, and was a favorite among the monks as well as the people who would come and visit.
Ice Cream was calm, friendly, ready to follow you anywhere, and really enjoyed a good pat and belly rub. He was one of the only dogs that would actually pursue our truck to the entrance because she really didn't want us to go away. So much love in this dog and that is why everyone flocked to her.
Ice Cream was more than happy to pose for our silly Christmas pictures and would come to us even if we didn't have any food with us at that time. It helped of course if we did have food but she was in it for the affection as much as she was the food.
While many of the other dogs would lose interest in us once it was obvious that we were out of food, Ice Cream would continue to follow us around all over the temple complex, which is quite huge, almost like she was our private security or tour guide. One day someone noticed a massive drop in her energy levels and we took her in for a screening.
She was a big hit at the vet office just like she was at the temple and unfortunately we discovered quite rapidly why her energy had dropped: She had doggy cancer. Now with dogs cancer is successfully treated at a higher rate than it is with humans. It isn't always the death sentence that we sometimes attribute to humans but it was still a cause for concern. We put Ice Cream through chemo treatments and at no point did she ever resist. She just sat there calmly while the chemo drip went into her body and she would rest.
While the success rate for dogs is much higher than it is with humans, it isn't 100% and unfortunately Ice Cream succumbed to the illness in the past few days. The monks shed a rare tear when they received the news, as did all the staff at the vet clinic as well as all of us at Krabi Animal Welfare.
We don't win all the battles at Krabi Animal Welfare, but we are ready to fight them wherever and whenever we can. This loss hit us all particularly hard because Ice Cream was such a loving soul. There are some dogs that just hit you right in the feels and Ice Cream was definitely one of them. She will be missed by everyone that got to know her, this much is certain.
if you would like to see how you can help out or simply spread the word, please visit our website at
http://krabianimalwelfare.org
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