Thailand: Canine ambassador makes case for street dogs
鈥� A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
BANGKOK, THAILAND 鈥� Oscar flew in a hot air balloon in Namibia. He rode an elephant in Nepal. He dined at the Taj Mahal in India.
He explored Angkor Wat in Cambodia and barked at the Sphinx 鈥� the world鈥檚 biggest cat 鈥� in Egypt. In Rome he got in trouble for swimming in the Trevi Fountain.
Yet it hasn鈥檛 been just fun and games for the South African mutt, who is halfway through his six-month, four-continent 鈥渨orld woof tour鈥� of 32 countries. A one-time street dog, the Benji look-alike is headlining a publicity campaign to highlight the plight of the world鈥檚 millions of homeless dogs.
鈥�Oscar is a trouper,鈥� says Joanne Lefson, the intrepid canine鈥檚 owner, who five years ago saved Oscar from euthanasia at a pound by adopting him. 鈥淭his tour is his mission to tell people, 鈥榃oofs like me want you!鈥� 鈥�
A professional golfer with a degree in zoology, Ms. Lefson mortgaged her house in Cape Town, South Africa, to finance the trip. She obtained traveling papers for Oscar and won鈥檛 take him anywhere he鈥檇 be quarantined. To make it easier on Oscar, Lefson does most traveling overland.
鈥淗e鈥檚 my best friend and we鈥檙e very close,鈥� she says during a stopover in Bangkok before leaving for Vietnam, then China and the Americas. 鈥淎s long as we鈥檙e together, Oscar doesn鈥檛 care where he is.鈥�
In every country en route the pair visit animal shelters to publicize their work.
鈥淧eople don鈥檛 see street dogs as special, but they respond to Oscar,鈥� Lefson says while Oscar, sniffing, befriends some rehabilitated Thai strays. 鈥淎 dog can enrich your life, but consider adopting one from a shelter.鈥�