The dog's (and cat's) best friend

The Internet teems with videos of cats and dogs, some funny, some cute, some elaborate in scope and some just a few seconds long (the mini-clip “vines”, as they’re known). They’re all irresistible – and they’ve had an inadvertent benefit. Once the giggles subside, a lot of the viewers decide to help stray and abandoned animals.

Animal-lovers have been forming close-knit communities on the social networks, sharing pictures and advice not only about their own pets but also strays in need of aid or adoption. 

The new “trend” in caring about the urban menagerie almost rivals the global movement for protecting animals in the wild. 

Most people simply donate money to groups that rescue and care for stray dogs and cats, but some take matters into their own hands and organise fundraising events.

A cruise through Facebook last weekend came up with what must surely be Bangkok’s first exhibition of contemporary art about animals. The venue isn’t exactly prominent – the low-key Hlung Raak Bar and Gallery on Soi Mahanop 1 – but the artists and designers are selling artworks and souvenirs from anywhere from Bt39 to several thousand baht, and 10 per cent of the proceeds go to the Saraburi-based Por Jai Fund. Established in 2003 to care for strays, the fund normally only accepts donations of cat and dog food. 

“We’re just a bunch of friends who might not necessarily share the same aesthetic concepts and styles, but we all love animals and adore our pets,” says Kaewtrakan “Nim” Junlabon, who owns Hlung Raak and helped organise the exhibition. 

“We’ve had contemporary-art shows on various subjects before, so we thought, ‘Why not one about our own pets, which are so close to us? We could also make some money to help abandoned cats and dogs on the street, too.’ 

“I know we’re not going to make a fortune from this, because we’re only advertising it via Facebook and within our client circuit and the merchandise is sold at very low prices, but it’s fun. Big money or small money, it helps!” 

One of the four participating artists, 26-year-old magazine illustrator Piengkhwan “Kamijn” Kumrune, spends all her free time doing cute cat paintings that she says give her something like a natural high. 

“I have seven cats at home, all of them adopted, and I’m a proud cat slave!” Kamijn laughs. 

“I do watercolours for cat owners all over the world. They post the pictures on my Instagram account and I send them back a portrait of their cat – for free. I don’t know why I do it – it just makes me really happy to paint them and see my fellow cat owners so happy. So when Nim told me about this event, I jumped right on board.”

One of the two paintings Kamijn has on view shows a family of triple-tone cats – a genetic characteristic that’s believed to bring their owner good fortune. The other picture depicts 17 ancient breeds once found in Siam, though most are now extinct. 

Kamijn also designed cute cat T-shirts that are surprisingly a hit with men. 

The show continues until the merchandise runs out. Get the details at www.Facebook.com/HlungRaakBarBangkok.

Meanwhile the Indian restaurant Indus on Sukhumvit Soi 26 hosted a fundraising dinner last Sunday that brought in a staggering Bt200,000 for the Soi Dog Foundation. “I’m a huge dog-lover,” says the restaurant’s Gaurav Sehgal. 

“Recently I saw the story that went viral about the dog-meat trade in South Korea. It really opened my eyes to the extreme abuse and horrible, prolonged torture that dogs go through in Asia.

“Obviously animals don’t have a voice of their own and can’t go around asking for help. But, with the popularity of the social media, many people, myself included, are able to keep informed about what’s really going on, things we had no clue about before.” Last weekend’s dinner was Indus’ first fund-raiser for animals and, thanks to its success, is unlikely to be its last. 

Nutch Prasopsin is raising money for animals in need too, with the help of her famous ginger, Maew Asoke, a former stray. A likeness of the Internet-celebrity cat appears on high-quality merchandise that Nutch is selling via her popular Facebook page, Kingdom of Tigers. 

“I want Asoke to be a symbol of stray cats that need to be cared for and a call-out to people to pay more attention to solving the problem of stray animals by adopting more,” says Nutch. “Instead of just asking for money, I made this stuff for people to keep – in return for their donations. It’s like shopping for a good cause!”

With the aid of designer friends, Nutch – who works in advertising – has created tote bags, pillowcases and T-shirts bearing prints of her adopted felines Asoke and Mali and her original pussies, Sua Krong and Sua Saming. With more than 116,000 followers, she’s so far managed to raise better than Bt100,000 for several charities. Coming up next is Bicycat a week from tomorrow, a cycling fundraiser that starts at Dara Dalay, the restaurant on Pichai Road specialising in northern Thai cuisine. 

 

Take an extra moment before you donate

Nutch Prasopsin, who cares for celebrity cat Maew Asoke, has some advice for anyone considering making a donation for the first time: Check out the charity before contributing. 

“There are a lot of frauds out there who take pictures of injured cats and post them on Facebook and ask people to donate. It’s best to check first where exactly the money is going and whether the charity really does exist. If the appeal is genuine, the posters should be happy to show proof of how the donations are distributed.”