Source: The Guardian
by Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Bangkok
Fou Fou always liked the good things in life. The pomeranian puppy had “a heart of gold” and a taste for expensive grilled pork. Varunthip Manthin loved the tiny dog as much as any of her sons.
When she discovered him dead in the road having been hit by a motorbike, she was inconsolable. Despite her grief Manthin knew one thing: she would give him a funeral worthy of her own child.
And so, on a Saturday morning, Fou Fou’s body was brought to a small chapel in Bangkok’s Wat Krathum Suea Pla temple, laid in a fuchsia pink coffin, set among a kitsch display of plastic flowers, and sent into eternity with the blessings of a monk.
The monks of this temple once only offered such funeral rites for deceased humans. However, that has recently changed as a new market became apparent: beloved pets.
Categories: Asia, budhism, Thailand, The Muslim Times
When I was guest of Sir Mohammad Zafrullah Khan in New York in 1963 he showed me a dog cemetery, it was beautiful. Recently I visited USA and had to visit some relatives in the grave yard. I must say that the dog cemetery was kept better than the human one. …