It was over a year ago when I did a feature on a very unusual and friendly dog that lives at the tippy top of the Tiger Cave Temple and how he had become a bit of a celebrity to locals and even a bit of a blip on the international news radar. The story was a very light-hearted and happy piece because despite where Panther had chosen to live at the top of nearly 1400 stairs, it was pretty amazing how approachable and friendly (as well as healthy) that he was. Unfortunately, things have taken a turn for the worse and there are some signs that could be a learning moment for dog lovers out there.
Panther was and is something really special because he was very aware of the fact that food and attention was in much greater supply at the foot of this mountain temple, but for reasons that we don't understand he chose one day to follow a monk who does daily sweeping of the stairs, all the way up to the top, and then just decided that was where he wanted to stay. He rarely comes back down and if you are to walk these stairs one day, it is easy to understand how exhausting this journey actually is.
There were multiple instances where volunteers from Krabi Animal Welfare as well as the monks, attempted to coax Panther back down to the bottom and every now and then someone would succeed. But Panther must just really prefer the isolation at the top because it was always just a day or so before he returned to his mountain top lie down spots. It is a very long way to the top but there is access to drinking water and since the monks are aware he is up there, food is brought to him every day by the people who tidy up the sacred area at the top.
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It was very unfortunate to find out one day from the monks that Panther has lost a lot of weight and is on many days refusing to eat and sometimes he has become a bit aggressive towards some people that try to approach him. It is rare that he actually lashes out at anyone, but this being a very popular tourist attraction and a very relevant Buddhist monument, they can't have a dangerous dog threatening the visitors.
We simply cannot troubleshoot what is wrong with him or administer any sort of remedy or treatment where he is now, so we have put out a request to anyone that is up there to attempt to carry Panther down from the top. Normally we would just leave these dogs alone, but Panther is a special case and clearly has something wrong with him. He is not young, but he also isn't terribly old. We don't really know how old he is but we've been familiar with him for several years.
It was kind of heartwarming when we put the message out to the local community and on social media asking for help in finding and potentially carrying him from the top that within just a few days dozens of people responded saying that they would be happy to help. Unfortunately, several of the helpers reported back that they couldn't find Panther on the stairs or at the top, so we haven't been able to relocate him. The search is continuing because there aren't very many places to go up there. There is only one pathway and going off the path is a treacherous cliffside that is only traversable by the monkeys that live there and even they only go a couple hundred meters from the ground. Basically the area towards the top isn't very hospitable to life, and we are starting to get worried about Panther and what might have happened to him.
The search is continuing, and we hope in the next few days to have some good news about this relatively famous dog of the Tiger Cave Temple.
Just so you know, when a dog changes their temperament suddenly, or starts refusing to eat despite the fact that they really should be hungry, this is time to get a veterinarian involved. There are a wide variety of reasons why a dog would suddenly change their attitude and eating habits, but normally it has something to do with their digestive system or how their body processes food. All dog owners already know that dogs seem to be interested in food like nothing else, so when they all of a sudden stop, you should monitor them closely and if it doesn't sort itself out in a couple of days - which is quite common - you really should get some blood tests done because what is going on inside the dog could be slowly, or quickly, killing them.
I will report back on Panther as soon as we have any information. For the time being, we are all quite worried about this.
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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