Fenix

Pariah-type dogs exist in every continent, from the Dingo of Australia, across Asia, Africa and America. On January 24, 2008 I had posted a story and photos of Hari, adopted from Sri Lanka by Beatrice Hannah. Two Sri Lankan dogs, Flopsy and Bob, are owned by Kara and Kevin Cottle of the US and were featured here on March 24. In Sri Lanka the pariah-type breed is recognized as the Sinhala Hound. Other people have written to me about similar dogs adopted in Bangladesh and Malaysia. I've seen pariah-type dogs in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Egypt.

Fenix (I love that name!) is an Asian pariah dog too, slightly mixed, from Taiwan. She lives in the Netherlands now. Her owner Pepijn Stulemeijer tells us her story:

Recently my wife and I adopted a Pariah dog as a pet. She originates from Taiwan and not India. Her story is a very sad one...she will be two years old on September 5th, but in her short life she has been through a lot.

As a puppy she was adopted as a house pet by a family in her native country of Taiwan. We know that when she was just a few months old, she was abused and thrown from a moving car. A traveling businessman found her and brought her to a vet, where she was treated for her injuries (a broken rear leg amongst others).

After she recovered she was handed over to Animals Association International, who brought her to the Netherlands. She was placed in a temporary home while they looked for a family who wanted to adopt her. So when she was about six months old, she was placed in a loving family where she had a very good life. She had loving owners, another dog to play with and the grandchildren of her owners came to play with her on a regular basis.

But about a year later her owner was diagnosed with cancer, and it is very likely to be terminal. So they made a very hard decision, and returned their much loved dog to Animals Association International. And again, she was moved to a temporary home. This left a very big mark on her, as her self-confidence was completely destroyed and she became a very scared little dog.

But after just a few days in her temporary home, my wife and I decided to go take a look at her, to see if we could adopt this dog. We went to meet her on a Saturday, and the Sunday after we went to pick her up.

The first thing we did was change her name. She was called A-sing (I have a friend who speaks Mandarin, the main language in Taiwan, and he told me that her name most likely meant 'disgusting,' which isn't a very nice name of course). We renamed her Fenix (pronounced just like Phoenix). We thought this was a fitting name, as when the creature the Phoenix dies it rises again from its own ashes. We liked the symbolism of this, as she had to start over so many times during her short life. The different spelling 'Fenix' is a link to one of my hobbies, I collect flashlights, and 'Fenix' is one of my favorite brands.

It took her a while to get used to her new home and family, but we're seeing progress every day. Now she really feels at home with us, but when people come to visit she's still a bit scared. Last week we started with dog training, hopefully this will give her some of her self-confidence back.

Pepijn Stulemeijer
Tilburg
The Netherlands