Tongdaeng

Not to be confused with the "Thong Daeng Cat"; see Suphalak.
Tongdaeng (and her puppies) as featured on Thai postage stamps in 2006.

Tongdaeng, with variant spellings like Thong Daeng (Thai: ทองแดง; 7 November 1998 – 26 December 2015) was a female copper-colored dog and one of the pets owned by King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand.

Life

The king adopted Tongdaeng in 1998 from the litter of a stray dog that had been taken in by a medical center he had recently dedicated. Her name means "copper" in Thai.[1] A commemorative block of four postage stamps featuring Tongdaeng was issued by Thailand Post in 2006.[2]

Bhumibol called her "A common dog who is uncommon", and in 2002 wrote an affectionate biography of her titled "The Story of Tongdaeng (เรื่อง ทองแดง)". The book is commonly referred to as a parable on many social topics. For instance, the King wrote that "Tongdaeng is a respectful dog with proper manners; she is humble and knows protocol. She would always sit lower than the King; even when he pulls her up to embrace her, Tongdaeng would lower herself down on the floor, her ears in a respectful drooping position, as if she would say, 'I don't dare.'"[3]

All the names of the dogs owned by the King start with the word "Thong" (lit. gold).

The 84-page book, published with both Thai and English text, quickly sold out of its first edition of 100,000 in Thailand.[1] Since demand was so high, the book became an esteemed gift,[4] and was reprinted many times.[4]

Protection by lèse majesté law

Thanakorn Siripaiboon, a 27-year-old factory worker,[5] was charged in 2015 with insulting Tongdaeng with a "sarcastic" post to Facebook, under the lèse majesté law in Thailand.[6] His lawyer, Anon Numpa, informed the International New York Times that the charge "had not detailed the precise insult towards the animal".[7] The Bangkok-based printer of the International New York Times removed the story from the 14 December 2015 print edition of the paper.[7] If convicted, Siripaiboon could face up to 37 years in prison.[3]

According to the BBC, a prosecutor said Siripaiboon had posted to Facebook several photos of the dog in a manner which appeared to mock the King, and had additionally been charged for pressing the "like" button next to a doctored photo of the Thai monarch, posted by another Facebook user.[5]

In media

A film based on Tongdaeng's biography, Khun Tongdaeng: The Inspirations (คุณทองแดงดิอินสไปเรชันส์), was released in November 2015.[8]

See also

Literature

References

  1. 1 2
  2. ↑ Ho, Victoria (December 29, 2015). "Royal Thai dog at center of defamation case passes away". Mashable. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Dissing the king’s dog is a crime in Thailand". The Economist. 19 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  4. 1 2 Campbell, Charlie (November 4, 2015). "See Portraits of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej Displayed All Over Bangkok". Time. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Head, Jonathan (December 16, 2015). "Defaming a dog: The ways to get arrested for lese-majeste in Thailand". BBC. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  6. ↑ Bhutia, Jigmey. "Thai man faces 37 years jail for 'insulting' King Bhumibol Adulyadej's dog". ibtimes.co.uk. International Business Times. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  7. 1 2 Holmes, Oliver. "Thai man faces jail for insulting king's dog with 'sarcastic' internet post". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  8. ↑ Panya, Duangkamol. "Who let the dogs out?". bangkokpost.com. Bangkok Post. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
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