One of the main features of the Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi is a nearly 1300 step climb to the top where there is meant to be the footprint of the Buddha. Every year tens of thousands of people make this difficult climb to go to this holy location and there is one dog that is considered the Queen of the Temple and she basically spends all of her time up there at the top. She pops up and down every now and then and at least for me I find it quite remarkable that this is something that doesn't really even seem to phase her. For me, the 1300 steps feel like a workout and a half but for Prikke, that is just part of her routine.
Here we are at the very top
While Prikke is very friendly and approaches basically anyone that makes the journey to the top, she also gets very dirty. As much as we are happy that the monks look after the dogs by feeding them and letting us know if any new dogs turn up or if any of the existing ones are sick, they seem to have zero interest in bathing them. So the other day I took it upon myself to do this for Prikke.
We had never done this before so we didn't really know what to expect. As it turns out Prikke didn't really want to be washed and if you have ever owned a dog you probably already know that most dogs don't really look forward to the process. She didn't become violent or anything but she did have to be restrained in order to keep her in place.
At the end of the process we gave her a bunch of treats and showered her with affection so hopefully she will remember that in the future, bathtime results in some snacks. It would be nice if the monks would pitch in for this process because she isn't the only one in need of some freshening up, that's for sure. She just happens to be the most famous dog because she chooses to live in solitude at the top of the temple.
At the end of it all Prikke stuck around for a bit but you could tell that she was eyeing up the stairs to the top shortly after a brief visit. After 10 minutes or so she headed towards the stairs and began the journey back up the 1300 stairs to her home at the top.
We only did this down at the bottom because of the fact that Prikke just happened to follow someone down and we were surprised to see her not at the top of the temple. They do in fact have water at the top so in the future I think we will just meet her up there in order to give her a bath rather than doing it this way. We'll probably have to use the water a bit more sparingly up there because it is actually quite a difficult process that the temple uses to get the water up there in the first place.
By the way Prikke means "chili" in Thai and doesn't have any negative connotation like the word would in English. This dog is not a "prick" at all but is instead probably one of the friendliest creatures on the planet.
If you would like to see how you can help out or simply spread the word, please visit our website at
http://krabianimalwelfare.org
เป็นผู้สนับสนุนรายเดือนหรือบริจาคครั้งเดียวได้ที่:
The story is so moving. I spent a couple weeks in Krabi in 2019 but didn't hear of this place. I wish I could meet this special being. 😌
well if you ever make it back there is a good chance that Prikke will still be there! She is in great health and always loves visitors who want to give her some rubs!
That is one friendly Prikke, couldn't help but run with this pun. Perhaps the lovings at high altitude are all the better....
Most people are pretty amazed that she lives up there especially after they just suffered through the climb to the top themselves.
Well done! Dogs can be a struggle in that area for sure..
That's amazing that she chooses the top! Straight up the stairs.. lol
Brilliant!
The first time I discovered her up there I thought it was a one off and that maybe she had followed her favorite monk up there but no, it turns out that she prefers to live up there and someone must be giving her food because she is in pretty great shape. Perhaps she prefers the cool breeze up there :)
What a beautiful story. Prikke is very blessed to have you looking out for her. Maybe it's because she's closer to God at that top of those 1300 stairs 🤔
@kbv.animalwelf
The story is beautifully arranged. Great blogging with photography. Many thanks for loving so much friendship with the dog.
Thanks for the words. We do the best that we can!
She looks super friendly and still can't believe no one has adopted her. Would visitors visiting the temple possibly adopt a dog if they saw one they liked or is that very rare?
In the years that we have been doing this, this situation has never happened but we do take photos of the dogs we consider to be most adoptable and if someone decides they would like to meet one of them, we will take them to meet the dog and then the potential new parents can make an informed choice about if they want to take on the responsibility.
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I've been to the top of this mountain. When I was in shape I would do it for exercise but seeing as how the stairs are so misshapen I am surprised that a dog can do it so easily. Hope it doesn't trigger some early onset hip dysplasia or something like that.
This is a good point. From what we can tell she doesn't make the journey down very often and just tends to lounge around at the top all day. Since there are so many visitors to this temple on a regular basis and she is so friendly, she gets plenty of attention. I also believe that the one monk who lives up there is feeding her because she is in good shape as far as that is concerned.
⋆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ
⋆ sᴜʙsᴄʀɪʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ
⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
⋆ ᴅᴇʟᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪɴᴋs 25 ʜᴘ⇾50 ʜᴘ⇾100 ʜᴘ⇾500 ʜᴘ⇾1,000 ʜᴘ
This is such a lovely story, thanks for telling us about the queen of the temple, amazing animal also love the picture of you guys up top.
It's pretty tough getting up there. I always start out the journey thinking it is going to be easy because I am in relatively good shape. I always question whether or not to turn back around step number 600 or so :)