From New York Times, November 2, 2014, Dog Meat Trade in Thailand Is Under Pressure and May Be Banned:

“Dogs are man’s best friend,” said Kawai Thanthongdee, 66, who has been eating dogs since he was young and is Mr. Praprut’s father-in-law. “But some dogs deserve to be killed.” And eaten, apparently.

This is the reality into which Khao was born and in which she lived for the first few years of her life. She was saved from the hammer and knife when she was rescued by Soi Dog Foundation in Thailand and brought over by her sponsor. She's been in Toronto for three weeks now and despite her mid-length coat, shivers in the damp November chill as she's still adjusting to the weather and the first winter of her life.

I walk with her a bit but in the short time I have, I can hardly get her to even look at me, especially with the camera lens staring at her face. She's a very shy girl. It's no surprise, given her past, that she's a little wary of strangers.

Especially men, her foster, tells me. I look at her peaking out from between her foster's feet. Khao's obviously bonded with Farah.

How long did that take? I ask.

Overnight, Farah replies.

Such is the trust inherent in Khao towards humans, waiting to express itself, despite all experience telling her to do otherwise.

Prancer hops around when excited but settles nicely once the adventure is over. It took him a whole five minutes to bond with Tofu, the Chihuahua from a few days ago, then he started crying when Tofu kept walking and we stayed behind for photos. This guy would likely do well in a house with a compatible dog.

Whoever takes Prancer, you already know you're going to put Christmas reindeer antlers on him, don't you?

Tofu has fur soft as a bunny and makes squeaky noises but only if he likes you. He also rolls on dried liver treats before eating them. Not suitable for guard dog work.

Hope is lying in the window of Kennel Cafe beside her friend Khao who seems to be getting all the attention. They're both up for adoption but Khao is a snowy white dog with the demeanor of a shy fawn. Hope, on the other hand, is all about greeting people and licking hands and exploring the store. Different personalities garner different responses and today, Khao gets most of the attention. By the end of the afternoon, there are two applications handed in for Khao and none for Hope.

Both dogs are far away from where they were born. Khao is from Thailand via Soi Dog and a private sponsor who brought her here to Toronto. Hope is from Serbia via Free Fly, a Serbian rescue organization which tries to place dogs outside of Serbia, and here in Toronto she is being fostered by Connect-a-Pet.

None of this matters to the dogs, of course. There is sunlight beaming through the window. There are snacks. There are friendly hands. They've both adjusted well to a new place where people are no longer the enemy.

I ask Liisa, who is with Connect-a-Pet, if I can take some photos of Hope. We go outside, around a corner, to get away a bit from the bustle of Roncevalles. Hope is curious outside but also a little wary. Maybe the noise and crowds remind her of where she came from. I bring out the snacks and the squeaky toy and she starts to focus on those things and then she is fine. By the end of the photo shoot, which lasts maybe fifteen minutes, Hope is shivering from the cold and seems glad to be scooped up back into Liisa's arms.

"She needs a turtleneck," Liisa says.