I call this photo of a streetdog in Bangkok, "Ringpull". It's tail was permanently in this full-circle curve and, quite frankly, when it wagged its tail at a fellow dog it looked a little stupid. She was part of a small group that hung around some empty land behind a shopping mall. People in places like this always keep the bins well stocked with plenty of edible waste, but for some the bins are just too far away to bother with so the roadside is used as an alternative dumping ground. If not for dogs like these rats would be thriving even more than they already are.
But their's is a life in the shadows. A balance of keeping out of our way but being ready to take what we discard. Close but not too close, friendly yet wary.
Most of the day the dogs lounge around in whatever shade they can find but in the late afternoon as the sun loses its intensity they stir themselves and do the rounds of their territory. Time to socialise, scavenge our leftovers and leave their scent.
This is also the time when people start appearing from their air-conditioned work-places although they tend to just pass by on their way into the air-conditioned mall where they also socialise and scavenge for bargains but without so much of the scent-marking, at least, not until the pubs close.
