Best Bark About Cambodia: Call this Oscar the Tomb Ruffer - Depositing my droppings on the creepy yet infamous Angkor Thom tree and trying to spot them from the Helium balloon above was definitely the woof-lite!!

Worst bark about Cambodia: Being yelped at for swimming below the sunset views of the great Ankor Wat. (Hey, it was hot, ok!)

There isn’t one animal organization in Cambodia so what is a dog to do but sniff out some other stuff to do! Of course I visited the great temples of Angkor Wat – it was always a challenge sniffing into position because some minutes dogs are allowed; other seconds only Oscars are allowed. Either way, it was a wonderful experience – in fact everything in Cambodia was a woofing pleasure. No one kicked me out of bed to tell me paws weren’t allowed – everyone smiles – even if you growling – and best of all – of the many dogs that are around in Siem Reap, I only saw ONE that needed care. The rest may not sleep on a sofa, but they are well fed and pretty confident body guards.
Without an organization to visit, where was I to find the Oscar’s Oscar? Well, I spent the day with PACDOC Home on the outskirts of Siem Reap. The home cares for around 40 homeless or very poor children and what better that to get our paws dirty and paint the day away! The day – or should I say ‘paper’- went to the dogs and we had a laugh a lick! I can honestly say that the next pack of famous artists may just be coming out of Cambodia! A little bit of soccer ended the day and as the tuk tuk departed from the dusty entrance of the modest outcrop on the outskirts of town, the children waving and giggling in the most adorable way, I once again reaffirmed how lucky we all are to have this life – how we should value it, nurture, appreciate it, and create moments that inspire others to perhaps do the same. With a few hours to spare on the last day, I popped into Sunrise Children’s Village which is a home set up by the famous Australian, Geraldine Cox. The orphanages care for hundreds of orphaned or disadvantaged Cambodian children and I popped in for another game of SOCCER (Go Muttchester United!) and to draw a bit more. The children are all so polite and gracious here – it’s a humbling and moving experience t be in such special company - and it made me really link into our common denominator and to reflect apon the point that even if you have no parents and you are thrown out in the cold without family and find yourself homeless – it doesn’t mean that you can’t have it all. Keep hoping, keep praying, keep wagging and life can be the greatest ift you ever could have imagined- you can end up in a loving home like Sunrise; you can win an Oscar for being the next Pooch-casso – you can end up in Hollywood calling Angelina ‘Mom’ – and best yet, you could even end up defying the odds and taking on the world for destitute dogkind! All you have to do is believe…WOOF!
A really big bark of thanks to ROGZ for all their sensational stuff that was handed out to the children of PACDOC Home, Bangkok Airway for assisting us with discounted flights to Cambodia and then, to Chinda from Dynamic Air Cargo who was a real top dog for sorting out all my pooch paperwork in the import and export traveling department. You are one of the sweetest and most helpful people that I have met on my Woof Tour thus far! Thank You! Oh, last but not by any means least, to the Khmer Empire for building almost 1 000 temples on which I could sniff out your existence on the planet – you guys still smell great!