Fufu (dog)

Fufu
ฟูฟู
Species Dog
Breed Miniature poodle[1]
Sex Male
Born Fufu
1997
Bangkok, Thailand
Died February 2015 (aged 17)
Nation from Thailand
Owner Maha Vajiralongkorn

"Air Chief Marshal" Fufu (or Foo Foo Thai: ฟูฟู; RTGS: Fufu; 1997–2015) was the pet poodle of Maha Vajiralongkorn, who was the Crown Prince of Thailand while the dog was alive. The dog was a favourite of the prince and often accompanied him on royal engagements. According to the prince, his second daughter Sirivannavari Nariratana bought the dog when it was aged about one month from Chatuchak market in Bangkok, along with some rabbits, hamsters and other dogs. He was "quite cute, but seemed very weak", and due to his daughter's young age the dog was kept in a pet shelter by palace staff.[2] Fufu was occasionally put through his paces in public, as happened during the Thailand Grand Pet Show in Nakhon Pathom in December 2006 when the dog was said to have "exuded charm and executed clever stunts".[3]

Fufu came to wider public attention in 2007 when he appeared in a leaked video showing the Crown Prince's third wife, Princess Srirasmi, feeding a birthday cake to the dog while wearing only a G-string.[4] The video, which was thought to have been leaked by opponents of the Crown Prince, caused a sensation in Thailand and exposed a hidden struggle for the right to succeed the ailing Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej.[5]

A few months later, US Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce attended a gala dinner in honour of the Crown Prince at which the dog appeared "dressed in formal evening attire complete with paw mitts".[5] Boyce reported further that Fufu had been "promoted" to the rank of air chief marshal in the Royal Thai Air Force.[5] According to the ambassador's cable to Washington, subsequently released by WikiLeaks, "at one point during the band's second number, he jumped up onto the head table and began lapping from the guests' water glasses, including my own. The air chief marshal's antics drew the full attention of the 600-plus audience members, and remains the talk of the town to this day."[5]

The death of Fufu in early 2015 was followed by four days of Buddhist funeral rites and the dog's cremation, images from which were widely shared on social media in Thailand. The funeral attracted commentary from Thais as an oblique and ironic reflection of worries over the king's succession, which cannot be aired openly in Thailand due to a lèse-majesté law that attracts severe penalties.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/10/13/the-thai-kings-heir-owned-a-controversial-poodle-named-air-chief-marshal-foo-foo/
  2. ↑ "The Week That Was : Playful Palace poodle piques pet-loving Prince". The Nation. Bangkok. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015. (not available anymore), Web Archive Memento dated 6 February 2015
  3. ↑ "Tongdaeng progeny put through paces". The Nation. Bangkok. 16 December 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Graham, Caroline (24 May 2014). "How future queen of Thailand (wearing only a tiny G-string) let her poodle Foo Foo eat cake: As coup rocks Bangkok, video reveals royal couple's decadent lifestyle". Daily Mail. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Marshall, Andrew MacGregor (5 February 2015). "Thai crown prince's poodle, Air Chief Marshal Foo Foo, has been cremated". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
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