Bali’s Oldest Dogs, and the Match Raising Funds to Rehome Them

The Bali dog is one of the oldest lineages of its kind anywhere on earth, genetically closer to the first domesticated dogs than almost any breed alive today. The animals asleep in doorways and trotting along the verge of every road are not strays in the way a passing visitor tends to read them. They are descendants of dogs that have lived beside the Balinese for thousands of years, and the culture around them still carries the weight of that history.

Balinese Hinduism rests on Tri Hita Karana, the idea that life holds its balance through three relationships: between people and God, between people and one another, and between people and nature. Animals belong to the third. The principle is not left as a theory. Every 210 days the island marks Tumpek Kandang, a day given over entirely to blessing them. Cows, pigs, birds and the family dog are washed in holy water and offered food and flowers, honoured as fellow beings rather than possessions. It is one of the few places in the world where the household dog has its own recurring holy day.

When the balance breaks

For the most part, local culture centres on caring and giving. The dogs are fed, tolerated and left to their own business. But there are exceptions to every rule. A family leaves the island and the pet is simply put out on the street. A dog spends a full day tied in the sun without water because someone forgot, or stopped caring. Unfortunately it happens more often than a two-week holiday would ever show you, and the animals on the wrong side of it rarely recover on their own.

That gap is the reason Mission Pawsible exists.

Rescue, rehabilitate, rehome

Mission Pawsible is a registered charity in Bali dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming these animals. Their Healing Centre is a peaceful place where dogs recover from whatever life has thrown at them, and it is open to visitors too, whether you are looking to foster, hoping to adopt, or simply want to share some love with the occupants.

To protect the dogs’ routine, the Healing Centre operates set visiting times, which can be booked through their website at www.missionpawsible.org.