Tongdaeng (also spelled Thong Daeng, Thai: ทองแดง, lit. "copper"; 7 November 1998 – 26 December 2015), was a female copper-colored mixed breed dog and one of the pets owned by King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand.
The king adopted Tongdaeng in lated 1998 from the litter of a stray dog that had been taken in by a medical center he had recently dedicated his name to. Tongdaeng was nursed by Mae Mali (lit. Mother Jasmine), a former stray who was adopted by the king before.[1]
King Bhumibol called her "a common dog who is uncommon", and in 2002 wrote an affectionate biography of her titled "The Story of Tongdaeng (เรื่อง ทองแดง)". The 84-page book, published in both Thai and English, quickly sold out of its first edition of 100,000 in Thailand.[1] Since demand was so high, the book became an esteemed gift,[2] and was reprinted many times. It is also commonly referred to as a parable on many social topics.
In the book, the king wrote that "Tongdaeng is a respectful dog with proper manners; she is humble and knows protocol. She would always sit lower than the King; even when he pulls her up to embrace her, Tongdaeng would lower herself down on the floor, her ears in a respectful drooping position, as if she would say, 'I don't dare.'"[3]
A commemorative block of four postage stamps featuring Tongdaeng was issued by Thailand Post in 2006.[4]
Tongdaeng died on 26 December 2015. A statue of her was created for the Royal Crematorium of King Bhumibol.
See main article: Lèse majesté in Thailand.
Thanakorn Siripaiboon, a 27-year-old factory worker, was charged in 2015 with insulting the King through a "sarcastic" post about Tongdaeng on Facebook under the lèse majesté law in Thailand.[5] His lawyer, Anon Nampa, informed the International New York Times that the charge "had not detailed the precise insult towards the animal".[6] The Bangkok-based printer of the International New York Times removed the story from the 14 December 2015 print edition of the paper, just 12 days before Tongdaeng's death.[6] He was released on bond after spending 90 days in prison. If convicted, Thanakorn could have faced up to a maximum of 37 years in prison. His current location and the status of his case are unknown as of June 2018.
According to the BBC, a prosecutor said Thanakorn had posted several photos of the dog on Facebook in a manner which appeared to mock the King, and in addition had been charged with posting the "like" button next to a doctored photo of the Thai monarch, which had been posted by another Facebook user.[7] The case was eventually dropped.
A film based on Tongdaeng's biography, Khun Tongdaeng: The Inspirations (คุณทองแดงดิอินสไปเรชันส์), was released in November 2015.[8]