Uong Sokhanil, 23, is a second year student at Pannasastra University and is majoring in English for Business Communication. He loves dogs so much that he and his family have raised 14 dogs in their house.

Sokhanil said he has raised dogs since 2002.

“We wanted to have dogs to look after the house, and they all make us very happy,” he said.

At first it was just a few that they had in the house, but they started having puppies. Not being able to bear to give them away because they were worried that their new masters would mistreat them, they decided to keep some of them. Today, their dog family is in its forth generation. He used to have 14 dogs, but someone poisoned them, causing four to die.

A major challenge of owning so many dogs is making sure they get the right food to eat.

“I normally feed them twice a day,” said Sokhanil. “We also think of a variety of food menus for them.”

“I have a lot of work to do with their food, and to shower them one by one. But I always feel very happy when I see them run around the house cheerfully”.

Furthermore, Sokhanil said he is proud of their talents, as they always remember their own names. Every night, the dogs take turns to look after every corner of the house, just like a group of bodyguards. He thinks they understand everything he says to them.

He said that among all of them, there is a newbie that comes from the neighbor’s house. He saw that the family does not treat the newcomer nicely; they even lock it in one place so it cannot move. Consequently, Sokhanil and his family have asked to adopt the poor dog.

Despite the dogs’ friendliness with the people they know, Sokhanil said that they cannot let the dogs leave the house.

“They all live happily together with freedom within the house but we have to be careful not to let them go outside, as they would bite strangers.”