Mê Thú Cưng - Pet Magazine for Vietnam Số 4 | Issue Four | Page 62

Mê Thú Cưng

Hướng dẫn Quyền chủ thú cưng 60 65

Definitive EXPATS Pet Owners Guide for Vietnam
Curtis King needs no introduction to musicians and the music scene in
Vietnam. Besides playing over 10 musical instruments and speaking many
languages, Curtis is an avid railroad buff involved with the forgotten rail
culture in the Da Lat area where he also owns and manages the Dalat Train
Villa & Cafe. Curtis shares with you his passions in life, his family and
experiences of pet ownership abroad and in Vietnam.

My

name is Curtis “King” Kovach. (I go by
“Curtis King” or “Le Van Teo” for my live music
performances.) I’m originally from Cleveland Ohio
in the USA (the “home” of rock and roll music), but
have been living overseas since about the age of
21. I have been in Vietnam now for about 13 years,
half of that in HCMC and half in Dalat, where I now
live with my Vietnamese wife, two children, and an
adopted son. I am currently involved in the running
of the Dalat Train Villa & Cafe, V Cafe, and The
Escape Bar. I also am involved in the production
and export of Arabica coffee from the Dalat area.

Briefly tell our readers your experiences
of owning pets where you were born and
raised?
I started having pets when I was living overseas in
Spain. It was there that I learned how much joy a
can can bring to our lives. To be greeted at home by
a loving cat after a hard day’s work is simply magic.
After Spain, back in the USA, I had a beautiful
Chihuahua and a small mixed breed cat. I would take
the Chihuahua for walks around Seattle, chasing
squirrels, and stopping to let kids pet her. We were
convinced our cat spoke Spanish, as his ears perked
up every time something came on the TV in Spanish.
When I moved to China, and later Singapore, there
was little space for a pet, and Singapore had so many
rules and regulations about pets in apartments that
it wasn’t practical to have a pet.

When did you decide to include a pet in
your life in Vietnam?
When living in Saigon, I never thought about
having a pet, as I was single and always travelling.
But when I settled in Dalat with my wife, I thought
it would be great to have a pet dog. Dalat is an

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Số 04 | Tháng Bảy & Tám 2014 | petmagazine.vn

amazing place to take a dog for a walk - parks,
lakes, waterfalls, trains, fresh weather, and
mountains. We are lucky to have space to let our
dog run around and not just stay in the house all day.

What are the names of your pets and a few
particular charastertisitcs?
Our dog Nunu is a poodle/mix. She’s about 6 years
old and thankfully in good health. She’s a true
“buddy”. (On occasion, as a bar owner, I’ve been
so drunk that I go home and sit with Nunu for
hours and hours, looking at the stars, enjoying the
cool weather, and trying to speak “dog language”.
I speak about 10 languages and have dabbled in
about 40 or so over the years. I would not be lying if I
said that, on certain occasions, we were “speaking”.
Maybe it was the wine!) We tried to let her stay at the
Dalat Train Villa with us, but unfortunately she barked
at all of the incoming customers, “protecting” us. I
wish I knew a dog whisperer, so we could tell her...
“Stop barking. Stay at the Villa. Enjoy a sweeter life.”
Our cat Mumu has a completely different
personality! He is free to come and go as he pleases
around the Dalat Train Villa and in the train car, and
customers have taken a liking to him. He is a bit of
a celebrity - customers often take photos with him.
He seems to like music!! He reacts immediately
when he hears the music in the train car. He seems
happiest late at night, when we do a big bonfire,
and he jumps on my lap, looks into the fire and the
stars, and seems content with his place in life.

Describe your overall experiences and
feelings of having pets in Vietnam?
Pets are great anywhere. However, the difficulty in
Vietnam, as any pet owner is aware, is the danger of
losing pets to thieves. Sadly, we lost two dogs, Lulu and
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