Tia, the celebrity mascot at Chiang Mai University is missing and people are having a meltdown.
Tia has a Facebook page with nearly 162,000 followers and is a beloved campus dog. He went missing on the 4th when it was posted on his FB page that he hadn’t been seen. Students, teachers and even outsiders have been combing the campus for the past few days, searching in closed classrooms, drain pipes and anywhere they can think of.
Wararom Insom, a staff at in the computer science department who is Tia’s page admin said that groups of people have been systematically searching the university, starting with the Faculty of Humanities where Tia likes to hang out.
Every room in the faculty was checked as have other faculties since.
According to Wararom, Tia is a dog which loves to join in various activities. Whether it is the annual walk up to Doi Suthep to welcome the freshies or any campus activity, Tia would be there.
“Tia is such a friendly dog who loves everyone,” said Wararom. “It is incredible how many students and faculty have a genuine connection with Tia. Tia is never bad tempered, and loves to hang out with people. Sometimes students take him out of campus for a motorbike ride, but mostly he enjoys living on campus, sleeping in various faculties as he is comfortable everywhere and knows that he is welcome and loved.”
Tia was last seen on the evening of the 4th walking around Ang Kaew Lake.
Students made an official statement at Phuping Police Station on the 5th about Tia and through social media and personal contacts, the search for Tia has become a city-wide hunt.
“It is hoped now that perhaps some student took Tia away for a holiday and didn’t think that we would be worried,” said Wararom.
Pornpen Chapong, is a member of Tia’s fanpage and she told CityNews, with tears in her eyes, that Tia is an integral part of life on the campus. She said that Tia has brought so much joy and comfort to so many people and he truly was a part of the social fabric.
Tia’s fan page is not just dedicated to him, but through its vast number of followers it has also helped many other stray dogs, whose stories get posted on Tia’s page.
“Tia has helped so many other stray dogs to find a better life and to be loved and cared for,” said Pornpen. “A lot of money has been raised to help other dogs through Tia’s fan club. We just want him to return to his family who love and worry about him.”
Tia has lived at Chiang Mai University since 2015 and was one of the first dogs to be registered when the university enforced a new regulation to control the number of stray dogs. All stray dogs were registered by various faculties, as was Tia.
Please keep an eye out for this beloved pooch.