Mia Rongiaw, DVM, Fidele Fashion: Pet Pro Profile
October 24, 2010 by Paris Permenter and John Bigley
Filed under News
Would you like to dress your dog in custom-made clothing? We recently learned about a new company, Fidele Fashion, that specializes in custom canine clothing. Based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, this company creates luxury dresses for your dog, each made from quality fabrics such as Thai silk.
As fascinating as we found this beautiful canine haute couture, we were really intrigued when we interviewed the company’s founder, Mia Rongsiaw, DVM, and learned about the company’s efforts to help the dogs of Thailand!
Can you tell us about your background and how you came to work with pets?
I am Thailand born and bred. I trained as a vet, and have lots of love and passion for animals. This passion for animals started as long as I can remember. I graduated as a DVM, with specialist training in horses. In 2005, I graduated from Equine massage therapist college in Colorado, USA. I also have 5 years experience working in animal hospitals in the USA, but relocated back to Thailand in 2010. I currently work part-time in a mixed animal hospital here in Thailand.
How would you describe Fidele Fashions?
Fidele means (a) loyal friend, faithful friend, dog etc.
Fidele Doggie Fashion Design is a high fashion dogs’ clothing apparel. We specialize in customized hand-made products using high quality materials. Our company is guided by the philosophy that we should treat our pets the way we want to be treated. We believe our most loyal friends deserve high fashion outfits as much as we do.
Do you have any tips for people who would like to dress their dogs but are concerned about training their dog to wear such a beautiful dress?
Fashion trends recently have shown that canine fashion is all the rage. Everyone seems to want to dress their small dog up in some type of outfit and show them off to people during a walk or other types of outing.
The real issue that many owners typically face is that some dogs want to get rid of their clothes right away - often by chewing or scratching at the clothes. This can tear up a dog’s clothes in a hurry, wasting money that the owner may have spent on other things for the dog.
So, how can you keep your dog from tearing up his or her clothes? The main goal is to keep your dog from going after the clothes in the first place. You should try to keep your dog interested in chewy toys, bones, or other objects that can draw his/her attention away from the clothes that she’s wearing.
It’s important to note that your dog should not be kept dressed up all day to begin with. That can cause her to become uncomfortable in her new dog clothes, which will simply end with her destroying what she’s wearing. Start off easy by keeping your dog dressed for 10-15 minutes at first to allow her to get used to the clothing she’s wearing. Repeat this step several times until the dog will accept having the dress on her for long periods of time. Be sure to praise your dog when she is wearing the dress and not after you take it off. Once your dog is used to wearing clothes for that amount of time, you can slowly progress to allowing your dog to wear her clothes for longer. Slowly building up the time your dog is dressed will help her feel more “natural” in her clothes. She’ll simply start believing that it’s normal to wear dog clothes.
Can you tell us more about Fidele’s contributions to animal rescue and shelter centers?
Here in Chiang Mai, like many other places in Thailand and around the world, animal welfare does not seem to feature high on people’s agenda. Larger dogs that do not appear in pedigree book pictures are not readily accepted as a pet or family dog. Many households consider a “Thai dog” as ideal to live in their garden, as a guard dog or outside their home, whilst the pedigree or toy dogs live inside the house.
These dogs are often not sterilized and if puppies are born from family dogs, more often than not, the majority are dumped at a temple or other public place.
There are already so many “No Hope” dogs on the streets and if you visit markets, shop, car parks or other public amenity area, where there might be food during early morning or evening, you will see them hanging around looking for food.
When dumped, they fight for their lives and if they survive without being eaten or manage to find some food of their own, they will join the masses. Some temples have literally hundreds.
As a dog lover, I realised this problem long ago. As a DVM, I also know that treating sick patients at the clinic will not help the “street dog” phenomenon unless more awareness is created amongst dog owners.
In recognition of this, 5% of Fidele gross sales will be donated to animal shelters and temples every month. Fidele’s ultimate goal is to set up a free spay/neuter mobile clinic with an army of Volunteer Vets, dog lovers and friends to service the shelters and temples every 3 months.
There is an old saying that saving the life of one animal does not change the world but it does change the world for that animal.
What else would you like the readers of DogTipper.com to know about your work?
We are located in the land of “smile” – Thailand; home to talented artistry, workmanship and high quality fabrics, especially pure silk.
Each of our products is custom made, starting with hand-picked fabrics followed by individual measurements from each customer. Every step of creating the outfits is meticulously undertaken by hand, including the sewing. The end result is a one-of-a-kind handmade custom outfit for your pet.
For More Information:
- visit http://www.fidelefashion.com
- visit http://www.facebook.com/dogfashion
- follow Fidele Fashion at twitter.com/fidelefashion
Photos courtesy Fidele Fashion
About Paris Permenter and John Bigley
DogTipper publishers Paris Permenter and John Bigley are a husband-wife team of full-time writers. The couple has authored over two dozen books and 2,500+ magazine articles.
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