It Doesn't Stop Here

I have reached the end of this trip. (and planning is in place for the next one)

There was a heavy rainstorm on my last day here, and one of the runs I've been working in, Overflow, was flooded at the gate. I couldn't leave without saying bye as the 4 pups in there are the sweetest dogs in the world, so had to climb my way inside like Spider Man. I didn't notice until now how much the dogs wait at the gate once you leave, because it was my last day I kept looking back and began to realise, it was quite sad! I am happy knowing that with the growing number of volunteers, these dogs shouldn't go long without attention or a walk outside. Plus, my Hotel and Overflow runs are all adopted. I wish I was able to tell them they have a great future ahead of them, and obviously this makes room for the process to start again with more dogs moved down from Buriram.

Firstly, it is impossible to express my gratitude enough to everyone that has donated at http://www.gofundme.com/jessiessoidogs while I have been here. The total is still growing and has surpassed the £1000 goal, which is amazing! This will help Soi Dog carry on the amazing work I have discussed throughout my blog and they were extremely thankful when I told them! A big thank you to Ishbel Urquhart and the SPCA who donated dog toys/brushes etc - I was unable to take all of it with me but by selling them on the money raised has gone towards to final total.

Secondly, a huge thank you to Kirstie Ross, reporting for the Evening Express, who after reading my blogs wrote an amazing piece in the paper. This will have surely raised more awareness for the foundation and for that I am very grateful. 

Write up in the Evening Express

Thirdly, thank you to each and every person who shared my blogs and gofundme link via social media. I found out about the foundation myself through a video on Facebook and I can guarantee that now a lot more people are aware of Soi Dog and hopefully will be willing to support and follow their work. 

A final massive thank you to all the staff and full time volunteers at the Soi Dog Foundation. The dog keepers who look after the runs work around the clock to care for the number of dogs at the shelter. They wash, feed, clean the runs, break up fights, care for wounds, help volunteers and I hardly ever seen them take a break. The dog captures, who I never seen much of as they are always out on the streets looking for unsterilised dogs, I was told great stories about. They take the job into their own time (24hr response for injured animals) and money (feeding stray animals) so obviously their level of genuine care is a great asset to the foundation. The long stay volunteers were very inspiring and positive people. Most have moved their lives to Thailand to volunteer and they were all extremely helpful to everyone new. Everyone who works in the office on site are also an essential part of Soi Dog. They organise adoptions, volunteers, flight volunteers, donations, social media as well as spending time with the animals. And of course, the vets and medical staff here in the shelter are heroes. Their care and willingness to support and save every animal they are faced with despite the high number of cases shows they are true professionals. 

Dow - one of her many daily duties!

Volunteering here has been so eye opening in many ways. I have learnt so much more about the organisation by experiencing it first hand. This will help me to further spread the word and I was amazed at how much good they really do with additional projects, such as educating local people and the temple work - on top of fighting the dog meat trade and helping abused street animals. By meeting people with similar interests, I have been able to start planning more travelling for next year. I met a girl called Kris, who works closely with animal welfare projects worldwide. She has given me amazing information on these organisations so that I can look into them all and maybe work my travelling around visiting some next year. Thailand is a beautiful place, but I hope more people who visit would realise that animal abuse is most definitely present. There is a great sign in the shelter which details how tourists can actively help cut this down. It is time to stop turning a blind eye. 

I have tried to focus on positive stories in my blogs, like the progress in A1 during my first 2 weeks and unbelievable affection of the dog meat trade survivors despite their experiences with human betrayal, but obviously have picked up on some of the more brutal realities of why these dogs are here in the first place. I hope that the blogs have helped more people realise exactly what the charity do! All of the animals here deserve positive futures and loving families. I have loved getting to know so many of them while I have been here. I have felt my confidence grow as time went on and it was truly heart warming when you see small steps happening in the right direction.

My next plan once I arrive home is to enjoy a little holiday then work EXTREMELY hard to afford my travelling next year. I have always known that I never suited a normal job so I am very excited to travel, visit more animal welfare charities and of course revisit Soi Dog. It has helped meeting so many people who travel, they've given me a lot of tips on places to visit and amazing money saving ideas!

The Go Fund Me link is still live, I will be transferring it to Soi Dog once I am back in the UK on Sunday, if you would still like to donate a little something by then, please do!  

http://www.gofundme.com/jessiessoidogs

One of 4 amazing dogs in Overflow

Hope for the 1'500 - Frosty's Story

Following my blog last week on the horrific Dog Meat trade - I would like to introduce you to Frosty.

I remember watching a video by the Soi Dog Foundation before I planned my trip which showed footage of dogs in cages, destined for slaughter in the most inhumane and terrible ways. There was one dog in particular which stood out to me because his head was stuck outside of the bars. As I have been working with the rescued dogs from the dog meat trade here at the shelter, I was amazed that the little dog with his head stuck between the bars is actually in one of these runs. Soi Dog have put together a short video focusing on Frosty which they have been kind enough to let me use. Please watch below! 

Its amazing seeing the before and after photos, but this footage really hit home how important the organisation is. Spending time with Frosty in the run has been amazing and I cant believe that without Soi Dog this animal along with thousands of others would not be here today.

As John mentions in the video, without government funding, all the dogs saved from the dog meat trade and sent to Buriram would not survive if it wasn't for the money donated by selfless people. In Frostys case, he was sent from the shelter in Buriram to my shelter in Phuket as he has been adopted. There are still approx 1500 dogs to care for there, hopefully raising more awareness will allow for more adoptions and more funding for better facilities. Please donate at http://www.gofundme.com/jessiessoidogs This is now my last week here & I would love to raise as much as possible before I leave. Thank you! 

Heroes At Work

On Friday I visited the dogs with medical conditions, most suffering also with mange, a skin disease caused by parasitic mites. Next to this run are the older dogs. Both runs broke my heart, some of the cases look shocking as we hardly see this back home - but it is worth remembering that Soi Dog do put down animals that have no chance of a healthy future to avoid a miserable and painful life. Knowing this helped me to understand that these dogs are not in extreme pain or discomfort, in fact, most are up for adoption. Too many people are concerned with buying an animal for their look. I knew before and realise more after my experience here, that a dogs personality will shine over any unsightliness. They actually prove how strong they are by their ability to deal with trauma and the conditions they unfortunately have. I hope to stress to anyone thinking of buying a certain breed, to visit a re-homing shelter before you do, you might fall in love!

Recent amputation

This dogs nails may look uncared for but unfortunately the blood flow reaches into them so cutting them causes it to bleed out too much.

I have noticed a lot of progress regarding the building of the new hospital recently. Comparing it to the size of the clinic they have at the moment, its unbelievable. C Runs (below) which house newly treated dogs, are getting over crowded and are not suitable. They are dark, either too hot or too damp depending on the weather, and cramped which causes a lot of tension between the dogs. This is a matter of space as there isn't anywhere else for them to go at the moment, but its great knowing that the hospital will provide higher quality in-house kennels for these animals.

Other plans for the hospital include space for x-ray facilities which are not possible in the current space, separate wards segregated by condition, extra special care e.g. physiotherapy and the workspace and equipment desperately needed for the vets to work effectively. Once this trip is over, I am definitely planning another as it would be great to see the new hospital at work. Progress picture of the hospital below.. the small building in the background is the current clinic! 

One of the vets here at Soi Dog, Dr Jennifer, spoke to a group of us volunteers this week and discussed how varied working here is. She mentioned that the severity of the cases that come in outnumber where she has worked before by far and that if a vet can work here, they can work anywhere. Obviously, new cases are brought in everyday and there are around 120 -150 medical cases in the shelter at any one time, only here for treatment, so it is a very demanding and busy job. 

For the past 3 years Soi Dog have ran mobile clinics around Thailand. They base themselves in one area for 2-4 weeks, and can perform up to 50 surgeries a day. In one location, they can spay neuter up to 250 animals a week. Dogs Trust in the UK support Soi Dog in their mobile clinics. Sterilization is very important to Soi Dog. This helps keeps the number of stray animals down - to save more from a potentially awful life involving starvation, injury, disease and inhumane culling . Euthanasia (as a form of control) is against the Buddhist religion, so instead there are a lot of cases of poison being put down (the dog chooses to eat), animals being put in bags and left on the roads (the car kills them) and other inhumane methods. Soi Dog believe that they have sterilized around 80% of Phukets dog population and there are plans for the future to continue this work across Thailand.

The foundation are also highly involved with temple outreach programmes. We were told of one temple north of Bangkok, where the animal abuse was severe before Soi Dog became involved. They had about 1500 animals, all cramped in cages piled up so they excreted on top of each other. They also hung animals in cages, 2 dogs or 2 cats etc. around the temple. Soi Dog have spent a lot of money there to try and make improvements, build dog runs and educate.

Donating to Soi Dog via my link will help these programmes grow. I am extremely thankful for all donations so far - but would love to reach closer to my target. Sharing this information is also highly effective, educating people on how much this organisation actually do will provide more assistance, more volunteers and more funding! http://www.gofundme.com/jessiessoidogs   

Saving One Animal Does Not Change The World, But It Does Change The World For That Animal

 http://www.gofundme.com/jessiessoidogs 

I wasn't able to go to the shelter yesterday after suffering a bit of dehydration - I needed rest & gallons of water. Its happened to a few of us, we're out with the dogs in the sun all day long, dripping in sweat, and its easy to forget to drink enough! I was fine by the evening and was looking forward to walking the Hotel runs today.

Again, the dog meat trade pups were as sweet as pie. The street dog runs do love attention, but as a lot of the dog meat trade dogs are stolen former pets - they seem to grasp the concept of a cuddle more understandably. Me and Thomas, who also volunteers in these runs, managed to walk all the dogs in all 3 hotel runs today. I had to carry a couple nervous wrecks past other confident dogs and by the loud hospital construction site a few times but they all walked brilliantly so it was a great day.

What I have realised by being here, and by talking to a few people who have worked for other animal welfare charities across the world, is that the work Soi Dog do undoubtedly turn the lives of these animals around. I know I have mentioned this before, but by actually taking the time to realise how many dogs are here, how many have been happily rehomed in the past and how many cases of abuse have existed, I realise that without Soi Dog these thousands upon thousands of animals would have been tortured their entire life. The title is totally true. By even saving one life, and now, by even walking one dog a day - that day has been an accomplishment.

See below a few before and afters from the Soi Dog website.

Dam Dam After

Dam Dam Before

Rawai Before 

Rawai After

The frustrating thing about this country, is that a lot of the abuse is ignored. Last week there was the case of the dog which had been run over and was left (perhaps for days) suffering, without anyone taking it in. Even if people have pet dogs, the veterinary care is not an important issue, and a lot of the time religion plays a part in this, what will be will be etc. Intentional attacks from humans are more than common, we have seen small cases of this out on the streets (dogs in restaurants) and more serious cases of mistreatment in the shelter, machete attacks, dogs tied up and used as shooting targets, burn victims - all disgusting and all unbelievable to imagine carrying out.

I mentioned on one of my earlier blogs that the signs of abuse are clear while walking around the shelter. I prepared myself for this before I came, and luckily I can handle seeing and dealing with the stories very well. I always remind myself that what matters now is that the abuse has stopped, they have been saved, and it is up to us to help make the rest of their life the best it could be. It does get emotional when hearing about the past of an animal you have become attached to. This happened today when we were watching a couple of the videos about the dogs. The volunteers who now know these dogs and work with them each day became emotional. While I was in A1, the two volunteers in A2 next door both set each other off crying when they found out that the reason one of their dogs had an amputated leg is because it was cut off with a machete. We also hear a lot of horrible noises coming out of the hospital rooms, but again, I remind myself that they are in great hands. The staff and volunteer vets work extremely hard.

This little one has lost the nerves in his feet so can't walk on them properly - He is still taken out for walks and always looks happy!

Like Kapi, almost every dog has scars. Although some are a result from scrapping in their run!

The dogs here need to be adopted, and while they stay here there needs to be enough kind donations to help the organisation grow (for example - funds for the new hospital) and be able to cater for the amount of dogs they have (here in Phuket and the dogs still in the other shelter in Buriram near Bangkok - who all need the love, attention and care this shelter provides). Please donate at http://www.gofundme.com/jessiessoidogs :)

On a more personal level, I am over halfway through my time here. I knew this would be a great trip but I am so happy with how my perspective on the way I see things have changed, realising what is important, and also having clarity what I want to do with my life - all with the help of being surrounded with such adventurous, understanding and open minded people. Obviously, every penny donated so far will go such a long way, but I would be over the moon to reach my target and give Soi Dog something back for what I have been taught while here!

Anna in the Cat Hospital

Not forgetting...

Soi Dog also have facilities to care for the cats in Thailand who would otherwise suffer disease, malnutrition, cruelty inflicted by humans and road accidents. The cat hospital treats the animals that come in, then provides a great in and outside area for the cats to live in before they are adopted. A lot of Thai people come in and adopt the cats here and they seem to leave quite quickly which is brilliant.



A lot of the cats here are caught up with the cruelty against the dogs. If poison is put down to kill dogs, this can also be unintentionally eaten by cats, for example. It is just another frustrating result from the stupidity and cruel nature of certain humans. Hopefully one day this will stop, but until then, luckily Soi Dog have this great facility.

It is great seeing this wall updated so often!

The inside area for some of the cats housed here

The Hidden Secrets of Paradise

Today a few more volunteers joined the shelter, Christie left at the weekend so I decided to change runs to meet some more of the dogs here (plus, some of the bigger ones I cant control on my own!). A1 has been taken over by 2 new people who seem perfect for the dogs in there and I'm still going to pop in and visit them each day.

I moved into the Hotel runs. The dogs within Hotel 1, Hotel 2 and Overflow are all animals saved from the illegal Dog Meat Trade. Around 50 at a time are put up for adoption & moved from a shelter near Bangkok to the shelter here in Phuket. I found the atmosphere different in these runs, a pack system has not had time to establish so there seemed to be less tension! (Most dogs are only there for a maximum of 3 months before they move to their new homes - Depending which country they have been adopted into/paperwork time/quarantine etc.).

The Dog Meat Trade itself is barbaric, inhumane and illegal in Thailand. My choice to come and volunteer at the shelter was hugely shaped by my interest in the efforts against the trade. I have been educated as time has went on and feel that nobody should turn a blind eye to this. It is shocking that so many tourists visit Thailand and have no idea of the abuse which goes on out of their sight.

Strays as well as stolen pets are taken from the streets of Thailand. They are crammed into small cages however many will fit - which often breaks their bones and suffocates them. Without food and water they make their way on packed lorries to the border headed for Vietnam, sometimes taking days. Those that survive the trip are then considerably tortured before they are butchered. Practices such as boiling and skinning alive are unthinkably believed to result in a higher quality of meat. Reports of insane cruelty have been found at all stages of the trade; sourcing, transportation, sale and slaughter.

Please watch this video giving a shocking insight into the severity of this trade.

Although I turned vegetarian this year, I understand that people eat meat, and for some dogs are a delicacy. I had people say to be before I left that I should try and 'understand that different cultures work in different ways'. I am against the cruelty of this trade. The unnecessary torture of any animal angers me and that is why I came here. I know that stopping the trade out of Thailand will not create an extinction of dogs being farmed for meat, which is sad, but if every dog saved from a brutal end here can be given a second hope then I am fully supportive of stopping the dog meat trade. As mentioned in the video above, 'we have heard claims that dog eating is part of culture and tradition... these are never excuses for cruelty'.

 

All dogs pictured are survivors of the dog meat trade

What surprised me most after spending my day with the survivors, was their affection. Humans have brutally severed the loyal trust of these animals yet most in the run all approached me for attention, let me groom them and sat with me. They seem happy. People that ignore this happening in the world, because it is too heartbreaking to watch videos on or see pictures of, have to remember that the suffering stops here and this can only continue by spreading awareness. I met one of the dogs today I had seen footage of crammed into a cage with his head stuck out the bars. It was amazing to see him free and happy.






Unfortunately, it is expensive to help save the sheer number of dogs caught at borders/in Thailand. Billboards are around which give rewards to people phoning in with information of a smuggle, the cost of living for this number of dogs is high plus the veterinary costs they all require.

By donating money at http://www.gofundme.com/jessiessoidogs you can be a part of this journey. Every dog here has been through such tragedy, and to come out still able to even approach a human proves that they deserve a long and happy future.

Please, donate and share this as much as possible. Thank you!