Temple and Street Dogs
Saving Thailand's Forgotten Dogs
The objective of 'Saving Thailand’s Forgotten Dogs' program is to improve the living conditions for abandoned, sick and injured dogs in the vast area of Bang Saphan. The region is a backwater where thousands of abandoned and unneutered dogs live wild or in Temples. In this area, local government support is scant and there is a very limited veterinary capacity to provide quality care for dogs in need.
To treat serious cases such as broken limbs or backs and serious internal ruptures and external wounds, we must travel over 100ks or 200 ks to vets that have the equipment and skills to perform the necessary operations. These clinics have performed excellent operations on many of the dogs, saving lives and enabling them to heal and live pain-free lives.
Associated costs are the most limiting factor in our Saving Thailand’s Forgotten Dogs’ program. We are very fortunate to have the support of K9Aid and Cuddly. Both these fundraising platforms raise essential funds for our serious cases some of which are fully subscribed and some aren’t.
Sadly, if we don’t have a budget or donations we can’t do the work. We would be extremely grateful for donations to enable us to stop the suffering.
At the beginning of every year, we carry out a program to vaccinate Temple dogs situated around the market area of BangSaphan. We also include a number of Temples 15 – 20 kilometres from town.
Some 100 street dogs are also included in this program. Rabies vaccinations are also given to street dogs and those owned by impoverished residents not in our program in an effort to keep Bang Saphan free from rabies.
The program provides ongoing care for 100s of dogs and puppies living in temples, on streets and beaches and at a holding site near the Myanmar border. In addition to providing outreach services including feeding, vaccination, and preventive care, the program also responds to cases of sick or injured dogs. The number of emergencies often seems endless – from road traffic accidents to cases of infectious disease. These dogs receive the medical care they so desperately require, and are cared for at our Healing Centre following medical treatment. The program aims to work with local communities, to ultimately help them take better care of animals.
We are increasingly called out to rescue dogs hit by cars. The pleas for help spike dramatically during the festive season when drivers take less care. Broken backs, legs, jaws, a cracked pelvis and serious bruising are very common. Time is of the essence to save these dogs and the nearest vet with the necessary equipment to operate is 100kms away. Our outreach team responds immediately to transport the dogs for urgent treatment.
Our dogs’ recovery success rate is high due to our outreach team’s dedicated rescue work often responding to urgent calls during unsocial hours.
Every month we review our outreach work to ensure that rescuing dogs and rescuing puppies intervention are targeted and effective.
Saving Thailand’s Forgotten Dogs has a strong community based emphasis, offering medical services and sterilization to pet owners who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it. Neutering is an important part of the program and we reach out to locals who have large numbers of dogs to care for, offering free spay and neuter services to combat the birth of unwanted litters. Compassionate local people often end up with large numbers of dogs after unsterilised stray dogs arrive at their homes hungry. While the dogs are fed with rice and leftovers, local people are unable to pay for medical costs. With our support, these kind-hearted animal lovers can be helped by providing medical assistance and care for their dogs, should the need arise
There are also plans to educate the local community through school lectures, and encouraging school children to visit the Temples we support with this program. This way, we can cultivate compassion from a young age. We have placed posters at the Temples asking locals to ensure dog safety by driving carefully, checking under their cars before driving off, and other suggestions to keep both dogs and visitors safe.
