Activity report – October 2015

Nina and Rocco are on the way to recovery but are still on medication. Berta went back to Thepprasit Road, she recovered well from the procedure. All dogs at House Mabprachan receive their monthly dosage of Ivermectin against ticks, fleas, heart worms and mange. Mum, the mother of Flake, Fanta, Figo and Said who stays at Tuk.com multi-storey car park is again pregnant. We couldn't blow dart her because she was hiding under parked cars. Em calls and informs me that Mudita didn't feel well for a couple of days and finally died. 

A Facebook friend who works close to House Mabprachan informed me that she found two puppies after a night of heavy rain. One of them had been hit by a car, the other one seemed to be fine. I took both puppies to Dr. Sam's clinic where the pup that was hit by a car had to put to sleep because of severe head injuries. The other one I took home and it is in quarantine. I called her Snow. 

Luna and Lennard had to go back to Pattaya Bazaar. Even after several months they couldn't fit in and have been permanently bullied by other dogs. I took Arnie from the temple because he lost weight. It turned out that he suffers from kidney failure and seems to be almost blind. I guess he was poisoned. 

Mum gave birth to eight puppies under a car. When I found her one of the puppies had already died. Mum's puppies are now growing up in House Mabprachan. Juma has been adopted by a Swiss couple who live in Pattaya. Two dogs from a street restaurant who were suffering from TVT have been operated and are receiving chemo therapy. Two other dogs from a neighbouring area have been de-sexed. Snow fell ill with Parvo but her life could be saved. However, she is not gaining weight and surgery on her intestines cannot be ruled out. Mae and Mae Song have been poisoned and died. Rika, a dog from the neighbourhood has been de-sexed and is being treated against blood parasites. 

Jacky, a dog that is being looked after by a Norwegian, developed a growth on his nose and is treated by Dr. Kwanchai who diagnosed the growth as a tumour. The tumour has been removed and Jacky is receiving chemo therapy. Lek's growth on his nose that was not a tumour is not visible any more and Lek has recovered fully. 

Coco and Patty have been returned from the American/Thai couple who adopted them a couple of months ago. Coco was supposedly too noisy. Mum and her puppies are now staying outside for a couple of hours each day.

Activity report – September 2015
The month of September was dominated by another Parvo virus attack we suffered on three puppies I took in. Unfortunately, Khaya, one of the puppies died but Nina and Rocco overcame the virus after intense treatments and are on their way to recovery. They will stay with us since they are both orphans. 

Cora stayed with us quarantined for a week to recover from TVT surgery waiting for chemo therapy. Nelly, Leela and Darya found a new home at a fish farm owned by a Swiss and his Thai wife. Juma, Maisha, Bunnie, Buffy, Yobo, Yota and Yana from the house and Berta from Thepprasit have been sterilized. I took one dog, Isi, from the city shelter in Plutaluang since she suffered from a growth at her throat. She is being treated conventionally until the cytological test result is available.

Pong is being back to her original place after she fully recovered from Pyometra. She is being looked after. I took Nema, one of the dogs from Wat Amparahm in since she lost weight and suffered from some naked spots on her back. It turned out that she is suffering from renal failure. She stays now at House Mabprachan and is being treated.

Two tourists made me aware of a dog with a swollen head. I took Lek in and he was being treated for three weeks. His conditions improved. He is now back to his place on the streets and is being looked after by residents. Jori’s recovery from amputation is complete. She is now a well integrated part of the pack.

Kami, a dog whose owner had to go back to Europe has been sterilized and found already a new home together with Ranger, a male dog from Thepprasit Road at a nice house owned by a German woman.

Activity report – August 2015

Flake, one of the dogs from the Tuk.com parking lot that I had sterilized a couple of months ago disappeared for weeks, and when I found her at a different location I decided to take her to House Mabprachan. Nura and Lina, Bieow’s two puppies who are still with me, have been sterilized. Juma and Patty were also sterilized a week later. Carla, another bitch from Wat Amparahm beach has also been sterilized and stayed ten days at House Mabprachan. Some people asked me to take in Kami, a beautiful bitch, that was raised by an elderly lady who got very sick and had to go back to England.

Sadly, Maya, the mother of Bunnie and Buffy, who stay with me, died before I could catch her for taking her to a clinic. Patty and Coco could be re-homed. The Thepprasit security guards told me about Jori, who had an accident and couldn’t use her left front leg. It turned out that she suffered from a severe nerve damage. Her leg had to be amputated. Jori is recovering well at House  Mabprachan. Amy is a new arrival. She is a five months old puppy who tried to survive on the streets. All her siblings had been adopted, so I took her home. Kimba and Sparky came from a shelter in Chantaburi prepared to be adopted abroad or locally. Kimba found a new home quickly, Sparky still stays with us. 

Four more dogs have been sterilized: Pong and Tara from two different slums and two bitches from a not yet developed area in Jomtien, which is a part of Pattaya. Pong, who suffered from Pyometra, is still in House Mabprachan, the other three dogs are back to their places being after cared. Chuki is back to Wat Amparahm. Skinny seems to be fully recovered. She is still extremely cautious but joins the pack every day playing with some dogs and enjoys life again.

Activity report – July 2015

I took Jira  who had a badly infected throat from Wat Amparahm into House  Mabprachan. Jira is recovering well while staying inside the house together with Selina and Coco. Selina is also recovering quite well from pelvis fracture and can now already move freely. Coco is thriving and full of energy. She is well accepted among the pack. Later this month I took Yoshi from the temple as well. He is now being treated for a fungal infection on the bridge of his nose. 

I decided to take Blanca back to her place since she could not assimilate into the pack and I wasn’t able to get close to her. Rudi came for mange treatment and went again. Candy, a bitch from Pattaya Bazaar, has been treated for a non-specificc leg injury and recovered within ten days. Chuki came also to House Mabprachan to treat her against a fungal infection. Nacho developed an infection of the airways and kept coughing despite treatment. Since an allergy could not ruled out, I took him back to Pattaya Bazaar and later back again to House Mabprachan. 

Two out of seven puppies at Thepprasit Road died. The reason is unclear. Three of the remaining puppies developed a mild mange around their eyes which I’m treating with Ivermectin.

Activity report – June 2015
First of all I have good news to report: Skinny’s biopsy result showed that the tissue is not malignant. However, her prognosis is still not good since she is suffering from a chronic infection of the intestines. But she is eating well and gained weight during this month.

Pranee’s four puppies all survived the Parvo virus infection and could be re-homed. Pranee, after being sterilized, was called back by her owner and is now being closely monitored by a friend. Luna, who stayed with Lennard and Blanca at the construction site, was caught and has been sterilized as well.

Silver was taken in for treating a bad demodex mange. Her recovery is making good progress. Selina and Nadia are two other new admissions. Selina stayed with Boss and Alana on the beach and was hit by a car. An X-ray revealed a broken pelvis. She is also recovering quite well without having had surgery. Nadia stayed on her own in the bush with no shelter from the rain.

Two puppies from Thepprasit and Said, the puppy from the Tuk.com parking lot could be re-homed. Mike, a student of animal science, accompanied me for a couple of days conducting a field study of street dogs. Our last new admission this month is Coco. Some tourists found this two months old puppy wandering all alone on a road and they asked me to take her in.  

Jaha completed her treatment and is back again to Wat Amparahm. None of the dogs there are missing, all are in good shape, enjoying their life on the beach. The dogs at Naklua, at Pattaya Bazaar, in Tungklom and at Thepprasit Road, are looked after by residents, security guards, and two women who are helping me to distribute food that I provide.

Activity report – May 2015

The main topic of this month is the move from our house in Naklua to a new house at Mabprachan Lake. First to move were Lucy, Aya, Bieow, Lina, Prana und Juma, and a couple of days later Darya, Maisha, Said, Nura and Jaha. I also collected Yaya and Nacho from Pattaya Bazaar and took them to House Mabprachan.

Nora's chemo therapy was complete so I brought her back to the woman who rescued her. She is now reunited with her offspring Mudita and Nicky at Naklua slum near the beach. After another couple of days later we put Leila the cat together with my belongings into my car and bid farewell to Naklua house; a new adventure began. Ui, my part time helper, agreed to follow me to take a full-time job and our flock grew day by day. 

Bunnie, Buffy and Nadia joined us out of the bushes; I took in Silver and Rudi for mange treatment; Patty was given to me by a homeless man who could not feed her anymore; Lady had been taken from the city shelter for TVT treatment and she needed a place to stay to recover; and Jira needed further treatment for her skin problems. They all joined me at my new home. 

Yobo, Yota and Yana, three two month old all brown puppies who could not remain at the construction site; and finally Blanca and Lennard from the same construction site also joined us. We blow darted the mother of the puppies, but she ran away and couldn't find her anymore. 

Lennard and Blanca had to be blow darted to be de-sexed since they always kept their distance and could not be caught. They keep themselves separate from the flock but established contact with some dogs whom they have known for some time. 

Süa and Songsi, two siblings who were living near a street restaurant, have been spayed as well. I found them accidentally and could catch them quite easily. They are back to their old place where people feed them.

Mid month we had Parvo alarm. Louise, a Swedish dog lover who lives in Pattaya, found a mother with her four puppies on the beach. The puppies were in a deplorable condition and since Louise lives in a small house she asked me to accommodate the dogs for a month. When Dr. Sam visited us two days later he was very concerned about the puppies' condition, took them and tested them for Parvo. Unfortunately the tests were positive so Louise had to take the puppies back.  Pranee, the mother, was tested negative and could therefore remain with us. We had to disinfect the area where Pranee and the puppies were staying, my car and the cages several times since Parvo is highly contagious. Fortunately, all dogs of the flock had already been vaccinated twice. We hope we can leave this incident behind us without any further dramas.

The dogs in Wat Amparahm are well and enjoying their lives on the beach. However, Rashid, the big male who joined us from the beach and became part of the pack is dead. I can only imagine that he was poisoned since he was in good health when I saw him last time. There are some mean people squatting near the temple and I suspect it was one of them who poisoned him.

All the dogs, except Toby and Asa, whom I could not catch, received their second rabies vaccination. During one of our unsuccessful attempts to blow dart dogs for spaying we found Skinny. She was absolutely emaciated so we brought her to Dr. Sam. A blood test and an initial examination did not reveal any abnormalities; so I took her home to recover. Since her condition did not change an abdominal surgical exploration was performed and revealed a blockage in the small intestines close to the rectum. Some blockages could be removed but we are still waiting for a lab test to show whether the tissue is malignant.

Activity report – April 2015

This month had a few dramas with a big threat by my neighbour who gave me one week to remove my dogs from the area I live in. He verbally threatened me and said, “he would take care of them and put them where they belong”. I can understand my neighbour’s anger a bit because fifteen dogs can bark loudly and are sometimes noisy at night. Thailand is a hierarchical and community based system and fortunately, I have the backing of the local village manager who is always helpful and cooperative. In addition, Thailand has laws in place to protect animals so his ignorant tirade will be in vain. 

A possible solution to this situation could be to move to a house outside town, about 30 minutes away from my current place. Derek Doyle, who used to run a shelter on that property, kindly offered to rent his house which sits on a large walled plot. That area will provide enough space for the dogs to stay comfortably. However, there are some reservations as it is also located in a residential area and I do not want to jump from the frying pan into a fire. My May activity report will have the latest news so please stay tuned.

Last month I went to Dr. Sam's clinic many times. Buffy who was hit by a vehicle with her hip dislocated had surgery and recovered in the clinic for almost two weeks. I took her back to her mother and sister and she is doing quite well. The good news is surgery for Nora’s broken leg was not necessary although she was diagnosed with TVT and is still receiving chemo therapy. Yaya developed some inflammatory swelling of his scrotum after neutering and is now back at Pattaya Bazaar, with Nacho and Jira. I took Jira from the temple to treat her skin problems at Dr. Sam’s clinic. She was treated for more than a week and received a shower every 3 or 4 days. Toby recovered quite well from his skin problems and is back to the beach after three weeks of good care. 

Of the seven puppies at the parking lot three have disappeared. The remaining four went to Dr. Sam’s, where they were treated, bathed and vaccinated. After one week only three of them were left. I took the smallest one in because he had mange. He is still with me. Unfortunately, both of his remaining siblings disappeared after a couple of days from the parking lot. 

Three of Bieow’s puppies and another puppy a tourist found and was given to Dr. Sam and who asked me to take him in were adopted. Of the four orphans one has already been adopted as well. All these puppies were vaccinated twice and are in good condition. Some of them were treated with VibraVet for blood parasites but their gums is showing a normal ‘rosy colour’ again and they are brimming with energy. Even Said, the little survivor from the parking lot, is now thriving after being treated against mange. 

Right now I have Lucy, Aya, Prana, Bieow, Lina, Nura, Nora, Darya, Juma, Maisha and Said, the only male, with me. The dogs at Wat Amparahm are doing well and are currently happily living by the sea. I drive out to see them twice a week. They are still being fed by the market woman who I support. I am also supporting a few dog carers elsewhere in Pattaya who are feeding local dogs in their area. Dried food and rice are provided to these kind people. If medical care is necessary I provide it as well.

It is heart warming to see ordinary people trying to make a difference in their local soi dogs’ life. When there are people like these the dogs will have a chance. Although I maybe live outside the town area next month, I'll go to Pattaya daily to do my job. The dog feeding on the streets will be done by local helpers which I support with dry food.