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.

Activity report – March 2015

My house is still full of puppies; another four 4 week old ones arrived. They have been probably taken from their mother or their mother died and they were left at a place where I’m regularly feeding dogs. The new puppies are in a fairly good condition but need to be protected, special fed and medically looked after. After a couple of days they settled in well and the older puppies, Bieow, Lucy and Aya, who are still with me, welcomed the new arrivals. 

I decided to bring Yaya back to the place where Nacho and Jira are currently staying and Boss back to the beach to be reunited with Alana. Boss and Yaya were always playing roughly, disturbing the little ones and Boss used to bark whenever someone passed the house, so that neighbours were complaining. I live in a residential area and have to be very careful not to upset my neighbours or the village management. To find another house with a big garden, where dogs are accepted and that I can afford to rent would be very difficult.

I was informed by a resident and a woman who is feeding dogs that both of them found a dog who was hit by a car. The two dogs were severely injured. Surgery on both of them was necessary. Nora, a dog I knew, broke both of her hind legs. One leg had to be amputated because the tissue was already necrotic. Prana suffered multiple fractures in the hip area and broke one hind leg. Nora could be released from the clinic after one week; Prana had to be admitted for 16 days and had to endure several surgical procedures. After being released from the clinic she stayed with me for a couple of days but I had to admit her again for another intervention. Nora also stayed with me for a couple of days and then with the woman who asked me to rescue her. Later on I took her back since she was too adventurous there. Nora had to undergo another surgical intervention since the bones in her leg did not heal well. A metal plate has to be placed at the point of fracture to immobilize and align the broken bone. 

Bieow and her six puppies are still with me. Bieow recovered from the accident quite well and can run without much restriction. She got recently de-sexed together with Yaya, Aya and Lucy, who are all still staying with me. All of Bieow’s six puppies are thriving. From the five remaining puppies out of the bush are only two left. One puppy was hit by a motorbike and died, one had already been adopted but could not fit into the new home and I had to take him back. He was later stolen together with his brother. Of the two remaining puppies one was also hit by a car or a motorcycle and is now waiting for surgery in a clinic. The last puppy is now staying with me.

Those seven puppies in the parking lot are also thriving. The mother, like the other dogs living in the parking lot, is being daily fed with rice food by a kind woman. Jack, the male dog that I found with a huge cancer wound could be completely cured from TVT and is back to the place where I found him. He is being looked after well by a woman who runs a food stall. 

Out of the 21 dogs that are staying at Wat Amparahm I took Bonnie and Toby for a skin check-up to the Eastern Pet Hospital and they are now also temporarily staying at my house since daily medication is necessary.

Eastern Pet Hospital has only recently opened and its owner Dr. Sumade (Dr. Sam), who underwent advanced training in the US, is now my favourite vet. He has lots of experience, performs surgery, informs me well and gives me discounts. He also offers free sterilizations for street dogs for six weeks. Dr. Sam already spayed Bieow and neutered Yaya charging me just a small admittance fee and I hope I can bring him some more street dogs within the next month.

Activity report  – February 2015

My house became a refuge for several dogs, some of them stayed and some had to go back to the places where they stayed before they came to me. Bieow and her puppies settled in nicely. The puppies are striving; Bieow is gaining weight and can use her broken leg quite well. Yayas abscesses disappeared completely and he developed to a strong and healthy dog full of energy. Since a second scrape test didn’t show any parasites on Lucy’s skin I suspended the weekly Ivermectin injections. She and Aya also developed very well. 

Boss skinned the paw of his paralysed leg; therefore I decided to amputate it. Boss recovered well from the surgery and is still with me. He could have already gone back to the beach staying with Alana but since City Hall is planning a round-up of all street dogs, I’ll keep him for the time being.

Some women in my neighbourhood are accommodating a bunch of street dogs. For two of them I provided sterilisation. Two more bitches from the parking lot have been spayed as well. Unfortunately one of the remaining dogs had puppies again. Another dog which I failed to catch before she got pregnant had her puppies in a bush area. Out of seven she had, two were taken by someone, one died and one has been adopted. The remaining three are regularly with me in order to keep them free from ticks and fleas. They are striving well. 

I continued the treatment of several mangy dogs and fed dogs in my neighbourhood if necessary, provided dry food to residents and security guards who are looking after dogs. I picked up a TVT male dog with a huge open wound on his back side who is responding to chemo therapy well. 

The market woman that I employed feeds the dogs with rice food and I feed them with dry food. I took one of the dogs with persistent skin problems to a save place in Pattaya where I provide her with medicine on a daily basis. I took several dogs and who live in bushes and grasslands for a shower and treated them against ticks and fleas. 

Fortunately, I found two of the dogs who disappeared last month. They had been taken by some residents. But unfortunately, a young bitch disappeared who had been recently spayed. I hope that she just changed territory.

Activity report – January 2015

I settled down in “my” new house and had already several guests there, some are still staying which are Yaya, Lucy and Aya. Boss is back to the beach where he stays with his girlfriend Alana. For a couple of days I had Jake with me. He is from Wat Amparahm. Jake had a nasty bite wound which I could treat myself. He is already back to the temple. I also had Flake with me. She stays in a parking lot and had been spayed. After her recovery I brought her back to the parking lot. As a long time guest I have now Bieow. She was hit by a car and broke her leg.

Bieow was pregnant and gave birth at my friend’s house. Since Karin is now treating several new TVT dogs she asked me to take in Bieow and her six three weeks old puppies. Besides Flake, I also have Figo, Fanta and Farah sterilized. They also live in that parking lot and stayed only a few days in my house. Two more dogs, Bliss and Bessie, have been sterilized as well. Bliss lives in a slum and Bessie at a bar. The expenses for all of these dogs were covered by donations. 

In Wat Amparahm I also organized the sterilization of four dogs. The expenses were also covered by a donation. All dogs in Wat Amparahm are now sterilized, except one bitch that is pregnant and one male dog which we could not catch. 

I have been to clinics many times, Yaya developed abscesses, Lucy needed injections to treat Demodex, Bieow needed to be treated every week and then in and out for all the sterilizations at three different clinics.

Five times a week I provide dry food for the Naklua dogs, residents and security guards got a bag of 15 kg each; I provided 60 kg rice to feed the dogs in Wat Amparahm and Tongklom; I supported Nuan, the poor woman with her cats and now Ui, another woman, as well who is giving food to street dogs near my house. She is starting to help me to look after Bieow and her puppies when I’m working.

Activity report  – December 2014

Currently I’m looking after more than 80 dogs in and around Pattaya. 39 of them are living in Naklua area which is the oldest part of Pattaya. I have been staying there in a flat for almost three years and moved recently into a traditional Thai house not far away from that apartment house. Boss is now staying with me. From the parking lot of the apartment house I also took Leila with me, a street cat who I’m looking after for almost three years.

The dogs in the Naklua are living on several Sois (alleys), on a scrapyard, in a slum, in a residential area and some of them on their own at different places. I regularly provide dry food for the scrapyard dogs, the slum dogs and a couple of dogs at one of the Sois. This food goes to residents or security guards at these places who are feeding the dogs with rice food as well. The other Naklua dogs are getting fed by other residents or restaurants. 

I go to see all of these dogs at least two, three times a week providing those with dry food who are not regularly fed by residents. The Naklua dogs are pretty well fed and except a few they are in fairly good shape since I monitor them regularly. All except two female dogs have been already spayed. The two unspayed ones I couldn’t catch yet despite several attempts but they are the next on my list. Several of the male dogs are neutered as well. However, I discovered recently four more dogs, two males and two females. They are not sterilized as far as I know and two of them are mangy, so I started treating them as well.

There are dogs on several places in the Naklua area that I’m treating for Demodex mange. This is an ongoing treatment since Demodex is very difficult to cure. Actually, I can only try keeping this kind of mange at bay. 

At Pattaya Bazaar, where my working place is, I’m looking after seven adult dogs and two puppies. Three females are spayed and one male dog is neutered. I managed to spay the remaining fourth female just recently after several unsuccessful attempts. The two puppies are staying with their mother. This dog was successful treated for TVT and is now spayed as well. I’m currently trying to find new homes for the puppies. Two puppies from that place have already been adopted recently. All dogs are daily fed with dry food in the morning and rice food in the evening. The rice food is distributed by Wan, a dedicated dog lover from Myanmar whom I work together with for more than two years.

At three days a week I go to see dogs in a Buddhist temple located 20 km outside of Pattaya. Currently I’m looking after 21 dogs there. They are all rescue dogs from different places in Pattaya where they have been chased away. The abbot of the temple was so kind to offer me a part of the temple which borders directly to the beach. I know some of these dogs for more than three years, a few of them I raised since they were born. For more than a year I fed the dogs only with dry food since they were not fed by the temple. 

Two months ago I found a market woman who is now feeding the dogs with rice food daily. All dogs are well fed and in fairly good condition. They are all spayed or neutered. I also provide food and monitor three female dogs in a village near Pattaya. One of these dogs recovered fully from mange and the second one from TVT. All three dogs are now spayed as well. 

Finally, there are twelve dogs in South Pattaya which are looked after by security guards. I provide dry food for them and I’m regularly treating two of them for Demodex mange. All female dogs are spayed.

Besides my daily routine I got two female dogs and six female cats spayed this month. Five of these cats belong to an old woman who is looking after about 20 cats in her house. This woman goes out every night to feed cats and dogs in Naklua area. She has very little money and therefore I support her. The sixth cat I found near the house I moved in recently. One of the spayed dogs is a dog from Pattaya Bazaar and the other one I am treating for Demodex mange. After some sort of recovery she became in heat. Therefore, urgent action was necessary.

Bieow, one of the dogs Wan is looking after at another place was hit by a car two weeks ago. Bieow suffered a fracture to her left hind leg and is now in foster care. She received another two treatments recently. Her treatment has to be continued for a couple of weeks. Bieow is pregnant. Right now we don’t know what to do with her after have giving birth. 

Yaya, one of other three Pattaya Bazaar puppies ate some toxic substance and suffered kidney damage. He was admitted for a couple of days receiving intensive treatment and is now staying with me at my house. Yaya is recovering but requires ongoing treatment against blood parasites. Lucy, another puppy from Pattaya Bazaar developed a huge abscess at her right front leg. She needed daily care at a clinic but recovered well. Since Yaya and Lucy require daily care I took them with me together with her remaining sibling Aya.