The situation at the Nakhon Phanom rescue center is critical, where thousands of dogs have been rescued from the dog meat trade and are being safely housed for the time being. Just in the past few weeks, over 3,000 dogs have been taken in!
Staff members and volunteers at Soi Dog (https://www.soidog.org/Default.aspx), the organization behind these rescue efforts, have been working around the clock to try and give these dogs a better life. However, it has been increasingly difficult to be optimistic.
One bit of good news came recently when the Department of Livestock gave Soi Dog permission to bring in overseas veterinary relief teams to assist. Soi Dog has been in contact with World Vets, Worldwide Veterinary Services and Humane Society International, all of which have agreed to send teams.
The situation is still grim, though. The first three relief teams arrived in Bangkok only in the past few days and all three teams flew immediately to Nakhon Phanom to begin treating the dogs. Many more vets and nurses are on standby around the world, to be called up if required.
In Bangkok, Soi Dog staff are waiting to be able to purchase the needed medications and food for the dogs at the Nakhon Phanom shelter. Many of the dogs are facing an epidemic of distemper and parvo virus, requiring immediate care.
Soi Dog is also trying to fund the construction of shelters to house all of the dogs, as it would be impossible for them to remain at the Nakhon Phanom rescue center.
Thankfully, there are some success stories:
“Foxy was one of over 400 dogs found in cages at a holding center in the jungle. No one knows how long Foxy and the other dogs had been like this in the jungle, in the middle of the monsoon season. Foxy was very sick and required immediate lifesaving treatment. However, last Sunday Foxy started a new life with her new loving family.”
Everyone is hoping there will be many more stories like Foxy’s for the several thousand other dogs that have been rescued. In the meanwhile, Soi Dog is in emergency mode, administering life-saving treatments and attempting to find humane accommodations for all of the rescued dogs.
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Soi Dog Foundation (www.soidog.org) is a non-profit, legally registered charitable organization, working to rescue the homeless, neglected and abused dogs and cats of Thailand. Their aim is to set an example for the Asian region on how to humanely reduce the number of unwanted dogs and cats through spaying and neutering, and to better the lives and living conditions of the stray dogs and feral cats of Asia. They have sterilized over 49,139 dogs and cats as of March, 2013.
If you are interested in sponsoring a dog or supporting Soi Dog, you can visit their website at: https://www.soidog.org .
