I'm gonna take a bit of time to talk about something that is very important to me . I'll take a break from talking about video games and movies and books to speak to you about something that you can do during your time in Phuket that will help the innocent of this world, and will also almost certainly put a smile on your face.
I'm encouraging those of you to come to Phuket for the wonderful beaches and stellar resorts to volunteer your time to help the dogs of this country. It doesn't have to be much, just an afternoon. If you are like me this is actually a wonderful way to spend a day anyway so it isn't really even like a sacrifice at all.
Thailand has a pretty abysmal track record when it comes to animal control: That is, they don't really have any at all. If you travel to just about anywhere in this country you will discover packs of street dogs that are homeless and normally is pretty terrible shape.
This is a very common sight. Dogs covered in mange who function as a pack of dogs would in the wild, which causes problems for people as well. They almost always have some sort of skin disease but this doesn't stop them from replicating like mad and furthering the problem. Unfortunately, you rarely see the same street dogs in the same place for very long because the itchy skin problems that they have will slowly kill them.
It's sad but also quite common in poorer countries that the government has no programs in place to prevent this from happening. There is no spay or neutering program and the street dogs are very unlikely to die of old age and will likely live most of their short lives in some sort of pain.
I'm not trying to say anything bad about Thai people, don't get me wrong. A vast majority of Thailand's Buddhist population will give food and some level of attention to these homeless dogs, but they almost never provide them with any sort of additional medical care. This problem is also too widespread for the civilian population to take care of it on their own and thankfully some people take time out of their lives to try to ease the suffering of the homeless dog population. One such organization is The Bodhi Shelter in Phuket.
Founded in 2013 by Tina Marinis, the Bodhi Dog Rescue and Shelter exists on temple grounds on the East Coast of the island of Phuket. The shelter's objective is to ease the suffering of the island's stray dog population and also attempt to find "forever homes" either in Thailand or abroad. The operation is not for profit and as you can imagine takes quite a bit of money to operate.
They have managed to find homes for hundreds of dogs since they opened and for me anyway, since I love dogs, it is truly touching to see these once (sometimes horribly) neglected or abused animals recover and return to not only trusting humans, but loving them.
One of the benefits of getting a rescue dog is that they are already quite socially adept. I know this is important because my own dog, due to not being around other dogs much in her life, pretty much hates all other dogs (and cats of course.) As you can see in the following video, this will definitely not be a problem with a rescue dog.
I know that it is incredibly unlikely that anyone out there has the resources to take on a dog from overseas (and it costs about as much to fly a dog as it does a person.) However, if you find yourself in Phuket one day, and you really should because it is a wonderful place, why not donate an afternoon of your time just to come and play with the dogs and maybe help out with giving a bath or two?
More information is available on their website at http://bodhishelter.com/
There are similar organizations located throughout the rest of the country. Do a little bit of digging for information and I am sure you will find a place that would just be delighted to have you come and help out for a bit. If you are an animal lover like me, I think you will find that it ends up being the favorite part of your vacation.
PS> I stated at the beginning that you should "take some time to help out the dogs of this country" Please keep in mind that approaching a street dog in some random location is a fantastic way to get bit because they are so territorial. So please, do not attempt to do that.