Of all of our projects one if considered a bit more of a large undertaking. This isn't to say that it is the most important thing that we focus on but it is a project whose results we are quite proud of since this place used to not be at all monitored and the dog population would continue to grow and grow until the size became too large and then sickness and starvation would naturally bring the numbers back down. This is nature's way of controlling any population and it is an effective one for sure - it just is a tragic and heartless one to allow to continue. In the years that we have been monitoring and taking care of the dogs at the Tiger Cave Temple, we have stabilized the population and carefully take care of any disease or injury that happens. We are quite proud of this and hope that the nation will take notice of this tiny piece of the country and how putting a bit of effort into something can result in good things happening.
Our two main efforts here are sterilization and making sure there is enough food to go around. With these two things taken care of, a population tends to stay happy and most importantly, they stay where they are. It's not like there are any walls here to prevent the dogs from leaving, but why would they when they have food and shelter right here at home?
It's been rainy lately, as is the case during this time of year every year, but we make our way out there at least once a week to make sure everything is ok as well as to remind the dogs that we are still here to look after them.
The dogs here are provided with enough food by the monks that call the complex home, but we like to give them something a bit more special so we can get up close and personal to make sure that nobody has any sort of infection or infestation that could potentially jump to other dogs and end up getting out of control. This is a real problem with pack animals that live in urban environments: If one or two of them gets seriously ill, there is a very good chance they will spread it to many other members of the same pack.
Here is an example of our "special, attention getting food."
This might seem strange to people in the western world, but a mix of a bit of meat, regular dog food, and rice, is something that the dogs here absolutely love. I have mentioned many times before that the dogs here seem to recognize the unique sound that our truck engine has and come flocking towards us when we arrive. They must know the specific way my truck sounds because they do not react this way to other vehicles that arrive.
We take this opportunity to hand out treats as well to remind the dogs that our arrival is not a threat, but a cause for celebration.
Your animal at home probably gets a lot of treats but the ones here very rarely get them so I like to think of myself and our crew as a Santa Claus that comes every week. I bring enough with me so that there is no fighting and everyone gets a taste.
Playing can you catch it? Is always a fun one and as you might expect, no, most of the dogs cannot catch it. There isn't a whole lot of theft though because the dogs are quite friendly with one another and seem to understand whose turn it is for a snack.
This week's treats were mostly chopped up hot dogs that can be gotten for very little money at a minimart and all the dogs love this.
Some of the dogs are a little more shy or in the case of this dog, they are old and have poor eyesight. It takes a bit more convincing to get them to take the treat in these situations.
I want to once again warn everyone out there that it is a VERY BAD IDEA to try to hand feed a dog that you do not know so please don't do it*. I have been around these dogs for years and they know me but if you try to feed or pet a dog that you do not know on the street there is a very good chance it might bite you. Remember that all dogs are capable of causing great harm to a human as they have very powerful jaws. So just be careful and do not try to emulate the things you see me or the rest of Krabi Animal Welfare do here. We are trained and very familiar with these animals but when we meet a new dog we do not have any illusion that we are friends.
By the time I left I had handed out many treats, checked dozens of dogs for parasites or other problems and was happy to find no issues. I also spoke with the monks and found out that as far as they know, there have been no new additions to the pack either by a new dog wandering in or by people dropping them off in the night. So this is all great news.
The only complaint I have at the moment is that we are once again getting dangerously low on food supplies as well as donations. Hopefully our upcoming fundraisers will prove fruitful so we don't have to scale back the care that we are providing in the Krabi region.
if you would like to see how you can help out or simply spread the word, please visit our website at
http://krabianimalwelfare.org
Krabi Animal Welfare is a charity run entirely by volunteers and are a registered non-profit organization in Thailand and the U.K.. We aim to relieve the pain and suffering of dogs and cats within Krabi Province.
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