I’ve spoken before about having a guiding question in my head at all times… “is the thing that I’m doing right now the best way to help the street dog mission”.
I’d ask myself that 10 times a day on every hard dog decision, every dollar spent or how to split my own time. But in the past few months that question has changed somewhat and is now…
What would Tina think about what you are doing?
I ask myself that in the mirror each morning or when going to sleep at night. It is essentially the same as the previous question but for me it means a little more. She was so pure, so kind and made such an impact on others that the question feels more apt. The scale and size of the mission has increased drastically in the last couple of weeks and I wanted to walk you through that with the question in mind.
Before I delve into the update this was Tina and McMuffin exactly a year ago to the day. Their big fashion shoot. What a memory…
Tina’s Hospital Plans Coming To Life
I traveled to New York last week for some meetings with the main stop being to see the wonderful architects who had agreed to work on Tina’s hospital pro bono. We’ve been doing lots of online planning for months so when I put on one of my Tina T-Shirt and walked across town to see what they had cooked up I was super excited.
I was left speechless by the scale, thought and effort that has gone into this…
Where we are now with the project…
Very close to final designs
Detailed plans for all dog treatment facilities
Staffing and visitor flows
Recovery and long term stay areas
In the next couple of weeks we’ll be moving to even more advanced plans and things like getting detailed drawings, costings, local contractors and planning involved. Tinas hospital is real and it’s happening and that still feels very hard for me to process. In a good way!
I will of course share far more detail of every element of the hospital once we get there including timelines, costs and all the other exciting bits.
14,500 Dogs Sterilised
I remember a time when I used to send out emails and it would be an increase of 20 dogs sterilised. It used to fill me with pride as I caught the dogs myself and took them to the vets. Well things are starting to change massively and the numbers now are simply staggering…
14,500 dogs sterilised in total since we started
Over 4,000 Dogs sterilised in the month of June alone
On track to sterilise at least 40,000 dogs in 2024
We have 7 partners in 3 countries now and all these partnerships are being expanded as we speak.
Its such a small thing in the greater scheme of things but seeing the logo on our partners T-Shirts as they sterilise dogs on a daily basis always makes my heart burst with joy.
Every single operation stops dogs from suffering and new puppies being born into a life of misery. It’s expensive, it’s hard to organise and the scale of the work is immense but nothing is more important.
25 Dogs In Their Forever Homes In 2024 So Far
We are never going to solve the street dog problem by adopting out dogs but it is the part of the mission that is so understandable, so tangible and also so fulfilling to me. What a year is has been so far with 25 dogs finding loving forever homes all around the world…
Tommy, Stitch, Buster, Hank, Cindy, Spice Girl puppies x 5, Nicole Kidman , Mr Fox, Solo, Lina, Sophie, Teddy, Christina, Isabella, Taylor, Eve, Toffee, Libby. Also traveling soon are Billy, Rusty and Sandy.
We’ve recently started to ramp up our local adoptions as well as sending dogs around the world. Each dog has had the toughest possible start in life but made a comeback and they all deserve their little spot on their couches or out on their boats like Mr Fox in Montana, USA.
I think of them all as a global family of little ambassadors for the mission we are on. They get to live wonderful lives and show us how it should be for dogs in need. The pins will keep popping up on this map with Billy next to head to Singapore.
I Miss The Individual Cases
With so much going on I find myself pulled further away from helping dogs on the ground. It’s important to do the bigger picture stuff but for my own health, wellbeing and general happiness I need connection with the individual dogs. Here are 2 examples from the last 10 days that are working out well…
Bowie is a husky we’ve been able to bring in who was abandoned here on Koh Samui. It’s hard to believe that someone would leave this type of dog behind outside in the heat to survive alone. Luckily she is well and we’ll try and find her a home now in a cooler climate. You can see my video with her here.
PepperJack is a dog I met in a shelter while in New York. I visited several shelters there to educate myself a little more and also to try and find a home for a dog. I only met him for 10 minutes but he was such an angel and he now has his own couch and forever home. You can see my video with him here.
New York was needed for some big picture stuff but I can’t explain how happy I am to be back on my moped in my flip flops feeding the dogs each morning. I never ever want to lose that connection with the dogs.
Tina Taught Me So Much
You probably read all this and think “wow it’s so well planned and all coming together perfectly”. The reality is I find this all so big and scary and the mission now has so many elements.
Broadly speaking I would say we are on track but If I’m honest the main reason for that is Tina. Sometimes I get nervous of the scale, the speed and how much is involved but then I think of her and just go back to riding the wave and pushing on. Thats how she lived. Life is short.
A Moment Of Clarity On A Park Bench
During my trip to New York, after a week of meetings, I sat on a park bench with a cheeseburger, fries and a coke watching dogs playing in a park. For the first time in forever I took a bit of time for myself to think.
What would Tina think about what you are doing?
People probably think Tina would say “slow down, don’t take as much on and enjoy the journey”.
The reality though is I knew Tina better than anybody and I know what she’d think. One of the many reasons she was special was because of who she was despite being chained up her whole life and used for breeding. She never looked back. She only lived in the moment once she was free. Even when her kidneys started to fail she gave every ounce of energy she had and exuded love. She didn’t worry about tomorrow.
I feel that just like Tina I too was given a second chance after nearly drinking myself to death and suffering for 25 years with depression and anxiety. One of the many things she taught me is to use the gift of a second chance in life and just go for it without fear, all guns blazing.
I have the flu at the moment combined with bad jet lag. I have 100 worries about sick dogs, finding funding to make all this work and building out a global team. I’ve made huge promises, have a hospital to build, manage my own mental health and avoid burn out. There couldn’t be more on right now.
As I sat on that park bench I allowed myself to day dream…”wouldn’t it be nice to just feed 10 dogs again and have a quiet life where nobody knows you with none of this pressure. A simple life with a few dogs”.
But then it all dawned on me. I bit into the tastiest cheeseburger in my life, the sun was shining, the dogs were playing in front of me and a couple of tears ran down my cheek. Clarity. I was doing exactly what Tina would have wanted me to be doing with my life. I’d made promises to her (not just a hospital) when she was in her final days in my arms and they were coming true. I was keeping my word to her.
Theres a lot done but a lot more to do.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend wherever you are in the world.
Big Love
Niall
P.S You can always support by either donating here or just subscribing to this newsletter. Everything we can do above to help so many dogs is thanks to you for helping out.
Niall it’s the middle of the night here in America, couldn’t sleep, and your social media sites are the first reads I look for. Thank you for doing all you do and being one of the best humans in this world. Tina is so proud of you.
I think the first thing Tina would do is take a bite out of your cheeseburger and say Niall this is the best cheeseburger ever! And then she would cuddle up beside you and mind you like you minded her when she wasn’t feeling too good. She would always know if you weren’t great too. Dogs are amazing like that and Tina was amazing.
Take time out too every now and then Niall and just stop. Listen to your body telling you ‘would you just give me a little bit of peace and time to catch up’. You have the flu which we all know isn’t just a cold and then massive jet lag on top. So sit with the dogs for the next few days and enjoy them. Hank would be saying ‘ have a roll down this hill! It’s great fun!’ Enjoy the fun too xxx