You can save a few dogs on your own and make a difference on a local level. Trying to solve the problem on a global level though takes an army of people who care and also want to change the suffering dogs endure.
May was a month where I felt that more than ever. Let me explain…
150 Dogs Sterilised In May Alone
Stopping the flow of new dogs is the only true solution. I’ve been trying to allocate as much money as I can towards this.
In the entire year of 2022 I was able to sterilise 302 dogs.
In May 2023 alone I was able to fund the sterilising of 150 dogs
In June the aim is to Sterilise 250 dogs
There are now 3 locations and clinics that I pay for sterilising (RDF, PACS and KMAC)
It’s very hard to visualise what that means on a practical level. If you are just reading this online it would be easy to gloss over the effort, expense and crucially the impact this has on dogs. There are lots of formulas used but I like to keep it simple and say sterilising a dog might stop 15 - 20 future puppies.
Using that calculation it means 2250 - 3000 puppies will not be born into suffering thanks to the sterilising that took place in May.
Imagine that. 3000 dogs. Wow!
The Doggy Beach Hotel
A really good example of the community effort on the ground is an abandoned beach hotel I got word about that is a stray dog hot spot this week…
20 Stray dogs that locals wanted to get rid of (interpret that as you will)
11 Dogs already caught
15 People involved volunteering their time
Medicines, sterilising and dogs moved to safer places
The stress, anxiety, effort, planning and danger (2 people got bitten) involved in this can only be taken on by a large group of people. This is a good explainer of the scale of the problem.
2 One Eyed Beauties
As things ramp up and the amount of dogs being helped it is inevitable that more operations are needed and serious injuries are encountered. Vet bills are probably my biggest expense but little McMuffin and Lily Savage coming home from their successful check ups after having an eye removed each makes it worth it.
Two dogs that can go on to live happy and healthy lives now instead of suffering on their own.
15 Dogs Re-Homed In Thailand And Abroad In May
The time and effort to do this is massive. It won’t solve the street dog problem on it’s own but this is 15 lives that will be forever changed.
7 Puppies sent to homes in Thailand
Moritz, Hope, Lottie all Buttons all heading to England (Lottie already there)
Peaches and Little Squeak in Germany
Brad Pitt and Peanut Butter heading to America
Each individual dog needs people to help find a home, transport, paperwork, permits and fosters to look after them. Again dozens of people per dog.
1 Magical Proposal On Hope Avenue
None of us knew if Rodney was even going to live when he first arrived and had an agonising first couple of weeks. After getting a forever home in Wales his new owners couldn’t wait and wanted to fly over to meet him.
Seeing Rodney in his dickey bow as Cameron proposed really was the stuff of fairytales. Saving dogs gives you plenty of knocks so to experience moments like this makes it all worth it.
1 Miracle Little Fluffy Cloud
Little Penny was badly abused and tortured. We edited her story here so you could get a feel for it without seeing the actual abuse. As I stated in the caption at least 50 people were involved in her care. Not least Soi Dog for treating her and now her foster parents who are giving her a new start in life.
50 people to save one dog seems like a lot but she really did need every kind human she met along the way to combat her horrific start in life.
5000 Meals Served
It happens every single week and the dogs never go hungry. Again this is possible because of a network of people who do this on a daily basis serving every dog with love and care and in all weather…
1 wonderful woman cooking the food
10 different volunteers handing it out to their dogs
800 dogs per day fed
I provide the food 100% for free
This video explains the logistics involved.
100+ Street Dogs Treated For Illnesses
Street dogs are very bad at looking after themselves. Rocky was a really good example. He was covered in over 1000 blood sucking ticks. His life was transformed in less than a week thanks to some simple medicine and care. I find this the most rewarding part…
100 dogs a month getting preventative medicines to stop cases like this happening
30-40 treatments given out on the streets to stop illnesses getting worse and needing vet visits
The Kindness Of People Online
This drawing that someone sent me who wanted to remain anonymous sums up the support. It captures Jumbo to perfection. Imagine taking the time to do that, the thought that goes into it and being so painstaking in the detail. All for no personal return. Only to make me happy and give people online a smile.
People find 100 different ways to support me and push me on to help more dogs and that means the world to not just me but people who follow and feed off the positivity.
I always say in captions and posts that I get way too much credit. I read the comments sometimes and have to stop as I don’t think I deserve all that praise compared to the thousands of people around the world doing similar.
What I don’t mind is being like a conduit to other people helping the dogs. I can raise awareness about the problem and then I can shine the light on others who need support. I can direct resources towards sterilising, medical care and other ways of helping dogs at scale. I feel insanely privileged and blessed to be the one lucky enough to do that. Millions would love to be in my shoes and I know it.
Thank You From Me And The Dogs
To anybody who supports me online or shares posts or tells their friends to follow along, you are part of the community helping dogs. The scale of what I could do in May alone would literally not be possible without you. It might only be a click of a button on your phone on the other side of the world but it all helps.
I write these updates to sort of remind myself of the progress being made. When I read this one back and saw all the kindness and the scale of people involved and the sheer amount of dogs being helped I had to pinch myself. A great feeling but also much more still to be done. We are only getting started.
Have a wonderful weekend
Big love
Niall
P.S You can always support by either donating here or just subscribing to this newsletter.
There is so much unkindness, cruelty and horror in the world. Your work with the dogs is the one thing that genuinely makes me smile every time I see your posts. Thank you.
I’m a new follower/subscriber & am already so invested in the dogs! I love your daily updates on Rocky, Penny, Tina at your side etc. Looking forward to Muma & her pups joining the gang. Never a dull moment!
Thank you & your wonderful team for everything you do Niall!