I’ve stated in the past that this mission is about cutting the number of street dogs in the world by 50% from 500 million down to 250 million. That sounds like a pretty insane statement but as I write this update I can see real progress starting to take shape at scale.
Here are some of the good things happening that I hope to ramp up even faster over the coming months…
56 Dogs Re-Homed
Re-homing dogs is never going to completely solve the street dog problem but each home feels like a massive win for that individual dog. This week saw Lady and Mick Jagger move into their retirement home with Jamie where he cooked them a steak on arrival and now shares his sofa with them.
Taco was surrendered by his owners during sterilising as they no longer wanted him now that he had grown past puppy stage. He’s so cute that 2 days after arriving he found and traveled to a forever home on the other side of the country.
Over 1000 Dogs Sterilised
As soon as this mission started I quickly realised that sterilising was the only answer to controlling the population and ending the sufferings dogs see on a daily basis. This time last year I was still driving around getting 1-2 dogs per day myself. Luckily I’ve been able to ramp that up with partners and am continuing to find ways to sterilise more dogs at scale.
1089 Dogs sterilised since starting in mid 2022 (you can see live data here)
187 dogs sterilised in July alone
300 Planned for August with more new partners being added
Looking for ways to accelerate this even further from September onwards
You can track the sterilising and where they are all happening on this interactive map. This is the very first stage of rolling out open data (not just for sterilising but lots of other elements). Every dot on this map is a dog sterilised which means possibly 10-20 puppies (or more) not being born into suffering.
168,000 Meals Served This Year
Every single day of the year there are street dogs getting delivered the very best homemade food. I hand it out to 80 dogs myself and give the rest of the food to volunteers and shelters around the island.
That works out at 800 meals per day and there is no better sight than seeing a street dog walk off with a wagging tail and full belly. One less thing for them to worry about in terms of surviving.
A Global Community Of Dog Lovers
If I am to really tackle the problem of street dogs globally I can’t do that alone. I’m so blessed with the massive support starting to build both on the ground and around the world.
The impact of this is very hard to measure beyond social media metrics but I have to believe some people (especially children) are being kinder to dogs as a result.
What I love most is that when I log into social media I see dogs who have been re-homed both in Thailand and around the world and their little lives with new families. The support comes in many shapes and sizes but this video of Whacker and his journey sums up that community perfectly for me. An incredible story of joy that should inspire kindness.
Ongoing Welfare of Dozens Of Dogs Each Week
Between the group of people who help we are able to make a difference to so many dogs. Small acts that make a huge difference to individual dogs like…
Getting Mr Floofer groomed. He lives well in the jungle but was suffering in the heat and barely able to see.
Helping Thong pass away as gently as she could. She came to us with only 7 days left to live but she had peace, good medicine, pain relief and a proper burial. For a dog who has lived on the street all their life that little bit of dignity at the end means a lot.
Preventative medicines for dogs to help prevent fleas, ticks, diseases and other small injuries they get on the street.
10 Serious Life Saving Vet Cases In last 2 Weeks
The hardest part of the mission is stopping to help the very sick dogs along the way. On the one hand it is incredibly important and it feels great helping dogs that could not possibly survive alone. On the other hand these cases are the most time consuming, are massively expensive and the dogs require lots of aftercare. Some examples this week…
Stitch who was crushed by 2 passing cars. After a trip across the country for an operation at Soi Dog and care from my friend Sybille he looks like he will make it despite a broken leg and hip.
Little Fabius who was shot leaving him disabled. We were stunned to find the bullet inside him. We took him off the streets immediately, got him proper care and hope to see him walk again one day soon.
These cases are incredibly common and an important part of animal rescue. It’s clear I need a better system to bring them in and treat the dogs but at the moment we are helping on an a hoc basis as best we can. I have some ideas around how this can scale up soon.
Sometimes when you see so much suffering on the ground you can think “what is the point” or “what difference am I actually making”. For many it can feel like just moving from one sick dog to another and feel utterly hopeless.
I’d be lying if I said I had never felt that. After seeing dogs shot or abused that feeling is normal. What I am also feeling though is a massive sense of purpose and I have total belief in this mission and where is it heading. A follower sent me this quote from Desmond Tutu and I was blown away by how accurate it is…
“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river.
We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.”
I’m at the stage where I am (metaphorically speaking) slowing making the way up the river. 1000s of dogs are already being saved but with more sterilising, education and community engagement that can change into 10,000s.
As I always say none of this would be possible without your support. I just see myself as the person lucky enough to be trusted to rally people to help the dogs. The real change at scale comes from every single person helping in 1000s of different little ways in both the real world and online.
The important thing is that although still small, real change has started to happen. It might take another 20-30 years but I’ll get there on this mission.
Big Love to you wherever you are in the world this weekend.
Niall
P.S You can always support by either donating here or just subscribing to this newsletter.
Niall apart from loving dogs and starting to help them in a small way a couple of years ago you truly are visioning. You have the zeal and determination as well as the knowledge in how to make things better on a larger scale. You are operating from your core without ego. You see a problem and using skills from your work life you are putting into practise for the good of the dogs. The difference in your social media this year has been phenomenal on all platforms. Your followers and admirers are really invested in what you and your fellow dog rescuers are doing. We love seeing the parents of the dogs you have rehomed sharing the continuing journey on social media. We are a virtual family from around the world and your example is teaching us all that we each have the power to do something positive, even in the smallest way. Children and others are now paying more attention to animals they encounter and showing care & kindness.
Can’t wait for the book to arrive in a few week. Blessings to you all and thanks ❤️🐾👏🏻🙏🏻
Here in Crystal Palace SE London, my teen kid Allister and me love your daily updates & melt at even the mention of Tina…you’re an inspiration dear Niall..can’t wait for the book to arrive! Liz 🥰