How I Deal With Getting Punched In The Stomach On A Daily Basis

Helping the dogs can be brutal

If anybody has ever had their pet pass away they will know what a brutal feeling it is. Soul destroying and up there with one of the worst experiences in life.

Trying to help the street dogs means I face that feeling pretty much every single day of the week. I’m not just talking about dogs dying but also seeing neglect, abuse, torture and illness.

I’m constantly asked how I deal with that emotionally so I thought I’d share the ways I try to keep balance and perspective…

1. Learn Lessons From Every Dog

If you take the pure facts about Tina into account it really could’t get much worse. She was use for breeding and tied to a chain for years, living a miserable life. After making a good recovery she has now been diagnosed with stage 2 kidney failure and given months to live. Despite all that, this precious street dog…

• Changes people’s outlook on life around the world on a daily basis (I know this from messages I get)

• Makes people laugh, cry, smile and rejoice with happiness watching her daily antics

• Helped people who are also struggling with severe illness and even end of life care (from private messages I get)

Tina’s story should be immeasurably sad but it is down to her that she is turning it into a happy one not just for herself but for humans now too. She teaches us all to live in the moment.

2. Provide Dignity

Bailey mysteriously arrived circling on one spot just outside the land last week. Who knows how she got there but despite trying to save her for 3 days her brain was just too sick.

Sometimes you have to accept that you can’t save every dog and you move to a situation where instead you provide some care, love and dignity to a lost and voiceless soul…

• Ease her frantic suffering and stress with medicines

• Try everything to diagnose and find a cure

• Let her slip away pain free

• Give her dignity, a nice send off and a nice resting place

Bailey was only one dog and those actions from a few humans won’t change the world street dog problem but it did change her last few days on earth.

3. Tackle It Head On

Little Penny was tortured and had a broken leg. When I first saw the video of it happening my instinct was to turn away and leave it. Another country, another culture and not my dog. Quite frankly taking it on was terrifying.

It’s taken over 6 weeks and a massive journey but turning her situation around means that she is now on a comfy sofa, has a wonderful foster home and she can lay her head down and forget about the terrors she faced.

There have been over 50 people involved in her journey to where she is now and there is a lot to do to ensure it doesn’t happen again (especially at scale). Seeing the video of her was like a punch to the stomach but tackling it head on means the experience and knowhow is there to help the next similar dog.

4. Identify The Problem To Drill Down And Fix It

It is especially hard seeing puppies die. Survival rates for them are very low as they face huge dangers from traffic, disease, dumping by humans, lack of food, snakes and weather. The list of dangers they face goes on and on.

The problem is easy to identify. You can’t go around aimlessly scooping up puppies all day long. You have to cut the problem off aggressively at the source… sterilise the dogs and control the population.

While it is impossible to save them all it is possible to stop the flow of new ones. I’ve just hit 700 dogs sterilised since I started just over a year ago meaning 1000s of puppies and their mums won’t be suffering. Less future punches to the stomach!

5. The Kindness Of Strangers

I could pick dozens of random acts of kindness that people help the dogs with. They come online an in the real world from completely selfless people wanting to help the street dogs. Some random examples this week…

• The lady who wanted pay for the rest of Tina’s life. That means the expensive special diet food, medical bills and everything else she needs. Half way around the world but a gesture that will prolong Tina’s life and ease her suffering. Mind blowing.

• The 100s of people who researched and sent me messages about Bailey’s condition from around the world. Also the people who sat with her as she died. Unless Bailey was held she acted all frantic and nervous. As soon as she was held she relaxed so the people who spent hours sitting holding her made her know love as she slipped away.

• The amazing stylish photos in this post were taken by a professional photographer who gave up time on his holidays so as I could have some professional photos. Like so many things I didn’t ask but he just offered as his way of helping the mission.

• The messages, shares, likes, follows, comments and interactions I get online on a daily basis. That all feeds into me being able to help more dogs at scale.

There are mornings when I wake up after getting punched in the stomach repeatedly the previous day and think to myself “wow this is so hard”. One quick look at my phone or at my desk where I see drawings and paintings people have sent me from around the world and thats all I need to bounce into the shower and attack the day.

So How Do I Deal With Getting Punched In The Stomach On A Daily Basis?

I’ve tried to explain it in this post with some examples but really it comes down to 2 simple things…

1. Turn every negative situation into as positive an outcome as possible

2. The kindness and support of humans in the real world and online

Number 2 is especially important because if you turned on the news or opened any social media app you would think humans are all evil and out to destroy everything that is good. In my little corner of the world that I’ve created and using the lens I choose to see things by there is only kindness, love an hope.

I hope wherever you are reading this you have a wonderful day and thank you for the ongoing support. I pinch myself going to sleep every night thinking how lucky I am to be able to do this/.

Big love

Niall

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