On the 17th January I was on my way back from playing football when I stopped by some dogs in the jungle. I’d fed dogs sporadically in the past but in that moment something clicked in my head. My new project was born.
In reality it had been brewing for a year as I recovered from addiction and toyed with my future but that was the day I posted this…
I Never Saw This Level Of Support Coming
I knew I would put all my time, effort and money into helping dogs but what I didn’t expect was so many people to help me. It has absolutely blown me away and continues to do so to this day.
I’d like to give special thanks…
To the vets who come in on their day off when I have an emergency
To people who take in 7 dogs for me at a time
To flight volunteers without whom the dogs couldn’t travel
To people who offer all sorts of expertise for free (from translating Thai documents to buying jeeps)
To people who donate
To the people who have adopted dogs from me
To people who send me daily messages to spur me on
To vets in other countries who offer advice on X Rays for free
To pet shops who give me discounts
To tourists who message me about problems they spot
To people who share my content
To fellow volunteers who always step up in tricky situations
To friends who shoot videos and photos with me when out
To people who foster dogs for me
To the people who drive dogs around when I need help
To people who offer to come out and help feed
To media who find the story interesting and cover it
To people who take inspiration and do good deeds for dogs
To the selfless people who don’t even want to be known for their help
To people I haven’t spoken to or seen in 10 years who pop up and support
To people sending me potential revenue ideas
To people who encourage their followers to follow my accounts
To the people signed up to this newsletter
To the 100s of other examples of people I could have listed here
I am at the focal point of the content and I get way more praise than I deserve. The reality is I couldn’t do 10% of what I am without all this help. I started this knowing dogs were amazing but little did I know how much good it would expose me to in terms of human kindness as well.
A Custodian
I feel like there is an army of people out there who are willing to help. My role is to channel that help in the best possible ways. At the moment I am a bit of a bottleneck as everything has to flow through me but I’m very aware of that and it is changing as we speak with massive things coming.
I see myself as a custodian of all that help. Someone who has to make use of all the goodwill people are offering and make sure it helps the dogs on the ground as much as possible. I’m amazed by the support and it is something I have to pinch myself about. I feel so blessed that some days I do think I’ll wake up and this is all a dream. Genuinely.
Most of all I have to thank the dogs though. They are the reason we are all here. They are the ones suffering but who put a smile on all our faces every single day.
I’m so humbled by everybody doing such nice things that it is driving me to think even bigger in terms of helping dogs. Going even more “all in”. If you think the progress between that photo on the 17th January and now has been good, wait till you see what comes next.
Thank you all
Niall
P.S You can donate here or subscribe to this newsletter to help but just following along or telling a fellow dog lover helps just as much.
You’re an inspiring guy love the updates throughout the day. You make me stop and think about my own life daily. Keep going we’re all behind you
You are a very special person doing what you do for the dogs. Your dream is growing quickly, and we are lucky to get to come along in both your challenges and triumphs. Thank you for all your efforts!