Rethinking Everything

These street dogs have no protection

Individual dogs often come along that greatly influence my thinking. Tina inspired the hospital and our sterilizing efforts. Alba’s kitchen is where we cook for 1200 dogs every single day. Derek taught me about giving older dogs a place to see out their days.

Last week it wasn’t an individual dog but rather 3 that came in within 24 hours that got me thinking about the bigger picture. 3 dogs that shaped a big decision in my own head about abuse, cruelty and animal welfare…

1. Maximus

I called him Maximus Decimus Meridius after the Russel Crowe character in the Gladiator movie…

• He had owners

• Was forced to live on a 3 foot chain with zero human interaction

• Massive series of health issues from a life of neglect

• We rescued him and had to negotiate his release

He has a huge health battle ahead of him but just 5 days later he is already looking like a new dog. He has his dignity back. He will be staying with us.

2. Big T

This massive dog instantly captured my heart and reminded us all of Tina…

• His owners had apparently ended their relationship and left the dog behind

• A kind neighbor alerted us to his serious condition. She had been sneaking in food

• He has a huge tumor and multiple health issue including maggots eating his flesh

• Another week at most and he would have died alone

He is a much older boy (about 10-12) and his chances of recovery are 50/50. We’ve already seen him perking up and we will throw everything at trying to extend his life.

3. Anthony Hopkins

If fixing a dog in a horrific state once is hard then doing it all over again is incredibly frustrating…

• We fixed him in summer 2024 (see recovery images below)

• We returned him to his community owners

• He sadly deteriorated to his previous condition

• We had to bring him back in for a new round of treatment

We’d returned him in full health and with follow up medicines but that wasn’t followed. He is with us now again.

We Can’t Just Keep Mopping Up Dogs

The really scary thing about the situation is that although we saved 3 dogs last week I know there are another 100 out there in similar conditions. Our approach is starting to remind me of this quote…

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

Albert Einstein

There were actually 2 additional cases last week that were so bad and which didn’t have happy endings (a poisoning and a paralyzed dog) that I haven’t shared as they are too graphic.

We are obviously doing a phenomenal amount of good for individual dogs but I am seeing the same problems over and over again. Are we just busy fools? Are we just constantly going to be pushing a boulder up a hill?

Remember this mission is not about saving a few dogs lives (although we’ll continue to do that) but rather it is about making change for millions of dogs.

Changing Human Behavior Versus Saving Individual Dogs

I’ve made no secret of the fact my favorite part of helping the dogs are the individual cases. It feels so real and so tangible.

If we hadn’t acted then Maximus would still be miserable on that chain. Big T would probably have died a slow agonizing death by now. It feels great to go to sleep at night knowing those dogs have been helped.

What I am starting to realize though is that if we are to impact massive change then we need to change people and not just save dogs. The humans are the ones doing the damage through a mixture of abuse, neglect and ignorance.

It suddenly dawned on me this week that my main role isn’t just to save dogs. It is to change the hearts and minds of millions of people.

Thinking Out A New Approach

While the 3 boys try to recover I happen to be writing this while sitting beside Chance. She is doing great after being stabbed twice in the stomach. I’ve built her back up and she lives with me now but that isn’t a solution for all abused dogs. We need to stop dogs like Chance being attacked.

Thanks to some other wonderful charities (like our partner Soi Dog) there are some animal abuse laws in Thailand. The problem is there is little to no enforcement in many areas.

It is time to focus on the people causing the abuse and show them that their actions will have consequences. What I am thinking we need is…

• Billboard and online campaigns with warnings about animal abuse and fines

• Chasing some prosecutions

• Hiring people who can help enforce laws

• Working with official entities to help change policy around enforcement

We already have some of the building blocks in place for this. We have a new community officer (Jah) and our Thai audience on social media that we share inspiring and educational content is now nearly 300,000 strong.

Up until today though it has been focused on being nice, educational and inspiring. What I am saying now is we can’t always be the nice guys. We need to be able to bring people to justice and show their actions towards defenseless dogs have consequences.

As with many things that happen on this mission I often share them here first as a sort of stream of consciousness. I find writing ideas down and sharing them with 1000s of people tends to force me into action.

Tackling the abuse side of things has been on my mind for quite some time now. It’s always been a capacity issue for me. With sterilizing, the kitchen, adoptions, fundraising, Tina’s hospital and everything else we have on it has been pushed back. That changes today.

There’s only so many times I can look at another Maximus, Big T or Chance and fix the dog but ignore the bigger problem. I can’t explain how scary and daunting it is to think about dealing with enforcing laws, prosecuting animal abusers and even ultimately working with government while in a country like Thailand. The language and culture differences are such a huge barrier but the the dogs need protecting. They have little or no voice.

Change will be made. It might not be the fastest moving part of the mission but we are off and running in my head. Stand by for concrete action in the coming weeks.

Take care of yourselves.

Big Love

Niall

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