Some Big Numbers To Get Excited About

The tide is starting to turn

Regular readers will know I often write of frustration at not moving fast enough. This mission I am on is really hard and sometimes it can seem impossibly big when I am down in the weeds dealing with dog issues on a daily basis.

I have to say though that writing this tonight and looking through some numbers I feel for the first time that I am starting to make some large scale progress…

A Second Island

I live and help the dogs on the island of Koh Samui. There is an island of equal size called Koh Phangan just across the water. You probably have heard of it as the home of the world famous Full Moon Party. They have a similar problem with street dogs.

Since the the 1st May I have starting funding a wonderful foundation called PACS to sterilise dogs there. They are starting with 50 this month including this little lady who had her operation last week. This is going to stop 1000s of future puppies. A big step.

90,000 Meals Served in 2023 So Far

The cooking never stops. The dogs are all starting to benefit from a consistent and healthy meal per day. All the food is prepared in a central kitchen and handed out to volunteers to feed their dogs. With 5000 meals served per week around the island it blows my mind that soon we will serve the 100,000th wholesome plate of food in 2023. It wasn’t that long ago I was driving around on my moped with a 10kg bag of dry food feeding a paltry 20 dogs per day on my own.

7 Puppies Re-Homed

In the last couple of weeks there have been 25-30 puppies show up. It can be incredibly tough to find them homes but thanks to a great Thai lady I have been able to get 7 into their forever homes around the country. It has involved a lot of vet visits, 1000kms of travel and lots of expense but that is 7 dogs who have a future now who wouldn’t have made it otherwise.

2 Miracles For Lady

The first miracle for Lady was the fact that she got off the street and was able to start walking a little again despite her two broken hips. We’ve been getting her a lot of treatment and she is thriving.

Her 2nd miracle was when a lovely newly retired gentleman called Jamie spotted her and offered Lady a forever home to live out her life right here on the island. Nobody usually wants old and sick dogs so this incredibly selfless act is the huge slice of luck that Lady deserved after all the suffering she has endured.

The Best Day Of Tina’s Life

Tina was used for breeding puppies. We all saw the horrendous state she was in when she was rescued. Last week she was well enough to be sterilised so as she never has to have another puppy in her life again. It might seem like a small footnote in the bigger scheme of things but it was a moment of closure for this wonderful lady who has suffered so much. She can now just focus on being a dog for for the first time in her life and sharing all the love she has to give.

Tina was the 521st dog I have sterilised since starting.

King Whacker Of Scotland

Whacker is a very special dog who was one of the first arrivals back in November. Someone had tried to kill him with a pick axe. After recovering he turned into a true gent and is the big boss at the land. I promised he would never have to go back on the streets and this week after a process to find him the right home he got the news that he will be heading to Glasgow. Long live Whacker, the King of Scotland.

Dapper Moritz Heading To London

He’s the quiet little distinguished gentleman who had broken hips and a broken kneecap. He’s always lurking in the background like an angel but he go the great news last week that he has a forever home in London. Moritz was always too soft for the streets and will make a wonderful pet.

125 Dogs To Be Sterilised In May

I spoke about how abstract sterilising can be for many people to understand but it is what will save the most dogs from suffering. In all of 2022 I was able to do 302 dogs. In the month of May alone I have a minimum target to fund 125. In June I hope to take that to 250 dogs for the month. Not easy and very expensive but I’m putting the groundwork in place to scale this up. Nothing is more important.

Little Rodney was in getting the snip last week as one of the dogs this month…

7 European Dogs

By the end of June there will be 7 dogs who have traveled to Europe. Lottie, Hope, King Whacker, Rodney and Moritz will join Little Squeak and Peaches who just arrived in Germany.

I can’t explain how hard it is to figure all this stuff out and get the processes in place. I’m focusing on Europe now as it is the easiest for travel and paperwork but the rest of the world will happen soon too.

It’s only 7 dogs but seeing them in their homes or about to travel makes me so happy and proud for them all.

The suffering I see on a daily basis for street dogs means that I am never really happy with the speed and progress of my mission. I just want to help them all immediately but that isn’t possible. Having said that, reading this update and knowing what else is coming in the pipeline makes me feel that I am making genuine progress.

Between food, funding sterilisations, medical care and re-homing dogs I can genuinely now say I’m helping 100s of dogs per month but also stopping the suffering of 1000s in the future.

As I always say I could never do any of this without the online support and good wishes of everybody on the mission with me. I don’t feel like I am alone doing this. My role is to make sure I don’t waste all the support and ensure I think of ways to move faster and execute accordingly.

A lot done, a lore more to do.

Big Love

Niall

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