“Down by the pool” seemed to be the unofficial motto of the 5th year Care for Dogs team- + volunteer party with lots of chats, games, splish-splash, mango cocktails, homemade pasta, curry & wine, and the introduction of a new volunteer- + staff T-shirt! Thanks to everybody for coming and making this a great fun event!

[Click on any image for slideshow]

Today I visited the shelter to grab a few snaps of dogs doing what they do and got a bit more than I bargained for !

Happy smiley faces are always in abundance at the shelter, especially amongst the 2 legged species and sunshine is always able to make us feel happy.

[Click on any image for slideshow]

Care for Dogs rescued this guy from a dusty horror 2 years ago. At that time he was scared & it was hard to get near him.With only 3 legs, he frantically hopped the circumference of any area he was in, a pitiful sight.

You can see a little more about that here …

Zorro is a strong character, extremely possessive and will stand up to anyone, bearing his gums and making quite a snarl! But he does love a cuddle now from people who he trusts.

Seen here with Irene’s leg (in the background & not between his teeth), he is on his way back to the shelter after a lovely walk in the beautiful green orchards near the shelter.

This old fella, along with many other old timers will live the rest of their lives safe and secure being looked after by the caring volunteers and staff at the shelter.

21 students accompanied by 2 staff from PTIS (previously known as Prem) came to the shelter today for a guided tour, a chance to walk some dogs and a surprise chance to get down & dirty with some really interesting characters.

Hanna & Jum had done a splendid job of preparing for the visit with chilled water, clean towels (for the dogs!) and a regimented schedule that looked good but went to pieces after just 30 minutes, as no students = no visit!

But all that changed and the group were welcomed by the usual break the ice chat & introduction to the shelter at the gate.

Once inside, groups defined & make up & hair etc. adjusted ! (these young folks) the volunteers set about their allotted tasks and doing their best to help the students grasp the most of this opportunity.

Some of the dogs walked themselves, some just didn’t want to walk at all. Showers were special, with amitraz & Melasab shampoo for skin cases. Everyone talked about bloody problems, poo disposal & behavioural therapies, whilst discussing dog issues too, the 2 hour visit just flew by.

Here are a few pics to capture some of the atmosphere of the school visit.

Thank you PTIS, we had fun & really appreciate your contributions to the shelter through your purchases & donations.

June 2010 – 4 years old now & growing every day, Care for Dogs is a well established foundation centre of care for the community.

It’s often hard to distinguish faces of the residents & the visitors as they appear to all look so much at home.

Here is a selection of characters at the shelter right now.

There is just so much going on in & around the shelter right now, there seems to be a constant barrage of events & situations calling for a story & a camera.

Here are just a few that have punctuated the past few weeks with adoptions, donations, rescues and unfortunately some very sad moments too.

Hope & Freedom were a partnership, a team. They lived through very hard times and after release from their neglected prison a year ago, from a garden where they had been left behind by their human family, they were taken into the shelter. After their recovery, they were lovingly adopted into a dream home at the School for Life. Sadly, Hope was not to live too long. He died and Freedom watched him pass away.

The Care for Dogs Cemetery situated in a green pasture with beautiful mountain views is now Hope’s resting place. We have laid him in a large plot and Freedom has a reserved space beside him, when the time comes.

Rest in peace you precious boy, everyone who met you loved you, we still do.

Life at the shelter this last week has been busy as usual, there have been people & dogs coming & going, happy and sad moments but overall, a healthy mix of reality around the work we do.

Here are just a couple of the images this past week or so in & around the shelter.

Being in the right place at the right time is often how many people account for exceptional experiences and Care for Dogs are to be thankful for such a blessing.

Worldwide Veterinary Service, is a registered UK charity (no. 1100485) that supplies veterinary resources, in the form of volunteer teams, drugs, equipment and advice to help animal charities and non-profit organisations around the world.

Care for Dogs had contacted WVS a few times in the past to register our need for any assistance they could provide us. We thought we would get a brown envelope or parcel in the post with either medication or advice about our work but we never thought we would receive the request from them to be part of a television program, featuring their Chief Executive Luke Gamble visiting the shelter & performing hands on medicine with our dogs and capturing footage for a Sky Tv documentary.

Today the crew arrived, Luke met Karin at the shelter and proceeded to tour the shelter and film diagnosis and advice regarding several of the dogs we have in treatment at the moment. Luke was able to identify a couple of cases he would like to personally investigate further and following us obtaining appropriate government permissions, we are hopeful that this talented vet will be able to perform some important operations at the shelter for the television program.

As the day was ending, we received a call regarding an injured dog that would be brought to the shelter for examination by Luke. This was a wonderful moment as the dog was in desperate need of help. Tomorrow, we hope to see the dog in a brighter condition after his initial treatment this evening.

Despite the persistent rain, the day went rather well and the forthcoming week will be a busy one with the film crew capturing Luke in & around Care for Dogs activities.

A few images of some familiar faces at the Care for Dogs shelter during May 2009.

A few happy snaps taken by Emma & Marco who are visiting the shelter regularly during their stay in Chiang Mai.