Having been away for a week, today I returned to my routine and volunteered my time to Care for Dogs as the driver of dogs to see the vet.
In the front with me was Morg, by his appearance it would seem he is an old boy and possibly of Ban Kaow breeding.
In the back were [...]

3 hours of time, ability to drive 25 kilometres and a sense of humour. That’s all you need to do a vet run. Well almost.
It’s a bonus if you know how to approach a dog, talk to them, pick them up and understand their needs. But most of all you must have the inclination to [...]

It’s different. Now it’s not just the smell. It’s not the residue of something that was sticky but now dry on the brake handle or on the steering wheel, let alone the snudges (nose smudges) on the windows (every window) it’s the overall experience of a family outing. The togetherness, the ‘we’ factor, “excuse me can you move your head, mind the mirror, not you Sweetie, you Orio..! Thank you, I’ll take that…”

Yeung came to the Care for Dogs shelter in a very sorry state in early August 2008. You can read more about him here …
Today we returned Yeung to the Government School, near to the 700 Year Sports Stadium, on the canal road towards Mae Rim.
The security staff at the school, as well as the [...]

First of all a slight apology to readers about this weekly synopsis of my Monday vet run, my ‘Hands-on’ contribution to Care for Dogs, because it might be getting slightly boring, with the same names, same faces and same stories appearing each Monday.
Some of the other volunteers do write and are capably telling their stories [...]

The seasons are changing in Chiang Mai right now, the afternoon thunder rolling over the mountains and there is a weird coloured sky that we get at this time of the year because of the moisture , the clouds and the sun, all pre-cursors for the change from Wet to Dry season.
The temperatures will now [...]

Well you have to be slightly light hearted about life, especially when you have a real moaner on board!
Today the shopping list that Sarah carefully and most diligently compiles for me, was waiting on my arrival at the shelter, along with 4 patients looking for transport to see the vet.

They enjoy the trips in [...]

Monday morning’s as I drive to the shelter I often wonder what the list of cases will be that day.
As I arrive, Sarah typically gives me a hand written note, as if I was going to the shops for some groceries and begins to talk me through the list, telling me some more back ground [...]

This is not all about horrible gory wounds dripping with blood and scenes of horror, well except for one dog, its about blood and bone checks.
Bones
2 dogs along today for bone troubles were Daeng Spa & Coke. They have both previously been through surgery for broken bones, pins inserted and both told to lay up [...]

Blood
Today Tim came along for a blood test and the results demonstrated a vast improvement from other tests done daily this last week.
TvT is a terrible disease but it can be cured if treated properly and if the dog remains healthy. Vincristine, the medication used to combat the tumor, hurts the liver and kidneys and [...]

Kh Nod, one of the team, saw her at her home near the railway station in Chiang Mai, when he was returning 2 TvT treatment cases a while ago. He noticed a big lump on her neck and encouraged the family she lives with, to go to the vet with her themselves, as at the [...]

Last week, Yeung came along on the Monday Vet run with his wounds recently cleaned for the first time in over a year after which in everyones opinion should have been amputated and there were even thoughts as to whether Yeung would live much longer.
Maybe it was something to do with the fact that most [...]

Visiting the vet today was a shy young dog called Cocoa, who lives around the grounds of the popular temple, Wat Suan Dok.
Today we were asked to help this dog by the monks there, as he had been vomiting and the man who looks after Cocoa had said he had a high temperature too.
After a [...]

Also along on today’s trip was one of the 14 dogs rescued from living their lives in boxes.
(You can read more about that rescue here…)
Mii is a mature male and this week seems to have lost his appetite and yesterday vomited bile. He also has a couple of abscesses on the soft tissue in his [...]

It’s a Monday so it’s Vet Clinic day. That means, blood checks, eyes, ears noses, wound assessments or other clinical check cases. Sterilisation operations or TvT (Transmissible Venereal Tumor) treatment days happen later in the week but today a variety of bloodchecks and wound checks are needed for 7 dogs.
First up was Tik. This old [...]