After receiving a call from a genuinely concerned Thai lady regarding the health and well being of a small black dog in the vicinity of a temple near Arcade bus station, Care for Dogs coordinator, Karin Hawelka, dispatched two of her rescue volunteers to the scene to find the little guy and transport him to the Vet for assessment.

On arrival at the Wat, Maggi and Vern were told that the dog was not there at that time and once sighted, they would be called to try again. Since they were attending another sick dog in the area on a daily basis, they decided to try and find this small black dog the next day.

Bingo!! “There he is!” Maggi yelled, pointing to a camouflaged figure standing in a pile of garbage. Not exactly black but in trouble needing help. “It’s got to be him!” they both agreed. So with that, “Charlie” was on the back of the motorbike, squashed between the two volunteers heading for the vet clinic.

Dehydrated, blinded with suspected cataracts or suchlike, dry eyes, matted hair on a body covered in tics and trembling nervously, this little fellow was just glad to be held and calmed by soothing voices and caring people.

Charlie is a Shi Tzu, although once washed and shaved, he just looks like a scrawny, funny little mutt that resembles ET!

Our guess is that he once was a beautiful pup that accompanied his owner on the motorbike everywhere he or she went. He probably even sat proudly on a lap at an outdoor restaurant. How chic he was back then! What happened? Maybe he just got older and less of a status symbol or maybe he just got some health problems and his owner could not afford to take care of him. We will never know but now, he is going to get a second chance.

After his examination, Maggi and Vern ferried Charlie to Gill’s house. She is another hard working volunteer at Care for Dogs who is fostering numerous cats and dogs at her house. Once there, Charlie tucked into possibly the first decent meal that he has had in a long time! He drank water like there was no tomorrow, burrowed into a makeshift bed and fell asleep.

How wonderful it must have been for him just to feel safe for a moment. It would be hard for any of us to imagine that kind of relief.

So there he was. Examined, medicated, washed, shaved, fed and lying in his bed, sleeping like a baby. Prognosis good and job done!

Well, not quite. The call came in: “Wrong dog picked up! The dog that should have been retrieved is a black Chihuahua.” Oh, Oh! Groundhog Day…….

Maggi and Vern dispatched to the temple again…… Sure enough, the little female Chihuahua was there. After putting her in a crate and securing her to the motorcycle, it was off to the vet again.

On arrival at the Vet practice, Maggi brought the new patient in. The normal frenzy followed. Cleaning eyes, checking temperatures, analysing blood, checking for obvious wounds and finally, diagnosis.

She is a pretty skinny little thing, probably half the weight of a normal Chihuahua and like many of these dogs on the street, she has failed to get proper nutrition through good dietary means. Needless to say that when Maggi fed her at the clinic, she ate like it was her last meal.

We think that with a little medication, some healthy foods, proper shelter and of course, some love, this poor little lost soul will be as good as new. You can follow her progress on the website.

So this case of mistaken identity helped two needy dogs to a better life today. Fantastic!!

If you see dogs in distress in or around Chiang Mai, please do not hesitate to get in touch right away. You can email us or telephone: 0847525255 (English): 0869138701 (Thai)