Dogs have always been a huge part of my life since a child as we were never without at least one furry friend.Thailand has been no different in that I’ve had the great pleasure of having dogs here from the first moment I arrived. What brought me to CfD was losing my lovely Rottweiler, Nammie, that sadly passed from cancer and gave me the greatest joy I had ever known from a canine companion.

I wanted my little man, Bolo, a fourteen year old disabled mini-Thai dog, to have a new buddy as he had been howling every day since her passing. I started going to the shelter more and more and became attached to many of the dogs there. How can you not? There are so many loving, affectionate, playful dogs that are just so happy to see a friendly face, receive some love, and treats are always welcomed very enthusiastically.

They’ve helped me so much to heal my loss and I want to give back to them what they’ve given me. The work is so incredibly satisfying that I look forward to going there as often as possible. It is truly keeping me healthy in mind, body and spirit. I’ve seen some terrible cases since volunteering at CfD and still can’t humanely understand the things that people do to animals. If I can help them in any way with their transition into becoming healthier and happier, by all means, I’ll do what ever I can and try to encourage others to do the same.

I have a rescued dog, his name is Bolo and his story goes like this. Bolo was a new dog in my neighborhood that was nine years old and had just moved to Chiang Mai from Phuket. Like most dogs here, he was left to wander about and one day, was hit by a car. The owners weren’t concerned in the least and left him to go into shock and after several days, become completely paralyzed.

I went there daily to try to help, asking if I could pay for the doctor bills, take him to the vet myself, whatever was necessary. They seemed offended that I would pry and could not understand why I cared. They finally got tired of me coming around and relented. He was then unceremoniously dumped in my yard on the fifth day of his ordeal. By the time I got him to the hospital, he was experiencing heart palpitations and I was told he might not make it. The doctors worked on him and were able to save him, but did confirm his paralysis.

I knew a week later when I brought him home, it would be a long road and it was. I immediately began doing physiotherapy on him and continued his exercises three times daily. A couple of months later, he began hydro therapy, which really did wonders. He could move all his legs in the water! I felt the fear and sadness he had gone through was finally coming to an end. After eight months, he could move his front legs. He dragged himself around like that for several more months and then he was able to recover the use of his back legs with a little help of a lead holding him up. It was a tough climb, but now, five years later he is running, jumping and luckily living the life every dog deserves. It is amazing what is possible with love and caring, the will, and a lot of patience and perseverance. Dogs are miracles with paws just waiting to show you their absolute unconditional love and friendship.

Help a dog today!