Designed to humanely reduce the overpopulation of street dogs, stem the spread of disease between them and enhance their overall quality of life, the project launched into action in the Southern province of Surat Thani on Jan 30. On the first day of operation, 47 dogs underwent spay/neuter surgery and received life-saving vaccinations against diseases including rabies, distemper and parvovirus.
Carrying this momentum forward are two fully equipped mobile clinic teams who will move strategically around the province, humanely capturing then neutering and vaccinating street dogs before returning them safely to their territories. Together, the teams have the capacity to reach 90-100 street dogs a day – or over 20,000 a year – preventing an untold number of puppies from being born into short lives of suffering on the streets.
“There are somewhere between 8 and 15 million street dogs in Thailand. Mass sterilisation really is the only way to fix this once and for all,” said Niall at the project launch.
“We’ve been working towards this project for months, and I’m so happy to see it in action. Soi Dog Foundation’s vets, rescue officers and staff on the ground are just incredible. The amount of lives saved will be staggering,” he added.
Based on the nearby island of Koh Samui, Niall has gained international renown for his work feeding, sterilising and treating street dogs, which he documents online. At the heart of his organisation Happy Doggo is a mission to fix the street dog problem on a global scale through sterilisation and emergency medical care.
This mission is shared with the Phuket-based Soi Dog Foundation, who have been advocating for the welfare of street dogs and cats in Thailand and across Asia for over 20 years.
Alongside rescue, treatment, adoption, education and community outreach initiatives, Soi Dog operates the largest spay/neuter and vaccination programme of its kind in the world, and last year became the first organisation in history to reach one million neutered and vaccinated animals.
“It’s an absolute pleasure to partner with Niall and Happy Doggo to help spread the impact of this critical work even further and wider,” said Soi Dog Foundation CEO Louise Rose.
“The more we join together and share experiences and expertise, the closer we move towards the day we see an end to the suffering of stray animals in Thailand, in Asia and beyond. Ultimately, this is what we’re all working towards,” she added.
Neither Soi Dog Foundation nor Happy Doggo receive any government funding to carry out their work; both depend upon donations from animal lovers around the world who share their passion for improving the lives of homeless animals.
The two organisations look forward to working closely together to make a lasting difference to the lives of street dogs in Thailand, reducing their suffering humanely and effectively.
Happy Doggo is a registered UK Charity (1203875), founded in 2023. Their aim is to reduce the suffering of dogs worldwide, with particular focus on Thailand and Southeast Asia. They are privileged to have a diverse group of trustees, each of whom lend their unique expertise to guide Happy Doggo’s growth. Contact: woof@happydoggo.com. Website: www.happydoggo.com
Established in Phuket in 2003, Soi Dog Foundation is Southeast Asia’s largest organisation helping stray animals. Its mission is to improve the welfare of dogs and cats in Asia, resulting in better lives for both the animal and human communities, to create a society without homeless animals and to ultimately end animal cruelty.
The Gill Dalley sanctuary in Phuket is home to over 1,800 animals. Soi Dog also has a treatment facility in Bangkok and responds to crisis situations throughout Thailand. The organisation is dedicated to implementing effective, sustainable solutions that reduce the suffering of dogs and cats in Asia, runs entirely on donations and works efficiently so all donations are used to help animals as effectively as possible. Contact: info@soidog.org. Website: www.soidog.org