Soi Dog is the largest not for profit animal charity in South East Asia with registered offices in Thailand, the U.S.A., Australia, Holland, France, Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It is funded entirely by voluntary contributions. The word, ‘Soi’ in Thai means street or alley and it was the thousands of starving dogs roaming the streets of Phuket suffering from disease, open sores and injuries caused by road traffic accidents, dog fights and human cruelty which led to the establishment of the charity in 2003. The founders were a British couple John and Gill Dalley who were joined by Margot Homburg Park and their aim was to find a humane solution to limit the problem of stray animals and deal with their medical needs.
A policy of capture, neuter, vaccinate and release (CNVR) was adopted and shelter was provided for those not fit enough to cope with street life. A clinic was opened and vets volunteered to help when they had time available. In 2019 a dedicated hospital for cats was opened on the Phuket site. At any one time there are over 1000 animals in the care of Soi Dog at Phuket.
The foundation has a team of 17 Thai vets and ancillary staff working and caring for these animals and the current Medical Director based in Phuket is Caroline Haywood from West Bridgford. After attending Heymann Primary and the West Bridgford School she studied veterinary medicine at London University and on graduation moved to Somerset and was in practise there, before being appointed to the Soi Dog Foundation.
As medical director she is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the surgical and medical work done in the two hospitals, the infectious disease isolation units and all the analytical work carried out at the laboratories. To encourage further professional development of the vets employed at Soi Dog she has arranged visits from British consultant vets in the fields of cardiology, neurology and diagnostic imaging to lead training sessions.
Apart from veterinary work Soi Dog has been active in campaigning over animal welfare issues especially against the cruel dog meat trade in parts of Asia. The eating of dog and cat meat in Thailand had been banned as part of their first animal welfare law which was enacted in 2014
As may be appreciated, from all the work being undertaken and in receipt of no government financial assistance, donations are desperately needed to help care for and treat so many animals. There is also a critical need for good homes for dogs and cats in the shelter and an active adoption policy is in force to help those who feel they could give one of these animals the love and security they need in a permanent home.. By doing so, a space then becomes available in the refuge for other animals needing care and protection.
Anyone interested in finding out more visit: www.soidog.org. They also have extensive coverage on Facebook and Twitter.