Celebrated Bay Area dog trainer Sandi Thompson (bravopup.com) loves traveling the globe and is passionate about the welfare of animals. Here is the first installment of a two-part series in which she takes us on location to Thailand for a massive dog rescue effort after a devastating flood. Tune in next month for the exciting conclusion.
During the rainy season of 2011, 65 of Thailand’s 77 provinces were submerged in record-breaking floods, causing the deaths of 815 people and many thousands of animals. I’ve traveled to Thailand a number of times and have many friends and acquaintances there, so my Facebook news feed was quickly inundated with alarming news and pictures from the flood zones.
Pictures of people holding their children above their heads in chest deep water, awaiting rescue; pathetically helpless dogs stranded upon rooftops, floating cars, and desperately clinging to trees; dogs, cats, and pigs trapped in floating crates – some alive, most dead.
With each photo and bit of news, I experienced an increasingly dreadful feeling in my stomach. I knew that countless animals were severely injured, starving, and drowning with each passing moment. And reportedly, the flood was going to worsen for weeks to come. Large areas were being evacuated and people were not allowed to take their pets with them.
Huge numbers of pets and strays were left to fend for themselves in an empty city submerged in water and sewage. I sat at my computer and cried. I could barely wrap my mind around the pain and suffering in Thailand. I wished there was something I could do.
Suddenly I realized that I could do something: I could go to Thailand again and help. In fact, I was uniquely qualified to help! I have been to Thailand many times, am familiar with the customs and the language (not fluent, but I can get by), and am an experienced dog handler/trainer/caregiver.
Despite concerns from worried friends I wanted to get my boots on Thai ground in a hurry. I left my dog in the hands of friends and my business to my staff. I was on a midnight flight to Bangkok within a few days.
Siam Sam was one of hundreds of street dogs left behind in an evacuated city, about 50 miles north of Bangkok. His was one of the worst hit cities with record floodwaters rising to 10 feet and declared a disaster zone. The abandoned dogs had nowhere to go to get away from floodwaters. They climbed onto any surface that was above the water level, including trash piles, rooftops, and parked cars.
Sam and several other dogs were spotted by the rescue team peering out the second story window of an unfinished building. It was their safety zone from the floods, but there was no food and they were facing certain death by starvation, drowning, and disease, not to mention being easy targets for poachers of the dog meat trade.
Sam and his friends were lured to the rescue boats with food and then immediately sedated and transported to a temporary shelter of X-pens and crates on dry ground. The heroic rescues by Soi Dog and Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand went on day and night until emergency shelter numbers reached over 1,000. The number of rescued dogs needing care had reached crisis proportions.
All dogs rescued from the flooding were loaded into cages and transported to emergency shelters set up in several cattle quarantine centers, and at a nearby Wildlife Sanctuary (WFFT) dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating Thailand’s wildlife. WFFT was in desperate need of help and a handful of volunteers like myself came in from all over the world.
I arrived 30 hours after leaving the Bay Area and collapsed into bed, not really noticing my surroundings. I awoke the next morning to gibbons calling – my favorite sound in the entire world. I could have listened all morning but there were scores of dogs in need of attention. I headed out to get my instructions, walking past several species of monkeys, sun bears, a jackal, a tiger, slow Loris, and several elephants! Seriously, how had I missed this on the way to bed last night!?
I met up with my fellow volunteers before being trucked to the shelter, where I would spend most of my time for the next three weeks caring for the rescued dogs. I had made it to Thailand. I was now eager to get started yet worried about what may lie ahead.
To be continued…
Sandi Thompson is owner/founder of the award-winning dog training school BRAVO!PUP Puppy & Dog Training. For more information, visit www.bravopup.com.
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Main article photo by: Emma Carter
