10% of Pet Portrait Proceeds from AXC Go To
The Samui Animal Rescue Center

• Aims of Dog Rescue Center Samui
   
  To vaccinate all dogs and cats against rabies.
  To sterilize all dogs and cats by castration or spaying.
  To treat dogs suffering from mange by injecting them with Ivomec, or by washing them with Amitraz.
  To deworm all dogs and cats.
  To treat all stray dogs and cats in the event of injury or sickness and give them somewhere to rest.
  To educate the people of Koh Samui concerning the keeping of their animals.

        Please Scroll Down To See Before and After Photographs

   Is Koh Samui, Thailand a paradise? Yes, but not for dogs or cats! Koh Samui is a tropical island in the South of Thailand with many beautiful beaches, thousands of coconut palms, 25,000 inhabitants and several hundred bungalow resorts and hotels. There are also hundreds of stray or soi dogs ('soi' in Thai means street) begging for food. Most of the soi dogs live in small packs and remain within their territory.

   This territory is defended by the whole pack and it is very hard for new dogs to join a pack.
Until April 1999, there was no vet on the island and medical treatment for animals was impossible. Countless sick or injured dogs and cats died wretchedly and were completely ignored as they lay by the roadside. Even small bite wounds can prove lethal because, in the tropics, flies deposit their eggs in the cuts with the resulting maggots eating their way deeper and deeper into the animal.

   All it takes is a thorough cleansing and some powder and even large injuries infected with hundreds of maggots can heal quickly. Dogs have puppies twice a year. Mongrels are particularly fecund and litters with ten puppies are not uncommon. If only five out of ten puppies survive, that 10,000 living pups per year from 1,000 bitches.

   Before the Rescue Center started in April 1999, in an effort to curtail the number of soi dogs, the government carried out mass poisonings and the problem was solved for a time. For the tourists who had to witness this, their holidays were ruined. Even dogs with owners had two litters a year and the Thai people, not knowing how to deal with puppies, took them to the temple.

   There, the dogs were fed by the monks with some rice and other leftovers but, if there were too many, the government also poisoned these dogs. As the majority of the Thai population is very poor, and the only vet at that time was on the mainland, traveling there with a dog was not feasible. The average salary is about $7.60 USD or 5 Euro a day; the price for a castration is about $45.50 USD or 30 Euro.

   When the Rescue Center started helping the dogs on Koh Samui, there wasn't much of a cat problem as dogs eat cats (sad but true). As the work with the dogs progressed and their numbers fell, the cat population grew. As a result, the Rescue Center had to address the cat problem, so they started to neuter and look after the cats on the Island. This work continues still.

   Please help us help the animals. Every time you purchase a pet portrait from our site we will donate 10% of the proceeds to the Animal Rescue Center in Koh Samui, Thailand.

If you would like to learn more about the Rescue Center please visit www.samuidog.org

Name: Chaweng

Before Treatment and After Treatment

   I was only three months old, had hardly any fur left and my skin was covered with many injuries. I was running a high temperature and had a bad festering infection on one of my hind paws. Even the tourists had stopped feeding me, because I looked so awful. I almost starved and died of thirst, and I was so lonely. One day, I met some tourists from Germany. They felt very sorry for me and wanted to help. They thought I would not have much longer to live and just wanted to shorten my suffering. They started to look for a vet and found the Dog Rescue Center Samui. The vet told them that I was only suffering from mange and that it was easy to treat. Thus I got fed, injected, washed and even got a little basket just for myself to sleep in. After two days, the infection on my leg got real bad and I had to undergo surgery. Hard times! By then the tourists had fallen in love with me and decided to take me home with them to Germany. Now I am seven months old and a healthy little dog. I live in the Frankfurt area and bark in accent-free Germany. I am perfectly happy here. With all my heart I hope that my brothers and sisters on Koh Samui will meet the animal friends from the DRCS so that they can get help too. 

Name: Laila

Before Treatment and After Treatment

   My name is Laila. My age is around 2.5 years, and I am a very expensive pedigree Doberman. I was supposed to have many pedigree puppies. But, my first pregnancies all ended with miscarriages and my original owner lost interest. I had to live on garbage. Trying to do so, I injured my right hind paw badly. Since I am not a robust mongrel I started having serious stomach problems and lost all my fur. I was close to giving up, and all I wanted to do was die. But then someone from the Dog Rescue Center Samui started to take care of me. Today, only a few months later, I am an almost healthy dog. As soon as I am fit enough for the surgery I will be castrated. Also, one of my toes will most probably have to be amputated. After I became a pretty dog again, of course I found a new home for myself.

Name: Nueng

Before Treatment and After Treatment

   Having lost my mother, I was wondering around Chaweng Beach. I followed anybody who was nice to me. I was still a baby, only three months old, and could not fend for myself like the grown-up dogs. I got very sick and was so weak; I could hardly hobble along anymore. That’s how tourists found me on the beach in front of Montien House. They took me to someone from the Dog Rescue Center Samui. I was really lucky, because the Center had just been opened and I was the first in-patient there. Dr Somsak treated me with antibiotics as I also had an abscess. My diarrhea and mange were properly treated. I got delicious doggy-milk and of course lots and lots to eat. After a week, I was strong enough to leave the clinic. I was named "Nüng" which in Thai means "One", because I had been the first patient! My luck did not leave me and I was allowed to stay in the Montien House. To be a Montien dog is something very special on Koh Samui, because the lady owning the place takes good care of her 8-10 dogs. They get fed every day and receive medical treatment when needed.  

Name: Deng

Before Treatment and After Treatment

   When I was about three months old a silly construction worker painted me red with oil paint, without realizing that by doing so he almost killed me. Some animal friends took me to the rescue center and there I was treated by Dr. Somsak. Since the paint was already dry it could not be removed with any solvent. It took me days to tear out all that scabby red fur. And I tell you it hurt like hell!!! But I did not stop until the last bit of paint was gone - as was most of my coat - and my back was completely bare. Now my coat has grown back nicely and I have turned into a handsome tomcat. I usually live in the DRCS owner’s house with the other cats but sometimes have the urge to go walkabout for a couple of days. My name really should be DAM ('black' in Thai) but thanks to the red color I am called DÄNG ('red' in Thai).

Name: Snoose

Before Treatment After Treatment

   My name is Snoose, and I'm around six months old. When I was found, I was skinny, had no fur, scabby skin and large injuries on my head. I was lying underneath a deckchair on the beach in front of the Buri bungalow resort on Chaweng Beach. That's the state in which the tourists found me. The two of them saw my pain, the terror and the fear I had to endure so far. They felt so sorry for me they could not simply ignore me like so many others did. In the beginning, they just fed me every evening and took care of my injuries. But after a short time they took me back to their bungalow and decided they could not leave me here in Thailand to face a fate unknown. The Dog Rescue Center then helped to treat my mange. I was washed with Amitraz, something not very enjoyable but, as you can see, it did help. Then I got a proper vaccination card, vitamins and de-worming treatment. The tourists who found me, Pierre and Shenja, took me home to Germany with them. Now my home is in Berlin, and I live happily together with my new buddies Olli and Nelli. Shenja and Pierre did not regret saving me.

Gallery Entrance

All information contained on this page is quoted directly from www.samuidog.org