Well here I am in Hua Hin in Southern Thailand and 6668 miles away from rainy Surrey.
My journey here was long, 23 hours long… It would have been 2 hours shorter, but 3 passengers in Dubai helpfully checked their bags in but got so caught up in the amazing array of bargains in Duty Free, that they failed to make it to the Departure gate. Hence three suitcases had to be located amongst the 400 onboard and offloaded. I was pleased the latecomers weren’t allowed on the plane as I had decided that I was going to assault them with the only weapon I had onboard; a handbag sized hairbrush, as they walked down the aisle.
By the time I finally arrived here I was so tired that I was delusional, and had no idea of what day or time it was. I just knew it was hot, steaming hot. The sort of hot that makes you want to jump in an ice bath and change your clothes every 15 minutes.
Having volunteered so much I know the best thing is to expect nothing then you won’t be disappointed… But the Rescue Paws Clinic where I am working is incredible.
There are an estimated 10 million street dogs in Thailand, and only a handful of state run dog shelters. It would be impossible to offer shelter to all these poor hounds so Rescue Paws takes in injured street dogs, treats them then releases them back to the streets. It also runs an extensive neutering programme to try to reduce the number of street dogs, as well as feeding 250 street dogs from the back of a truck daily. Whilst a vet in the UK might neuter 4 dogs a day here one young vet neuters up to 25 a day! It is a production line of anaesthetics, operations and recovery.
Work here consists of cleaning kennels, feeding and walking the resident dogs on a beautiful beach every morning. I can think of worse places to be.
I am, of course, the Volunteer Granny as the average volunteer age is 22. Most are Gap year students or vet interns. However, I do prefer a humble Generation Z to one that thinks they run the centre just because they have been here a week.
