Soi Dog - Bonding with B2

It's been an eventful 10 days or so since I last posted. I've traveled down south to the major touristy areas, Patong and Phuket Town, but a majority of my time during the week is happily spent visiting Soi Dog. 

I've met many lovely people who have come and gone. I eat dinner on the beach pretty much every night. Phuket costs more than I expected, but I accept it as a fee for living on an island.

Some moments are full of joy at the shelter.

Rub a dub dub

But I can't lie.. other moments break my heart into pieces, and remind me how much work there still is to be done.

I have 10 more days here and I want to share the dogs I've spent hours with in the B2 run - mostly just so I don't forget all of their quirks. We are asked to take notes so that future visitors and potential adopters have a better idea of what the dogs are like, as the staff here doesn't always have the capacity to get to know them as well.

I spent today in a different run as another visitor, Nanna, has fallen in love with B2 and I can't blame her! I have more time here than she does, so I am happy to share and meet new pups.

Warning: dog overload ahead. I may use the word "sweet" about 20 times, because at their core, all of these dogs want love.

Biggy

Oops - I didn't realize my "secret" favorite would be first in alphabetical order.
I was warned that Biggy bites when I first joined the run. She "warned" me once when I pet her to stop, but otherwise is dying for human affection. When you stop petting her, she puts a paw up to ask for more.
She doesn't seem to like other dogs much, and I can't walk her yet.


Brick

My three legged man of steel. One of the alphas in the pack, so he starts fights occasionally.
Will sprint to the fence to greet you, but wont walk very far on a leash.
Loooves human attention. I think he needs a nice couch to go live on and protect a home from the window. :)


Chernlong

Another alpha in the group, can start fights as well, but just like Brick he loves attention.
Sometimes has invisible boundaries and wont walk past halfway around the lake, other times goes the distance.
I think he gets tired on three legs!

Chocolate

I'm sad I don't have a better picture of Chocolate yet. I always know it's her (it was hard at first with all the similar looking black dogs!) because her tail wags emphatically when I say her name, but she is unsure in her approach.
She's hard to trick into a leash, but once it's on, she pushes her way through the gates. Then she fluctuates between being confident and shy. Super sweet girl.

Dorothy

Sweet, "fat" (compared to the other dogs) Dorothy.
Another alpha dog, likes to gently nip at your butt and legs when you walk in.
We suspect Dorothy had distemper at some point and as a result she has bitten her tongue somewhat   :( but she is still chugging along. Very easy to walk.


Hunde

Another dog I wish I had a better picture of, but she's so active!
She is a little tank on 4 legs - she sticks up for herself, but also plays mom to a few of the other black dogs.
Loves going on walks and she has stolen my heart.

Iggy

Very shy girl, but loves a good massage. Can get the leash around her neck, but she wont move.
My first day I learned an important lesson because of Iggy - do not pick the dogs up unless necessary. She flailed when I picked her up to get her back in the run and she ended up scratching me. Completely my fault.

Komarn

 

Komarn!!!! Words cannot express how lovely this dog is. She doesn't have a bad bone in her body. She's starting to stand up for herself more if she's picked on, but generally gets along well with all the dogs, is fantastic on a leash, and just wonderful in general.

Loo Loo

One of the last alphas in the group. She is very jealous of other dogs receiving attention so is sometimes the first to start a fight. Nanna is trying to figure out a way to get her back to Denmark. Loo Loo by herself is a treat and would love to go to a home with no other dogs (and maybe some ducks to harass).


Margarita

A very shy girl. It takes time with this one, but she does love it when you scratch behind her ears. I put a leash on her once and she spun herself in circles in a panic, so will just continue to be an observer and let her come to me.

Purdie

Ya Heard? With Perd! One of the more famous shy pups at Soi Dog. She will maybe sniff your hand, but otherwise is mainly untouchable. The more time you spend in the run, though, the more comfortable she is with proximity.


Rabbit and White - these two belong together

Rabbit - such a lady!

White

If you can't tell, these two have to be related. They need a lot of socialization as they are extremely shy, but will approach with great caution. You can get a hand lick or maybe an ear scratch if you pretend they aren't around. They have to approach at their own free will. Such beautiful dogs!

Singto

A heartbreaker. Poor Singto is lost without his sala to hide under, which they are working on rebuilding. He unwisely cowers in the corner next to the gate which brings him much more attention and contact than he would like. He will probably be wary of me the whole time. :(


Soldier

I guess the name fits if it means "stealth soldier who runs away from you at every opportunity". Soldier is very timid and afraid of people. I feel like we have made progress because he will at least sit in the same vicinity of me, if I pretend to not pay attention.

That's a wrap! And lest I leave this blog on a sad note.. here is, well, I don't know the name, but I call him/her Piglet. 7 months old, pudgy and hot dog shaped with very short legs - she also has a tail that curly-q's twice!

Until next time....

-Erin

Soi Dog Day 1 - Puppy Party, the B2 Run and Kitties

Today I was picked up around 8am and got home around 6pm. I shared my ride with an older Australian couple and a young Norwegian couple (both had already visited the shelter previously) who were staying at nearby resorts. 

The dogs were separated into multiple areas and runs based on their age and level of socialization. Some of the shy dogs were put into the old dog or puppy areas because they managed better with this type of energy. Also on site are the main veterinary clinic, sterilization clinic, and an entire building dedicated to cats, but there weren't as many cats as they are adopted more frequently. Finally, there were newly built apartments for the Burmese refugees who also help out with the animals.

After a tour, the coordinator, Diana left me in the puppy area. It is exactly as one would envision it... I opened the gate and a swarm of wiggly puppies came running at me. I forgot how mouthy puppies are and immediately my shoelaces, pant bottoms, camera string and anything else they could get their mouths on were being tugged on. Sorry for the photo overload but OMG PUPPIES

Don't eat the camera!

It might look like black plastic tubing but those are my legs

This black lab (?) couldn't get enough kisses 

This white/black puppy was long and stout, like a wiener dog blue heeler

IT'S SO MUCH WORK GROWING UP

There were some shy dogs in the run, and one of them played mother to the puppies. I couldn't help but feel a little sad realizing that this was their optimal chance for adoption and as they grew larger, they would be looked at as less desirable. But I tried to focus on puppy time. I walked out of there completely covered in dirt and sweat - I guess I'll be needing to do laundry more than I expected.

The dogs have much more space than most shelters in the US, and they hose down their areas every morning so there isn't much waste. It's a constant juggling act to keep the dogs in runs where they all get along - fights do break out, but the employees there have an amazing command of the dogs. Today was hot and sunny so the other volunteers spent the day socializing and walking the dogs.

At one point I asked Diana what had happened to a few of the dogs (missing legs, eyes, etc. were common) and she told me that she didn't know because she herself had to stop asking. She simply stated that she wanted to last at the shelter as long as possible - as much of a fantastic operation as this is, it takes its toll.

After lunch (they pick up local Thai food - I paid $1.50 USD for veggie fried rice and a coke) Diana sent me to run B2, as they felt it had good dogs for a beginner like me to deal with.

This is my view from a bench under shelter. You'd think the dogs would all flock to the shade, but many hang out in the grueling sun.

Some of the dogs were quick to greet me, others cowered away. My job at this point was to just sit and let them come to me as they were comfortable, and take notes about how they were doing. I will continue to take notes during my stay so that the shelter has valuable information for potential adopters about how they grow with socialization.

I went through the list of dogs in the run and tried to evaluate how each interacted with me. It was an intense hour - the ones who wanted attention and love were the easy part, not so easy was seeing the pups that would hide in the corner. Both of the three legged dogs in there were hungry for attention, one of them almost quicker at running than the other "normal" dogs.

3 legs and faster than the pack!

I thought at first this girl would not warm up to me, but once I sat down next to her she loved a good cuddle

Goal is to get this lady and her twin to trust again

I ended my day with the kitties - there were only 5 that were able to socialize. Again, the three legged cat was the fastest of the bunch! I didn't have a chance to ask if they were all full grown, but I think cats here are just smaller. A few were definitely kittens. They were all extremely friendly and loved playing with a quickly destroyed cat toy. It was a good way to end the day as none of these animals showed distrust - they were happy in their surroundings and excited to see new people.

3 legged bobtail acrobat

It was a long and rewarding day. I also have never been more sweaty/dirty in my life so a shower when I got "home" was a-mazing. Tomorrow I should be allowed to walk the dogs in B2 and get to see their personalities shine in semi-freedom, for the ones that will tolerate it.

-Erin

First Thailand Destination - Soi Dog Foundation, Phuket

I've essentially been an animal lover since birth. If I had my way, Axle would have many companions and our life would unfold into something like All Creatures Great And Small (minus the vet skills).

Before I try to force this reality into existence, I decided I needed to get more animal shelter exposure.  I arrived in Phuket on Tuesday afternoon (14 hours ahead of Seattle's PST) and have been staying at a guesthouse in northern Nai Yang Beach in anticipation of visiting Soi Dog starting tomorrow. The highly respected Soi Dog Foundation has a shelter about a 15 minute drive away, which houses 400+ dogs and cats, as well as a dedicated staff of local/international vets and volunteers. There are even Burmese refugees living on site, making it a very diverse location from which to kick off my journey.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of Soi Dog's work - they have a clinic in Bangkok, run a feeding program for animals in temples across the country, have successfully sterilized over 50,000 dogs and cats in the past 10 years, and work to stop the dog meat trade. There are frequent illegal thefts of dogs (some with collars, i.e. someone's stolen pet) for transport into Vietnam for human consumption. Soi Dog employs under cover investigators and help from the Royal Thai Police and Navy to assist in intercepting these "deliveries".

There are additional barriers involved in running an animal shelter/non profit abroad (the founders are from the UK). Buddhism, the predominant religion in Thailand, dictates that euthanasia is not acceptable for our furry friends. For whatever reason there is a cultural loophole where people will put out poisoned food for "soi" (Thai for street) dogs and cats, because the animal "chooses" to eat that food and therefore die. Of course Soi Dog is not involved with this poisoning, but it is a reality to be aware of.

A note to visitors of any country with a stray pet population (and I admit I have not followed this rule in the past): do NOT feed or pay attention to stray animals, especially near any restaurant or accommodation. While you may be an animal lover, the animal will be conditioned to seek out food and attention from the same place, and the owner of the property or next visitor may not be so kind. I sadly witnessed a restaurant employee throw a heavy brick and very barely miss hitting a dog just earlier today.

Though I recognize that there are plenty of animals in need in my own country, good/secure housing is limited for dogs in Thailand and Soi can work with adopters all over the world. If you come visit me, I hope you'll consider being a "flight volunteer" to help get a dog to the states. It's at no cost to you - the adopter pays all the fees, there is no quarantine, and it's more cost effective to transport the dog as cargo with a person than by themselves. It's pretty hassle free and you'll get to witness the beautiful moment of a dog meeting its new forever owner at the airport. :)

This is how Dustin imagined my visit:

This photo was with an article about rescuing dogs from the Chinese meat trade

There isn't much to do in Nai Yang besides eat, drink and relax on the beach (rough life), so I am looking forward to this opportunity, especially as the weather is alternating between cloudy sun and torrential downpours (it's the wet season until the end of the month when winter/the high tourism season sets in). My tiny digs look out onto a fancy resort I can't afford that I also have to walk through to get to the beach, but I feel comfortable so far here. The food is incredible and it's nice to be somewhere warm and friendly.

Pud Thai

Creepy selfie

Lunch view

This was a strange moment - tourists were taking photos of this crab when 2 restaurant employees started yelling and came running in their direction. I think they were trying to keep their dog away from the crab, but they proceeded to pick it up and bring it back to the restaurant. Some seriously fresh seafood, I guess!

Manatee waves hi

"View" from my guest house during a downpour

-Erin

Berlin - 10/02/13 - 10/07/13

Dearest Berlin,

I did not realize how much I loved you until I left you. What a whirlwind, especially the last day.

Our drive from Prague to Berlin was a little less eventful than the trip to Prague, but still featured beautiful countryside. We took a pit stop in Dresden where a mini-Oktoberfest was occurring and had some more MEAT (though I finally had a decent salad - praise his name, amen). When we got to Berlin we dropped the car off at the Tegel airport and were introduced to the transit system which was a little less straight forward than Munich, but this is because Berlin is a much larger city.

The penthouse apartment Dustin zeroed in on did not disappoint in any way. The pictures did not do it justice and like many places in Berlin, it had automated/mechanized features, such as the sky windows that would close if it started raining. I guess the only downfall, if there was any, is that we had to walk up a large set of stairs over and over again. I think it was something equal to 9 flights since each apartment was 2 stories high. Anyway, it was well worth it and it helped me work off all of those meat calories.

Our first full day we headed to Checkpoint Charlie and to see one of the last remaining standing parts of the Berlin Wall. I have to admit this is the first time I was somewhere historical where I literally had chills just imagining what it used to be like.

At midnight was DUSTIN'S 30TH BIRTHDAY (so ollld) so we went to a "gay" bar nearby (in Berlin it seems the line between gay and straight bars is very fuzzy depending on the location) which was packed and covered in fuzzy red walls with distinctive lighting. We had a few drinks, and decided to take it easy.

The next day, "officially" Dustin's 30th birthday is also a national holiday, German Unity Day, celebrating their reunification in 1990. We didn't realize what a popular holiday this was and we went to Parliament (Reichstag) to try to get lunch, as it's the only Parliament building in the world where foreigner's can have a meal. It also offers spectacular views. Once we got to the area we realized that this was an impossible feat - there were thousands of people crowding into a closed off fairground area for celebration. We poked around and had some fair food, where I discovered currywurst and I don't get along.

As I noted on Facebook, it turned out the owner of the apartment we rented is a famous German voice actress. She was sweet and left Dustin a bottle of champagne for his birthday with a card in the fridge so we enjoyed the bottle, and I proceeded to break a champagne glass while I was getting ready in the bathroom. Thanks, Claudia, for not docking us on the Airbnb review for that. We headed out to a bar for gay night - it was packed to the gills so Darryl and I didn't last long and left Dustin to enjoy himself. :)

The next day was Darryl's last day so we spent some time one on one as noted in my previous sad Sally post. We tried to find one of the leftover watchtowers from the Berlin Wall and ended up in the wrong spot at the Soviet War Memorial at Treptower Park. Traveling is all about flexibility so we weren't disappointed and I could not believe the size of the most famous statue (36 feet tall!!), which is of a Soviet solder holding a German child, standing on a broken swastika.

We then went to one of the top rated restaurants in Berlin - a burger joint! - which was amazing. Burgermeister did not disappoint, and the bacon was actual "real" AMERICUHN bacon. I am often saddened in other counties/regions when I end up with a plate of ham or their interpretation of bacon. We stayed up really late as I booked Darryl a 6am flight (mistake), and said our goodbyes.

The next day was pretty much a wash because I didn't sleep well after staying up with Darryl, so Dustin and I stayed in that night with some Spanish red wine and had an evening full of laughter that was much needed.

Our last day... wow. We went to a late brunch - brunch outside of America can consist of a variety of foods, like 'traditional' breakfast food, then chicken wings, pasta salad, spaetzle, lasagna.. you never know. It was delicious and then we went to try to get into one of the most exclusive clubs in Berlin - Berghain.

Some clubs in Berlin are a 24 hour deal so we headed to the club at 1pm, which was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. We got in thanks to a connection through a friend and worked our way up the floors of the (pitch black except the top floor) club where crowds of people were dancing their faces off. I wont go into detail about what else is offered at Berghain, but we did not participate. :) Except in the ice cream bar! We danced and hung out for a few hours and then headed back out into daylight.

We made a reservation for dinner at Parliament after we were unsuccessful the first time, so went back for a fancy dinner. I unfortunately have to equate dining at the Parliament to dining at the Space Needle - overpriced and not good. But we were able to get into the dome and take some cool pictures.. at which time I broke my camera. I sent it home with Dustin for repairs and am really happy I brought a back up camera along.

It was time to pack :( and Dustin had a 7am flight, so we said our goodbyes. Next stop - Thailand!

-Erin