The terrible cases of dog abandonment

I think one of the worst things you can do to an animal is to raise it partially, get it used to a life with you and your family and then dump it somewhere later in its life. I think it takes a special kind of horrible person to do this and I can't understand the mindset of an individual that would be able to sleep at night knowing that this dog or cat or whatever, who has only ever known a life with you, suddenly has its life completely changed and is alone, afraid, and very confused.

This happens very often in Thailand unfortunately, and while I am going to try and not be overly critical of this part of the culture, it breaks my heart a little bit when I see it.

Frequently, unwanted or troublesome animals are dropped off at temples... this is something that happens all over this country and I presume other Buddhist parts of the world. Recently, while visiting Po Riang Temple, one of the temples that we work closely with for animal welfare and population control told us about a new addition.

This girl is around two years old and was dropped off some time in the past week. The monks have informed us that she wanders around confused and howls in sadness at times. We don't know where she came from but is having a tough time adjusting to her new life because everything about her life changed dramatically in the past week. Normally, people will drop these dogs off far away from their own homes so that the dog will not be able to find its way back. Sometimes the dogs wander and I would imagine many of them end up getting hit by cars as well.

She was unsterilized so we took her in for that procedure to be done since we can't introduce non sterilized females into any pack else it kind of defeats the purpose of everything we are trying to accomplish.

The entire time she was very approachable and is clearly very accustomed to being around humans. She gave us very little trouble when putting her into the crates and according to the vet she was very compliant while in the office.

Of course she is very nervous and afraid but she will also perk up when being handled. I can't imagine what has lead to her being abandoned like this because her demeanor is really pleasant. It could be economic factors since basically everyone in this area depends on tourism for income and we haven't had any of that for going on 2 years now. Other than the farmers and people involved in the fishing industry, almost all other industry has been shut down.

In the meantime we will be keeping a close eye on her and help her to adjust to her new family at the temple. I suppose in a way she is one of the lucky ones, at least she has some shelter and will be given food. Other roaming street dogs in Thailand are not so fortunate and must scavenge for food by rummaging through garbage.

This lead to what I want to say to anyone out there that is thinking about getting a dog: While I do want you to adopt a dog you need to be prepared for the fact that almost all dogs take a lot of work to raise. They WILL chew on stuff, they do bark, for most dogs house-training can be a real chore. They need attention, baths, exercise, a controlled diet. Unless you live on a farm you probably have to treat them more like a child than an animal and many people take on a dog thinking that every dog is going to be well-trained like Lassie right from the start.

These are the people that end up abandoning their animals on the side of the road and this is worse than you never adopting the animal to begin with. Just like our new addition at the temple here, the dog becomes accustomed to a certain way of life and people cause these dogs great trauma by suddenly changing that by abandoning them.

So if you are "on the fence" about adopting a dog maybe go and volunteer at an animal welfare or animal shelter operation in your area first so you can see first-hand how much work goes into this. I have seen many people get excited about a dog when it is a cute little puppy only to later give up on it once it starts to act like a dog and starts peeing on stuff and chewing on your shoes.

This is not a part-time project, you have to be willing and capable of providing a life for these animals and it is actually a lot more difficult and time-consuming than most people think. While I applaud the people who take on a rescue adoption, you need to think like Yoda: "Do or do not, there is no try."

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If you would like to see how you can help out or simply spread the word, please visit our website at

http://krabianimalwelfare.org

_{Krabi Animal Welfare is a charity run entirely by volunteers and are a registered non-profit organization in Thailand and the U.K.. We aim to relieve the pain and suffering of dogs and cats within Krabi Province.}

เป็นผู้สนับสนุนรายเดือนหรือบริจาคครั้งเดียวได้ที่:

http://krabianimalwelfare.org

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