Care for Dogs and Me

Amandine Lecesne : CoCo-Founder

I’m always up for giving belly rubs or receiving hugs from dogs!

It has been a blessing to have been a part of so many dog rescues, to have been a part of improving the dogs’ welfare and life quality, and to continue to be a part of a wonderful team!

I hope we’ll continue to be an advocate for those who do not have a voice and a warm hand for dogs who have been harmed, injured, or are in pain.

Karin Hawelka, Co –Founder of Care for Dogs

6 ½ years have passed since Amandine and I have started Care for Dogs and set up a shelter for dogs in need in Chiang Mai. Since that me we have taken in con nuously emaciated dogs, dogs with tumors, with broken bones, with open wounds, with infec ons, or with contagious diseases such as parvo, distemper or TVT. With the help of our team we have been regularly sterilizing dogs, vaccina ng, and feeding them, and the work just never seems to end. However, our mo*o is "Saving one dog won't change the world, but surely the world will change for that one dog" and so we con nue step by step, dog by dog, case by case.

There are cases where we can’t help any more and o.en sad and happy moments go hand in hand. Somemes the work is wonderful and some mes very demanding.

However, we have met the most gorgeous people on our journey, people who work or volunteer with us with wonderful dedica on, people who donate generously food or funds, people who give a puppy or a dog a warm home, poor people who share their food with street dogs, dog lovers who feed and look a.er street- and temple dogs, or people who inform us about emergencies or abuse cases. A huge thanks from the bo*om of our heart to all of you – our work would never have been possible without you and your support inspires us and helps us to carry on.

“Khopkhun Maak kha” to Khun Jaew, Khun Cha, Khun Tar, and Khun Cherry who have organized today’s event, to all sponsors and supporters of this evening and to all musicians who offered their talents for free for today’s fundraising concert for dogs in need!

May the kindness that all you show towards animals be returned to you tenfold.

I would say it was about two years ago. In 2010, I visited home in Chiang Mai and found a lady volunteer of CfD in the Blooming Flower Festival. We had a chance to discuss for an hour and I knew how CfD volunteers worked so hard for sick, poor, & injured stray dogs and cats. That is how I know CfD but I was thinking …How could I help or support them? Then, P’Jeaw found me on Facebook and invited to the group of EngEng-Thai translators for CfD. It was a great time for me to translate dog’s story like it was mine. Even the dogs have been through a sad or cruel journey, I believe that they are always happy when they stay at CfD and meet nice people. I have a faith that they are like us.

They can be happy/sad, exciting/boring, warm/lonely, and definitely dreaming about good happy days. The only living thing on earth, who loves you more than his/her life until the last breath, is your pet. Once you hug and feed him/her, that moment is Forever Love begins….

Thank you Care for Dogs for being such a great sacrificed & admirable group of people who care poor pets in my hometown. I knew that the founders are foreigners. They first worked very very very hard to fight at the beginning. Thanks God, they have never given up. So now, there are many Thai volunteers in CfD. That even makes me wordless. I could not find any other words but “THANK YOU VERY MUCH from the bottom of my heart” ka :D And last but not least, Thank you to all pets, especially for my cats & dogs since I was a kid. They showed and gave me forever love. Even I do bad, they never turn away. Even I yell, they never angry me. Even I cry like a river, they never walk away. Even they just saw me in the morning, they are always exciting to see me every evening. Even I hug them too tight (probably hurt them), they always ask for more. Even I leave them alone behind, they will always wait for me. They may not know time, days, or places but the only thing they will remember till the end of the world is ME! “Aor, CfD Translation volunteer”

What disappoints me personally the most, many of these bad pasts the dogs suffered are as a result of their irresponsible human owners. This brings us to another facet of CfD, their role as an education agency. On the one hand, CfD is doing all it can to help the dogs. On the other hand, they are trying to prevent more dogs from having to suffer the misfortunes they have witnessed working at the shelter. What CfD does is small, in the grand scheme of things in life, but a very profound one. CfD aims to instill a sense of responsibility in dog owners, providing anyone who needs help or advice on how best to look after their pet pooches.

It is so easy for us human to forget the responsibility we have to the animal. For the animal, I feel this is not so. Their responsibility to us is to simply be our loving and loyal companion. Why then do they deserve to be mistreated in any way? After all, as clich้ as it is, dogs are ‘man’s best friend’.

I offer CfD my deepest thank for the inspiration they have been to me and also my best wishes for their continued commitment to their cause. Finally, I would invite any and all of you to open your heart, to spare a moment and find out what CfD stands for and what they may mean to you. Oh, and the dogs at the shelter, they are deadly… cute! Go check them out for yourself… ;-) “Joe Tayati, Care for Dogs’ Volunteer”

Being part of the team I think, was so much more effective. If alone, I would only have given a street dog some food for few days, not knowing what else to do in a strange town when seeing a sick dog.

Joining with the other volunteers at CfD, I was part of a steady approach. You give dogs some hope for a better life and don't have to disappoint them when they might wait on you, when your plane already took off.

Here is a team and it's just another friendly face, the next (holiday) volunteer will take up your work.

"Michael , CfD’s Webmaster + German site"

I'm proud to say that I was one of the team of Care for Dogs Foundation. I worked as a shelter coordinator for 3 years. I feel that Care for Dogs do a great job to help dogs in need.

If you feel you want to participate in the rescue of dogs,you do not need to wait for Care for dogs to help. You can be part of the solution by taking action first and help the dogs in need directly.

The problem of street dogs in Thailand cannot be resolved by just one organization but needs the help of everyone in the country. People need to be responsible for their pets and try to help dogs in need when possible.

Care For Dogs tries very hard to help every dog in need with limited financial resources, depending on the generosity of people and the time and work of volunteers. Unfortunately this is still not enough to stop dogs suffering needlessly.

Please follow your heart and do the right thing. Make sure animals do not suffer, be responsible and help animals in need when possible.

“Jum, Former Shelter Coordinator�

I used to have two street dogs that were rescued from Phayao - Chiang Mai road as puppies. They survived living on the curb of a busy road and later on survived blood parasite too. We had wonderful time together for about a year and a half before they died from rat poison. They are gone now, and I'm not ready to have dogs at home as I realize I don't have a safe place for them. I still want to help dogs and being near them gives me so much joy. Doing follow up visits allow me to help dogs, to be near them and, most importantly, to help Care for Dogs, an organization that has changed so many lives for the better “Ou , CfD's volunteer �

I think there are more than enough dog lovers in Thailand that if all of us are aware of the problem, encouraged to take action and realized that there are simple solutions, there will be much less homeless dogs around. Care for Dogs has been doing a great job on spreading the words and encouraging people. They have also saved and improved so many dogs’ lives. I just want to do something to help Care for Dogs so that they can help more dogs in need. Also, volunteering at Care for Dogs gives me a better peace of mind. “Siripoon, CfD's volunteer�