Soi Dog Foundation 2010 Year In Review, 2011 Looking forward... 

2010 has been another year of success intermingled as always with heartache here on Phuket.

It would take a small book to record everything that has happened this year but below are some of the major events and achievements.

Despite the worlds economic problems that have seen the value of the Western currencies we rely on tumble against the Thai baht, we have managed to further expand our operations here.

This is entirely due to you, our supporters.

As you will recall the end of 2009 saw the successful purchase of the first phase of the land on which the SDF center and shelter stand.

As a result we invested quite heavily in improving the infrastructure including the installation of a new water supply, a brand new electricity supply and the installation of drains throughout the complex. This involved the investment of over 2 million Thai baht.

In addition additional staff accommodation was constructed to house our increasing number of workers and 2 additional runs to house puppies and the increasing number of old and disabled dogs.

Earlier in the year The American School of the Hague raised funds towards the cost of  providing a purpose built cat unit at the shelter, a facility that was sadly lacking. With a substantial grant from the Jeanne Marchig Trust the plans for this have been drawn up and the contractor appointed. We await final building approval and expect construction to commence early 2011.

We have sterilized over 5,000 dogs and cats in 2010, principally on Phuket but also at mobile clinics on the mainland and on other offshore islands. We are also financing  a local vet to visit Koh Yao island once per week to sterilize the large cat population there.

The number of animals coming in for treatment has increased, often sadly because of human inflicted injuries some of which have been grotesque and too shocking to share even the details.  Animals like this have to remain at the shelter. The recent distemper outbreak has seen us working around the clock, with our dog catchers working their days off to vaccinate dogs at temples and other locations. We have now changed our protocol so that EVERY dog that comes to the shelter or a mobile clinic will be vaccinated against this insidious disease. We have managed to see rabies eradicated and hope we will see a permanent end to distemper. This will however add a minimum of half a million Thai baht to our annual budget. If you have seen a dog dying of distemper I am sure you will agree it is money well spent.

One of the most heart warming things we see and one that keeps us going is when one of our shelter dogs is rehomed to a good home whether here or overseas. This year has seen a record number of dogs rehomed around the world; in Europe and North America in particular.

We have been blessed with donations of some very expensive and advanced medical equipment which will vastly improve the care we can offer. Only this month we took delivery of 2 state of the art blood analysis machines donated by a local resident. These machines cost over 800,000 Thai baht. Our hospital is one of only five hospitals in the whole of Thailand to have this equipment.

Initiatives For 2011

2011 promises to be an exciting year.

Expanded Sterilization And Vaccination Program:

We will be looking to expand our mobile clinic program and increase the number of sterilizations and vaccinations performed, particularly in light of the current distemper crisis. CNVR is theONLY effective and humane method to address the issue of over population. To date Soi Dog has sterilized and vaccinated over 30,000 dogs and cats! 

Soi Dog’s core mission will continue to be the reducing of suffering through humane population control. Soi Dog will be significantly expanding our CNVR program (Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate and Release). The vaccination protocol has been expanded to not only vaccinate against rabies but to also vaccinate against distemper, parvo and leptospirosis. This is one of Soi Dog’s most important ongoing initiatives for 2011. As mentioned this will add over (num from JD) half a million Thai Baht to our operating budget.

The proposed program’s goal is to reach the “tipping point” of 70% of the population being sterilized. A sterilization program does not begin to bring about a significant and sustainable population decline until approximately 70% of the breeding population is sterilized prior to a given breeding season. Soi Dog has demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach in several regional specific dog populations in the province.

Based on the June – 2010 census, approximately 53% of the province’s dogs are sterilized. Through the expanded program it is estimated that the increase in the number of animals sterilized will result in reaching the pre breeding season sterilization level of 70% in 15 to 18 months. As discussed earlier this is the point at which significant declines in population begin to occur.

However in order to reach this goal by 2^nd quarter 2012 Soi Dog must employ an additional veterinarian and an additional dog catcher. In addition there is also the cost for the extra drugs and surgical equipment required. This requires additional funds of 1.6 million Thai baht (40,000 Euro/$53,000) per annum.

Securing The Land On Which The Shelter Is Located:

Very importantly the purchase of the remainder of the shelter land at a cost of 10 million Thai baht must be completed. If this proves unachievable then we will look to raise finance to ensure the whole site is secured. As the fixed purchase price will expire on the first of October, 2011 this is a critical and urgent matter.

The extension and expansion of the hospital: Our intention is to create the best veterinary hospital in Thailand and use it not only for the benefit of the dogs, but also as an educational tool. We shall be looking to involve the Thai veterinary schools in Bangkok and Chiang Mai heavily as part of their training which will hopefully ensure future generations of Thai vets have a greater understanding of and compassion for the vast number of street animals here. The hospital will be designed with quarantine facilities and sufficient room to house all dogs receiving treatment in optimum conditions, with cats being housed in the new cat unit.

Expansion Of Soi Dog’s Fund Raising:

Soi Dog will be expanding our fund raising efforts to support these expanded programs. Key areas which we will be focusing on include:

1. Awareness Campaigns – Soi Dog has a small but extremely dedicated and generous supporter base. However, in order to meet the 2011 objectives we need to grow our supporter base.  We will be contacting our existing supporters and asking you to help spread awareness of Soi Dog. This is an effective and easy way for you to help the dogs and cats.
2. Legacy Giving – Wills and personal trusts account for approximately 40% of donations for established non profits. Soi Dog will be launching a Legacy Giving program in the first quarter of 2011 asking our supporters to remember the dogs and cats in their wills.
3. Distemper Appeal/Expanded CNVR Program – as discussed above it is critical that Soi Dog continues to raise funds for the expanded CNVR program. This is particularly important in staving the distemper outbreak on Phuket.