Animal Health at Home  

        This is a street dog in Bangkok.  He, like most of the dogs in Thailand, is un-neutered and has demodex mange, a parasite which causes extreme hair loss and itching.          

    Lisa and I in her clinic/house in the village of Khlong Son, where her animal project is located.  She can spay and neuter, help injured animals including cats, dogs and monkeys and takes care of strays and finds them homes.

        Here is Lisa at the temple where she cares for the many cats and dogs who live there.  She takes care of their health issues, such as wounds and parasites, as well as sterilizing as many of them as she can.  She does not get paid for this work, but the monks do give her soap, rice and bottled water which they have received in donations/alms.

     My son Michael and I riding an elephant!  This was a fun part of the trip....and the money they collected for the rides goes to elephant conservation on the Island of Koh Chang, where we were staying.  By the way, Koh means "island" and Chang means "elephant".

     This is a temple cat; one of many.  They are very prolific, so Lisa has quite a challenge keeping up with their reproduction.  While I was visiting I watched her spay 3 kittens under 1 pound!  This is not something I am brave enough to do, yet she did it with no problem!

      At the temple they also show their reverence for the king and queen, who are almost as adored as the Buddha.  This was placed just outside the largest temple in the complex, where all could see.

      Meet Stitch, one of three of Lisa's dogs.  He was a very good dog; peaceful but also a sentinel, letting her know whenever anyone approached that he didn't recognize.  She also has 21 cats of various sizes, shapes and ages.  Mostly her cats have been acquired by her fixing an injury and no owner coming forth to claim the animal.  She has brought back a paralyzed cat to walking; she has amputated a front limb and kept this cat....he is aptly named "Minus".  He was happy his owner did not claim him, as she was responsible for his injury; whacking off his leg with a machete when he reached for something off limits.

       Mostly the cases Lisa takes care of are abuses of animals or accidents, plus all the spays and neuters she can do.  While I was there I saw her deal with many hit by cars, and in quite a few cases the animals do not actually have owners; it is more like they have locations.  So a beach dog may be brought in by someone who lives near that particular beach, or owns a hotel near where the animal lives.  But they are not really owners, they just feed the animals now and then. 

   Included in the cases I saw were 2 cats with broken femurs, a cat with 2 stab wounds in his back administered by his owner while on a drinking spree, a cat almost paralyzed by being beaten with a wooden club on his back, 2 female dogs who were spayed by Lisa to save them from having 8 puppies each, at least.  Also Lisa feeds all temple animals an oral medicine which keeps them free of demodex mange, and any other animals that need it.  Mostly dogs seem to be affected, not cats.  By the time I returned to my practice I was so thankful that my cases consist mostly of diseases that are treatable with medicine and are not trauma!!  I am amazed at what Lisa does and how needed her work is on the Island of Koh Chang!

      Michael taking a photo of White Sand Beach, which is where our hotel was located.  We rented a motorbike to get around and that is what brought us to this overlook.  It was very hot in Koh Chang, and the bike helped us stay cool, with the breeze.  We only went to the beach to swim on Christmas day and also got massages that day, which was a welcome break from all the hurt and sick animals.