It’s actually given
both of us a purpose in life
that was maybe lacking.
We both thoroughly
enjoy what we do
despite the fact
that we do work at it
seven days a week.
It gives you
a feeling of fulfillment
to know that you’re
making a difference
in helping these animals.
Welcome,
wonderful viewers,
to Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
Today,
we’ll visit Britons Gill
and John Dalley,
co-founders of
the Soi Dog Foundation,
a non-profit
charitable group
that improves the lives
of homeless, neglected
and abused dogs and cats
on the island
of Phuket, Thailand.
The word “soi” in Thai
means side street or alley.
Besides operating
a nearly two-hectare
facility with a shelter
and animal hospital,
the Foundation actively
works to reduce the birth
of kittens and puppies that
would end up homeless
through its spay
and neuter program.
We came out to Thailand
to retire, actually.
What happened to us
in effect was that we were
moved by the plight
of the street animals
that we came across who
were in appalling condition.
We decided to try
and do something and
since then have in effect
devoted our lives to trying
to help these animals.
It’s now
six and a half years
since we first started.
After deciding that we
wanted to help the dogs,
we looked around to see
the best way of doing it.
Purely by coincidence,
a Dutch lady who had
been living in Bangkok
for the previous year,
she arrived in Phuket
at the same time.
We joined together
and started the Soi Dog
Foundation in Phuket
back in October of 2003.
The first year was literally
Gill, Margo and myself
and we would have vets
volunteering from overseas
come and donate
their time and expertise.
We would be the nurses,
the dog catchers,
give the premeds,
the post-operative care
and literally we would
do this in local temples
and schools.
We would go out,
bring the dogs in,
sterilize them
and the same day
they would be back to
where they came from;
that was the way
we did it at the time.
We did this for
the first 18 months or so
operating like this and
probably sterilized just
over a thousand dogs
in the time plus
quite a few cats as well.
Phuket,
Thailand’s largest island,
is approximately the size
of Singapore and is home
to a large number of dogs.
There’s no accurate figure
for the number of dogs
that are here.
We estimate that
there are between
20,000 to 30,000 dogs
on the island.
It’d be fair to say
there are probably
around 20,000 stray dogs.
Posted on the Soi Dog
Foundation website
is the following
thoughtful statement:
“There is an old saying
that saving the life
of one animal does not
change the world
but it does change
the world for that animal.”
The saying is fitting
given what the Foundation
does for our
animal friends on Phuket.
A lot of the dogs
that come to us, they
have horrendous injuries,
some are just skin disease
through malnutrition,
stress related and
it brings out mange
and various other
skin conditions.
Others come in
and they have huge,
open wounds where flies
have laid their eggs and
maggots have hatched
and these maggots
start eating the dog
and it's terrible to see.
We get the vast majority
of them back to
full health again.
It's very heartbreaking
to see these animals
but the pure joy when
they've fully recovered
is amazing to see.
And it never ceases
to amaze me that
no matter how horrendous
the vast majority of these
dogs have been treated,
how they still
love human beings.
On December 26, 2004,
the 9.3 magnitude
Indian Ocean Earthquake,
one of the most powerful
quakes ever recorded,
occurred near Banda Aceh,
Sumatra, Indonesia.
The gigantic temblor
set off the Indian Ocean
Tsunami that devastated
many nations with coastlines
on the Indian Ocean.
The tsunami struck and
this brought Phuket and
the surrounding areas
very much into the focus
of world attention.
If you say
that something good
can come out of
something so bad,
it did have the effect
of enabling us
to apply for more grants
and we were able then
to expand the operation
considerably.
We were able to start
employing a full-time vet,
employing dog catchers
and expand the work
that we did.
To actually have a shelter
was never the intention,
but what happened was
after the tsunami
there were a lot of dogs
abandoned at that time
with literally nowhere to go.
We ended up with about
100 dogs at our clinic,
which was totally
unsuitable so we had to
look for somewhere else.
We ended up,
after spending a period at
a government dog pound
where we invested money,
moving to
our own premises
about 18 months ago.
When we return,
we’ll learn about
a documentary film
featuring
the Soi Dog Foundation.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
Welcome back to
Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants
here on
Supreme Master Television.
Established in 2003,
the non-profit Soi Dog
Foundation’s mission
is to improve the lives
of homeless, abused and
neglected dogs and cats
on the island of Phuket.
One of my favorite things
to do when I go up
to the shelter every day,
I walk through the runs .
There are eight large runs
and I go into each one
and sit down.
I’ve got dogs
crawling up my neck,
trying to get on
top of my head, they're
all over me just wanting
to be loved and cuddled,
and that’s all they want.
Yes, they want to be fed,
they want to be watered,
they want somewhere dry
and safe to sleep and love.
They don’t ask
for a great deal.
They're just wonderful.
After spaying, neutering
or providing them
with medical attention,
the Foundation
returns the animals to
where they were found.
However, with those who
were mistreated or abused,
the Foundation takes
a different approach.
And having treated a dog,
and restored her to health
following such action,
you can’t put her
back to where
she came from.
The object obviously is to
try and re-home these dogs
and we've had
some success at that.
In 2009 a documentary
about the Foundation
entitled “Soi Dogs”
premiered at
Riverside Studios
in London, England and
received a standing ovation
from viewers.
The film then debuted
in Melbourne, Australia
in January 2010.
The documentary
has been made by
a UK company called
Environmental Films.
By chance
its managing director,
Ella Todd,
came over to Phuket
actually to see a friend
and to have a holiday here.
Her friend knew us and was
a part-time volunteer for us
and asked Ella to
consider making maybe
a short promotional film,
and Ella I said,
“Sure, spend maybe
half a day doing that.”
When she arrived,
I met her at the airport.
She came up to the shelter
and for the next
two and a half weeks
she barely left the shelter.
She literally was so taken
by what we were doing
that she filmed
over 30 hours of film
and spent many weeks
hundreds of hours
probably editing it
and then produced
a full length documentary,
entirely at their expense.
The object of the film
is to raise awareness.
Hopefully, people find it
an inspirational film.
It is being distributed
amongst film festivals now
and to TV companies,
and we are very hopeful
that it will
spread the message.
Let’s hear from
some of the guests
who attended the film’s
Melbourne premiere.
We’ve got a mother
and daughter here.
So tell us
why you’ve come
to “Soi Dogs” tonight?
We love dogs
and my daughter
just told me to come.
She wanted to see
what this was all about
and we both love dogs.
We have a lot of dogs
at home too and
I am from Thailand and
I am very interested to know
what it’s all about.
So what are you going to
get out of today,
do you think?
Well, my sister and I
have always wanted to
help rescue the dogs
in Thailand.
And I think
it would be good to see
that people are finally
starting to become aware
and it will be very inspiring
and uplifting.
Would you like to
introduce yourself?
Yes, I am Ward Young.
from the Coalition
for the Protection
of Race Horses.
This is a fantastic event
put on by the Soi Dogs
Foundation and I think
it’s definitely something
everybody should support.
What does the future
hold for
the Soi Dog Foundation?
We’re looking now
to expand to other areas
of Thailand
and we’ve got people
coming over on board
who are far more skilled
than Gill and I in things
like the Internet and
social networking, which
I know nothing about
at my age I’m afraid,
to help us achieve this.
It’s imperative to
get into these other areas
because people
like ourselves
have helped in Phuket,
other people are helping
in other tourist areas
like Samui,
there’s a group in Bangkok
and there’s a group
in Ching Mai.
Our objective is,
obviously we’ll need a
huge upsurge in the size
of the Soi Dog Foundation
and the way
we move forward.
And we hope
this film will help us
with that in giving
far more awareness
to people about
what is happening here.
Following the screening
of “Soi Dogs”
in Melbourne,
Mr. Dalley sent a
kind letter of appreciation
to Supreme Master
Television
for helping to spread
the word about the plight
of our homeless dog and
cat friends in Thailand
by covering the event.
We sincerely thank
the Dalleys for taking time
to speak with us about
the Soi Dog Foundation
and its benevolent work.
May the Foundation
soon reach its goal
of touching the lives
of vulnerable canines and
felines all across Thailand.
For more details on
the Soi Dog Foundation,
please visit
The film “Soi Dogs”
is available on DVD
at the same website
Peaceful viewers,
thank you for joining us
today on Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
Up next is Enlightening
Entertainment
after Noteworthy News.
May we all do our best
to help the gentle animals
of our world.
Did you know genetically
modified foods
can adversely
affect our well-being?
The fact that genes
transfer to our
gut bacteria gets worse
when you think of
what can transfer.
The corn and cotton
that are genetically
engineered, there’s
varieties that produce
their own pesticide,
so if the gene that
produces the pesticide
transfers, it might turn
our intestinal bacteria
into living pesticide
factories.
For advice in making
wise dietary choices,
please watch part one of
“Jeffrey Smith and
the Damaging Effects
of Genetically
Modified Foods”
Monday, May 17
on Healthy Living.