Featured Rescue-SCAD Bangkok, Thailand

Rescue - By Staff Writer on Monday, March 15, 2010 - 10:52

We came across SCAD after reading an article about the massive amounts of Soi Dogs* crowding the streets of Bangkok.  The 300,000 stray dogs share the crowded space of Bangkok with countless numbers of stray cats.  The SCAD team tirelessly works to rescue these animals, rehabilitate and rehome them and educate the population about proper dog and cat ownership.  Their relentless efforts with rehabilitating and rehoming animals combined with the education program and the spaying and neutering program has made a dramatic difference in the lives of the residence of Bangkok and the thousands of animals they have touched.

*Soi is the Thai word for street

 About SCAD: 
Established in 2002, SCAD (previously Soi Dog Rescue) is a not-for-profit organization with realistic goals: to reduce the number and improve the lives of Bangkok’s strays and, in so doing, create a happier and healthier environment for all to enjoy.

By involving residents and local businesses in neighborhoods affected by large numbers of strays, they aim to encourage a better understanding of their plight and a readiness to tackle the problem at community level using humane and effective methods. SCAD provides appropriate information on the benefits of animal birth control (ABC), shares the knowledge required to be responsible pet owners and hopes to kindle in people the belief that showing kindness to all the animals that share our world has far better consequences for humankind than apathy or cruelty.

How It Began:
In February 2002, while enjoying a 3-month sabbatical in the fishing village of Bang Saray, British expat Sherry Conisbee first spotted a sad-looking dog she later named “Boy”.  Boy’s hair had all disappeared, leaving his skin blistered and scabby. His eyes were caked with infection, his feet swollen and bloody, and he walked with a pronounced and obviously painful limp.  Having lived in Bangkok for 5 years, dogs in this state were not an uncommon sight to Sherry, but with more time on her hands, she decided to try and do something to help this dog.  After feeding and encouraging him nearer, she tried scooping him up in her arms, but frightened and in pain, Boy bared his teeth and snapped…

That chance encounter with a mangy mutt on Bang Saray’s beach was the start of what emerged shortly after as “Soi Dog Rescue” – an organization known today as SCAD and which remains dedicated to improving the lives and controlling the number of stray dogs and cats through programmes of adoption, education and sterilization.

         Ongoing, Active Projects:

• SCAD satellite clinics for Animal Birth Control (ABC) in every district of Bangkok with a qualified vet and support staff and emergency pick-up service.
• Dog and cat adoption facilities all over town promoting adoption of homeless animals with space for out-of-school animal welfare programmes.
• An animal welfare education programme that reaches every child in Thailand.
• A full-service veterinary hospital treating both owned and stray animals, with all profits going to support SCAD’s programme activities.
• A much-needed collaboration of government, businesses, veterinary practitioners, NGOs, hoteliers, tourist authorities, livestock departments, etc – in a Thailand-wide public awareness campaign to promote the benefits of neutering and responsible pet ownership.
• A network of private Thai veterinary hospitals, promoting neutering & animal healthcare and offering low-cost spay/neuter to both owned and stray animals.

All Photos By: SCAD Bangkok