*** UPDATE!! ***
December 2014
Lamyai left the WSK dog condo in early November. She throughly enjoyed being pampered at her foster home in Bangkok with Soot Liang Woo where she experienced life as a 'house dog' for the first time ever.
Soot reported that Lamyai was as lovely as ever and had a sweet, gentle, superb character - quiet and a bit shy, but very gentle and trusting with people. She did great with Soot's other dogs despite her long confinement at WSK.
And she had a silly streak! Soot sent us this video of Lamyai being playful for possibly the first time ever in her life, since she was finally in a safe and calm environment - it touched our hearts to see it.
We are so very grateful to Soot for all she has done for this deserving little girl. Lamyai's life has made a complete 180-degree turn because she intersected with this angel on earth, who steered her in a course that seemed impossible one and a half years ago, when her fate appeared to be a very long life in a very small cage.
Hats off to you, Sooty, for once again coming through to save a dog in urgent need!!
* * * * *
A wonderful couple - AJ and Max, right here in Chicago - read Lamyai's tragic story and contacted ISDF about adopting her. Upon learning that she was all ready to fly but still needed funds to travel, they reached out to friends and family who answered their call for help immediately and generously.
Within days, Lamyai's new parents and their "village" had fully fundraised the entire amount needed to pay off Lamyai's medical bills, import fees, travel paperwork, and flight costs.
Hats off to the inspiring dedication of her new family, who knocked our socks off with their commitment and resolve to save this sweet girl they had yet to even meet!
Within days of reaching out to us, Lamyai was on her way...
All three girls headed to the veterinarian's office for a quick checkup where they were lovingly welcomed by our veterinarian and her staff.
The puppies befriended shy Lamyai there, though she was so tired from her journey that she preferred to cuddle in Chuck's arms over any other activity.
Chuck brought Lamyai - who is now named Gypsy - to her adoptive parents AJ and Max in Chicago the following afternoon. It was a warm and long-awaited meeting for her new family!
Here is Gypsy settling into her new digs. She seemed to be saying, "Toys? What are toys?? Ohhhhh. Toys are FUN!"
Happy, loved, free from confinement, and SAFE at long last! Gypsy cuddling with her new daddy upon whom she has decided the sun rises and sets.
Oh Gypsy - how we have waited for this moment - you have realized a dream for so many people around the world who love you…
December 2014
Lamyai left the WSK dog condo in early November. She throughly enjoyed being pampered at her foster home in Bangkok with Soot Liang Woo where she experienced life as a 'house dog' for the first time ever.
Soot reported that Lamyai was as lovely as ever and had a sweet, gentle, superb character - quiet and a bit shy, but very gentle and trusting with people. She did great with Soot's other dogs despite her long confinement at WSK.
And she had a silly streak! Soot sent us this video of Lamyai being playful for possibly the first time ever in her life, since she was finally in a safe and calm environment - it touched our hearts to see it.
We are so very grateful to Soot for all she has done for this deserving little girl. Lamyai's life has made a complete 180-degree turn because she intersected with this angel on earth, who steered her in a course that seemed impossible one and a half years ago, when her fate appeared to be a very long life in a very small cage.
Hats off to you, Sooty, for once again coming through to save a dog in urgent need!!
* * * * *
A wonderful couple - AJ and Max, right here in Chicago - read Lamyai's tragic story and contacted ISDF about adopting her. Upon learning that she was all ready to fly but still needed funds to travel, they reached out to friends and family who answered their call for help immediately and generously.
Within days, Lamyai's new parents and their "village" had fully fundraised the entire amount needed to pay off Lamyai's medical bills, import fees, travel paperwork, and flight costs.
Hats off to the inspiring dedication of her new family, who knocked our socks off with their commitment and resolve to save this sweet girl they had yet to even meet!
Within days of reaching out to us, Lamyai was on her way...
Lamyai arrived at O'Hare Airport on Monday, December 1 along with New Delhi sisters Bella and Heidi who came in on a different flight at the same time. All three were joyfully greeted by Dawn and Chuck.
All three girls headed to the veterinarian's office for a quick checkup where they were lovingly welcomed by our veterinarian and her staff.
The puppies befriended shy Lamyai there, though she was so tired from her journey that she preferred to cuddle in Chuck's arms over any other activity.
Chuck brought Lamyai - who is now named Gypsy - to her adoptive parents AJ and Max in Chicago the following afternoon. It was a warm and long-awaited meeting for her new family!
Here is Gypsy settling into her new digs. She seemed to be saying, "Toys? What are toys?? Ohhhhh. Toys are FUN!"
Happy, loved, free from confinement, and SAFE at long last! Gypsy cuddling with her new daddy upon whom she has decided the sun rises and sets.
Oh Gypsy - how we have waited for this moment - you have realized a dream for so many people around the world who love you…
Thank you to all who made this possible, from Soot Liang Woo for saving this dear girl from WSK's dog condo; to international supporters of Soot's work and ISDF for donating towards her flight fund; to the Wilton-Iniguez family for welcoming dear Gypsy into their hearts and home with open arms.
* * * * *
My name is Lamyai.
It's a mysterious name, the Chinese word for "dragon eyes" - and mine certainly are two of the deepest liquid amber pools you will ever lose yourself in.
But it's also the name of a popular fruit in Asia. And like the fruit, I too am sweet to my core. One taste and you will be hooked. Or so I dream...
My story began alongside my beloved sister, Linchi (Chinese for lychee) when we were born in the streets on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Our area attracts many drifting immigrants looking for work. Unfortunately, a large number of these people hail from neighboring nations where eating dogs is commonplace. We were trusting of strangers and would approach anyone who called out to us.
While this earned us many pats and tossed tidbits, it also brought us to the attention of a local kind-hearted animal lover. She knew that our location was one of several hotspots for dog meat trade smugglers who seek out easy prey for the capture, to be transported and sold across the border for slaughter and consumption. It broke her heart to imagine Linchi and I trussed, bound, and moments from being prepared for someone's dinner plate, so she collected us both and began looking for a safe place to shelter us.
Concerned for our safety and with few options, she brought us here to the Wat Suan Keaw (WSK)'s so-called Dog Condo, approximately one hour outside of Bangkok. Though WSK's two dedicated animal-loving caretakers do their best to shelter over 1500 of us who have been brought here over the years, it is a gargantuan task. As a result, many of us unintentionally dwindle in miserable, perpetual confinement, often for our whole lives.
I was one of those dogs.
For my entire life - I am approximately one and a half years old - I have been confined to a small cage with bent bars that is partially suspended off the ground.
I am gentle, sweet, meek and submissive - and hence, often in the crosshairs of stronger, more dominant dogs. Here, kibble is sometimes scattered haphazardly on the soiled concrete ground so dogs with food aggression issues targeted me. Linchi and I were too young and small (at first) and too gentle (as we aged) to properly defend ourselves. Adding to that, we were not yet spayed at the time, and no one wanted more puppies underfoot.
The WSK caretakers thought it safer and healthier for us to stay in a cage, as so many of us do. And because there are hundreds and hundreds of us and never enough time for us all, this cage became our tiny, cramped jail.
It's a mysterious name, the Chinese word for "dragon eyes" - and mine certainly are two of the deepest liquid amber pools you will ever lose yourself in.
But it's also the name of a popular fruit in Asia. And like the fruit, I too am sweet to my core. One taste and you will be hooked. Or so I dream...
My story began alongside my beloved sister, Linchi (Chinese for lychee) when we were born in the streets on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Our area attracts many drifting immigrants looking for work. Unfortunately, a large number of these people hail from neighboring nations where eating dogs is commonplace. We were trusting of strangers and would approach anyone who called out to us.
While this earned us many pats and tossed tidbits, it also brought us to the attention of a local kind-hearted animal lover. She knew that our location was one of several hotspots for dog meat trade smugglers who seek out easy prey for the capture, to be transported and sold across the border for slaughter and consumption. It broke her heart to imagine Linchi and I trussed, bound, and moments from being prepared for someone's dinner plate, so she collected us both and began looking for a safe place to shelter us.
Concerned for our safety and with few options, she brought us here to the Wat Suan Keaw (WSK)'s so-called Dog Condo, approximately one hour outside of Bangkok. Though WSK's two dedicated animal-loving caretakers do their best to shelter over 1500 of us who have been brought here over the years, it is a gargantuan task. As a result, many of us unintentionally dwindle in miserable, perpetual confinement, often for our whole lives.
I was one of those dogs.
For my entire life - I am approximately one and a half years old - I have been confined to a small cage with bent bars that is partially suspended off the ground.
I am gentle, sweet, meek and submissive - and hence, often in the crosshairs of stronger, more dominant dogs. Here, kibble is sometimes scattered haphazardly on the soiled concrete ground so dogs with food aggression issues targeted me. Linchi and I were too young and small (at first) and too gentle (as we aged) to properly defend ourselves. Adding to that, we were not yet spayed at the time, and no one wanted more puppies underfoot.
The WSK caretakers thought it safer and healthier for us to stay in a cage, as so many of us do. And because there are hundreds and hundreds of us and never enough time for us all, this cage became our tiny, cramped jail.
We lived in here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except on the very rare occasion when one of the handful of WSK volunteers had a spare second free to take one of us out for a momentary cuddle…
…but then we had to return to our "prison" when it was time for them to go home again.
As if life wasn't sad enough, my sister Linchi - always weaker than I in body - contracted a high fever. She fought valiantly, but in the end, she crossed the Rainbow Bridge. And my broken heart had to tolerate the additional sorrow of enduring my prison alone without her.
I am in this same cage still.
Even during the infrequent times when I am given a chance to exercise in the "safe" area for puppies in the upstairs portion of the shelter, I am behind bars. And that area, while a vast improvement over my cage, is sadly not much bigger than my everyday space. So there again, I can't do much but be by myself and watch the second floor world go by through chain link, for the brief and rare moments I am there.
…but then we had to return to our "prison" when it was time for them to go home again.
As if life wasn't sad enough, my sister Linchi - always weaker than I in body - contracted a high fever. She fought valiantly, but in the end, she crossed the Rainbow Bridge. And my broken heart had to tolerate the additional sorrow of enduring my prison alone without her.
I am in this same cage still.
Even during the infrequent times when I am given a chance to exercise in the "safe" area for puppies in the upstairs portion of the shelter, I am behind bars. And that area, while a vast improvement over my cage, is sadly not much bigger than my everyday space. So there again, I can't do much but be by myself and watch the second floor world go by through chain link, for the brief and rare moments I am there.
Is a lonely life in a cage all that lies ahead of me until the end of my days?
The volunteers here love me and hope someone will find it in their hearts to take me home. Can one of you show me what a real life is like, with comfort, love, and a security I have never known?
Thank you for reading my story.
Love, Lamyai
Thank you for reading my story.
Love, Lamyai
For more information about adopting Lamyai - or any of our available dogs - please contact Dawn Trimmel at (414) 426-4148. Thank you!
Located in south-central Thailand, Wat Suan Kaew (WSK) translates into the Glass Garden Temple. The thing is, nobody calls it that anymore - they just call it "Thailand's dog condo". And the temple is no longer renowned for its good works, as it once was - but instead is regarded as a place to dump unwanted dogs and cats.
For us Westerners, the word 'condo' conjures up images of a condominium: a beautiful, high-end building resembling an apartment - except units are owned, not rented, and lovingly tended to. However, the only resemblance the dog condo bears to the real thing is the way its residents live stacked in vertical columns. The 'condo units' are just the small, and often rusty, cages in which many of WSK's dog and cat inhabitants tragically live their whole lives.
Because of massive overcrowding at WSK, many cages are also suspended precariously on the second floor, some near windows or large openings. Dogs and cats have even fallen to their deaths.
To get a better understanding of WSK's problems, and suggestions as to how you can help (from anywhere around the world), please have a look at the Soi Dog Foundation's informational post here.
To get a better understanding of WSK's problems, and suggestions as to how you can help (from anywhere around the world), please have a look at the Soi Dog Foundation's informational post here.
Luckily many concerned and compassionate groups such as the SPCA International and the Soi Dog Foundation have stepped up to the plate recently to try to help the two elderly caretakers who shoulder this entire burden and to try to improve this situation as much as possible.
Our dear ISDF friend and doggie hero Soot Liang Woo has tirelessly dedicated herself to improving the living conditions for WSK's residents.
She was able to solicit fencing and assemble them on the property so the dogs can have areas to run freely in.
She procured food bowls and long tray-style feeders for WSK residents so they no longer have to eat off the floor, where food regularly used to mix with animal feces and urine.
She built a medical area called "The Pink Clinic" so animals can now receive veterinary care in a sterile environment.
She and fellow friends built a wooden plank bridge over a stagnant pond of muck and algae to allow the dogs clean, safe passage out of the dog condo to an adjacent play area in a field.
She brought in the government livestock department to spay and neuter over 250 WSK residents who were intact and breeding.
Soot and friends, with funding and assistance from the Soi Dog Foundation, built a large, lovely cat enclosure to allow them to roam and play freely and safely, and to socialize with one another.
Soot has also been working diligently to try to find homes for the neediest of the dogs at WSK. Already, she has placed several of these lovely little friends with forever families around the world, and she hopes to find even more homes for them in future.
Here is Oliver, one of Soot's recent placements, as he journeyed from neglected, blind, vulnerable, isolated, depressed WSK resident...to the USA where he now lives with his loving new mom, Heidi, and his adopted sister, sweet Lilly, a paralyzed victim of the illegal dog meat trade.
Here is Oliver, one of Soot's recent placements, as he journeyed from neglected, blind, vulnerable, isolated, depressed WSK resident...to the USA where he now lives with his loving new mom, Heidi, and his adopted sister, sweet Lilly, a paralyzed victim of the illegal dog meat trade.
For information on how to adopt a pet from the WSK "dog condo" of Thailand, please have a look at this informational post here or contact the appropriate representative by region. They can answer any questions you have and help you begin the process of adding a very grateful dog or cat to your home!
Adoption of WSK dogs in Thailand are coordinated by Soot Liang Woo at tontopepper@yahoo.com.sg
In the UK, please contact Carly Jane Evans with International Pet Rescue at carlyjane45@gmail.com
In the USA, please contact Marjon Tondravi (East Coast) with Give a Dog a Bone at tondravi@yahoo.com or Dawn Trimmel (Midwest USA) with International Street Dog Foundation at trimmel@usa.net
Thank you for caring!
Adoption of WSK dogs in Thailand are coordinated by Soot Liang Woo at tontopepper@yahoo.com.sg
In the UK, please contact Carly Jane Evans with International Pet Rescue at carlyjane45@gmail.com
In the USA, please contact Marjon Tondravi (East Coast) with Give a Dog a Bone at tondravi@yahoo.com or Dawn Trimmel (Midwest USA) with International Street Dog Foundation at trimmel@usa.net
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