Everything's paw-sible: Thai shelter for disabled dogs fights pandemic

In Thailand, 27 dogs, who have been injured and disabled in accidents, are being nursed back to health at a shelter in the country's province of Chonburi southeast of the capital, Bangkok.

The shelter, run by a foundation called The Man That Rescues Dogs, was set up by a Swede who moved to Chonburi in 2002 and was so dismayed by the poor condition of strays that he started caring for them after work.

However, things are getting difficult in the shelter now as the coronavirus had brought a 40 per cent drop in donations and slashed the number of foreign visitors.

The shelter spends more than $1,300 each day to care for more than 600 dogs and feed 350 more that live on the streets.

The volunteers also help the disabled and injured dogs through physiotherapy sessions, but scarce funds have led to the temporary suspension of the monthly campaign to spay and neuter strays.

Thailand had nearly 800,000 stray cats and dogs in 2017, and was expecting the number to grow to approximately two million by 2027 and five million in the next 50 years. Therefore, these shelters became an important step for the country's and stray's wellbeing.