Koh Mak Animal Clinic (2025)

16/01/2025

Secondary Care & In-Patient ✨ We were called to consult for Nacho, who had been in a road accident. At that time, there was a prescription from the mainland which we added to. After an unlucky second road accident, his owners called again for help. Nacho had a bite history and they were afraid to touch him. We crated him and referred to a mainland clinic for x-ray & bloodwork. The road was no longer safe for an acutely disabled dog, he would be an in-patient with us when he returned!

As Secondary Care we did not direct treatment. We administered his prescriptions 3 times a day, cooked fresh foods, assisted with mobility, provided a constantly cleaned space, time & emotional care. When his doctor requested new labs, we gave samples and his family managed transportation & payment. They visited 1-2 times a day, cooked for him, cooked for our manager, and donated financially.

Although there was radical improvement, Nacho’s bloodwork indicated serious, chronic challenges which he could not overcome. Nacho fought hard and survived 3 weeks of in-patient care before his death, 25 days after consultation.

Nacho was always a street dog, not a private pet. His amazing local owners were his source of food, shelter, and love. Most of our local community has a small enclosed indoor space or none at all. For the majority of our neighbours it is not realistic to bring in a disabled dog who needs round-the-clock nursing. This was an incredibly meaningful collaboration with our community and truly highlights our purpose as a charitable clinic to fill in gaps specific to each case, patient, and person. We miss Nacho and are so grateful to his lovely family for their generous and active involvement.

Nacho lived on a quiet, non-touristic, residential stretch of narrow road at an intersection. Drivers should be slowing as they approach multiple houses and a T-junction. Road accidents are a result of bad luck, poor lighting, bad weather, street animals laying in the road, and unnecessarily speedy drivers 🐾

14/01/2025

Thank you ✨ A big THANK YOU to everyone who attended the recent Family & Friends Dinner hosted by Mickey, Natida, Dan, and Connor! We are so appreciative of our local community taking the initiative to create this fundraiser, they can be very proud of this effort with a grand donation of 10,000 THB! Thank you to all of the staff and local businesses including Bamboo Hideaway, Monkey Island, Koh Mak Living, and Koh Mak Garden View 🐾

11/01/2025

Private Pets ✨ We collaborated with a local owner for access to vaccinations & sterilization for these private pets who were brought to the island for breeding.

Limited, paid care for private pets or local breeders can include: emergent care, vaccinations, some consultation + referral, prescription refills, blood tests, and merchandise orders. Our free resources are directed to the stray & adopted population who need us and have no other options. We make context-dependent exceptions for free vaccines or free sterilization of breeder pets who are not for sale by the breeder, to maintain herd immunity, prevent unwanted births, and reduce suffering.

The expectation is for purchased pets from the mainland or a local breeder, or private pets moving or traveling, to afford veterinary care through their owner or breeder. Our private pet fees for vaccines, blood tests, and merchandise is lower than traveling to the mainland and increases accessibility to care in a fair way while honouring our boundaries as a tiny volunteer-run non-profit.

We are very proud of the work we have done with sterilization & CNVR to have a decline in population growth on Koh Mak. Unfortunately there are still kittens and puppies born on Koh Mak who are “unwanted”. There are kittens and puppies born on neighbouring islands and the mainland who are “unwanted”. Education must continue to stop the purchase of pets and backyard breeding 🐾

29/12/2024

Edit: Consultation ✨ We were requested to consult for this local dog who is not touchable by strangers and not restrainable by his family. The family was comforted by our presence and we took photos for future comparison if the condition did not resolve or recurred. It’s important to refer when we lack various diagnostics and we are very clear with our community about these limitations. All animals should have the opportunity for full-spectrum care on the mainland but this is not a financial reality for most of our community 🐾

(We have removed probable diagnostic information from the original post to avoid possible misinformation. We have chosen instead to share some context dependent facts about limits of care in our community due to patient temperament, accessibility, and poverty. As always, our social media content is 4-6 months behind due to staffing limitations. This case was from September 2024 and the probable diagnostic information included was from the notes of our volunteer vet at the time. We apologize for any confusion or errors!)

28/12/2024

We are closed to all visitors / tours from December 28 - January 7. We remain available 24/7 for our community & patients. See you in the New Year 🐾

26/12/2024

We provided access to long-term outpatient care for this kitty with a corneal ulcer. Thank you Lydia for directing us to this case, and to kitty's local family for allowing us into their home multiple times a day for free treatment. We drive around on rounds 1-2 times a day 365 days a year for daily feeding & out-patient care 🐾

24/12/2024

Feral mama & her young adult son ready to be returned to their pack after CNVR (catch, neuter, vaccinate, return). This care is provided for free with our initiative, community support, and your donations 🐾

23/12/2024

CNVR ✨ In September, we took advantage of a Community Feeder going off island. We fed their pack twice daily for many weeks in order to net-catch the single remaining adult female for CNVR (catch, neuter, vaccinate, release)! We also caught 1/2 of her young adult sons 🐾

21/12/2024

Our adult dog pack is a misfit collection of medical fosters & regular fosters who have all had human exposure and socialization since puppyhood. Although they are not confined to a house or yard, they do not roam and choose to spend time indoors or outdoors completely on their preference. Maintaining routine contributes to their metabolism, digestion, physical health, and emotional regulation. The cleanliness and enrichment of our space contributes to their sense of safety & security. Just like humans, they seek ease and comfort choosing to spend time sunbathing, wrestling, napping on the bed or couch, and sleeping in the bed overnight as a pack.

Only a few of them are friendly with strangers, which is perfectly normal for their breed and is a healthy trait. Respecting their autonomy, boundaries, and taking the time to observe and learn how they communicate will help us live in harmony with them whether as street dogs or pets. Dogs don’t exist for our pleasure or to be touched. Tourists should be wary around dogs they don’t know and avoid physical contact. We are sure you wouldn’t want to be touched by a stranger, touched blindly from behind or above, be stared at, or have a stranger walk into your house!

Pictured is Rupert, he takes many days to build a friendship and would not allow a stranger to touch him. This is perfectly okay, and we will meet Rupert where he is. Please contact us to book a tour or drop-off a donation, thank you 🐾

20/12/2024

We are sad to share the death of this feral female who experienced a presumed neurotoxic event, resulting in cluster seizures which she was not able to regain consciousness from. This case was only possible by the swift action of our local community who spotted her, called it in, and stayed with her until our arrival. Thank you for your donations that allow us to be here and provide access to dogs & cats who have no other opportunity to survive medical emergencies. The muzzle was only used during transportation and arrival for the safety of our team 🐾

19/12/2024

In Low Season we reconnected with Koh Mak Resort to ensure all of their adult dogs & cats were up to date on annual vaccines! We also helped a cat here with an infected bite wound on his hind leg. Pictured is Tong Daeng, one of the cats in their garage.

With 15+ dogs and 15+ cats free-living between various locations on their property, some data in our census was missing or incorrect. Koh Mak Resort sponsored the supply costs for all these animals, saving your donations for animals without an owner or advocate 🐾

17/12/2024

We received these images of Daisy’s eye following a fight with another dog and provided access to the appropriate prescriptions 🐾

17/12/2024

Emergency, In-Patient, Adoption ✨ Our community sprang into action when Olympia was crushed inside the garbage truck in a freak accident. We received phone calls, a photo, and someone drove her to our facility to immediately receive care. Many of neighbours followed up on her progress, MMarine sponsored her boat ride on surgery day, and a neighbour went the extra mile to ensure she had an adopter prepared for discharge day. We love our community and couldn’t do what we do without their support, thank you!

Olympia sustained a crushed tooth, multiple fractures in a front leg, multiple fractures in a rear foot and toes, facial trauma, scrapes, soft tissue swelling, bruising, and general pain. After initial stabilization, pain management, splinting, and wound care, we scheduled Olympia for surgical intervention on the mainland. We are confident in the decision made with her surgeon to pursue amputation. Orthopaedic surgery, post-op care, rehabilitation, and future care, was not a reasonable pathway for Olympia though it may be for other cats in other scenarios!

Your donations covered transportation, surgery, and in-patient costs (food, supplements, medications) during Olympia’s 5-week in-patient stay at our non-profit facility. We have limited overhead costs, a volunteer team, no service fees, and provide free care to strays and locally owned rescues of Koh Mak. Olympia did not have an owner to pay for her care, your donations made this possible. Please join us as a monthly donor.

P.S. Yes, Olympia was already missing 1 external ear flap 🐾

15/12/2024

Medical Foster & Adoption (Part 2/2) ✨ T. was following Maya’s (previously ChiChi) progress via one of our team members and when her family asked us to find a new home, we reached out. There was an initial meet & greet, multiple field trips, and of course a medical history overview.

We are thrilled Maya has a permanent home and adore these “after” photos. Her pool hydrotherapy has graduated to ocean swims. You can meet Maya while taking a dive trip with Thai Ocean Academy Koh Chang!

Greater than 95% of our adoptions have been to amazing Thai people and families. Anyone with the appropriate resources can be an amazing pet parent! Folks of all ethnicities adopt animals in Thailand and national citizens are far less likely to leave the country, which is a common cause for rehoming or abandonment. We are so happy T. chose to adopt a dog who needed a home and respect this lifelong commitment to Maya 🐾

15/12/2024

Medical Foster & Adoption (Part 1/2) ✨ ChiChi is a pup born to backyard breeders. Her next family requested a consultation as she showed hind limb paresis. Additonally, she presented with anemia, pica, was underweight compared to her siblings, lacked muscular development and tone. The demands of puppy development are incredibly high and resource-intensive. Our role as a community-based service is to identify & bridge this gap with support & education.

ChiChi joined us as a Medical Foster in two homes for a reset of her diet (type, frequency, supplementation), house-training, exercise prescription, physical therapy, hydrotherapy, and preventative care (puppy vaccine schedule, intestinal wormer, flea/tick). She successfully regained full mobility, gained weight, increased her muscle mass, and developed normal habits around toilet time. All of her care was provided for free!

In preparation for her return home, we recommended changes to her lifestyle. Her family had a new room for her, would offer more time off-rope, and accepted our donation of puppy-specific dry dog food. A neighbour supported with translation in order to be communicative as possible. Her family asked if we or someone else could adopt ChiChi. We would continue to support them with free food/prevention while we looked for a solution.

Our goal is to keep a wanted/desired pet with their owners whenever possible. We are not a shelter or rescue. ChiChi needed access to medical care and serious lifestyle changes, we are grateful her family asked us for help. We would not remove an animal from a home without consent and our local community is a loving and caring group of pet owners 🐾

14/12/2024

Thank you KM Museum for treating our team! They use plastic-free cups, lids, and straws or bring your own cup. Try non-dairy milk: oat, almond, or pistachio 🌱 🐾

11/12/2024

Chan Souk ✨ We temporarily housed Chan Souk for 4 nights so his senior, local owners could attend to healthcare appointments. Chan Souk is a senior dog with profound hearing loss who is not friendly with strangers. We understood that they asked us only as a last resort and because they trust us and the friendship we have developed with their dog. We did not charge for this care and will continue not to offer boarding care as it is not in the spectrum of our resources: time, space, staff. We are proud to be accessible to our local community and to be a safe space to negotiate individual needs 🐾

10/12/2024

CNVR ✨ Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return. This large male puppy was born to a feral mama, he migrated to a neighbour with a solo adult male dog. The adult dog is a pet but is unfriendly with strangers and nervous.
Although the pup was neutral/friendly on his own, he would react to the other dog's fear and maintain distance. The humans there could not touch the puppy and described him snap at them. The safest option in this case was a manual crate-catch!

Two scheduled feedings were made to associate our team with access to food. On the third scheduled feed, a bowl was placed in the back of a crate with a rope tied to the door. The crate-catch was minimally stressful and didn’t have a negative impact on pup's ability to socialize with humans. Puppy, Sing, was super friendly once interacting away from the other dog. He bonded with us and has been touchable and treatable since!

Please donate so stray dogs like Sing can be sterilized to prevent the birth of unwanted dogs in our community, and world 🐾

Koh Mak Animal Clinic

16/01/2025

14/01/2025

11/01/2025

29/12/2024

28/12/2024

26/12/2024

24/12/2024

23/12/2024

21/12/2024

20/12/2024

19/12/2024

17/12/2024

17/12/2024

15/12/2024

15/12/2024

14/12/2024

11/12/2024

10/12/2024

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