You’d think that after rescuing dogs for a long time, you’d get used to (or at least a bit numbed to) the horrors that happen to street dogs. And you do, a bit. But what happened to little Mario was a case that shocked even us and Soi Dog Foundation, who have been doing this for much longer than us… 

We got a call about Mario a few weeks ago. The story is a bit complicated and made more difficult by a language barrier, but it seems like this sweet little boy was caught up in a fight between two other street dogs and beaten by the humans who came across it. Some lovely locals had made him a splint and tried to look after him but just didn’t have the resources for medical care. 

Thankfully, they managed to get in touch with us and we went and picked Mario up.

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Justice for Mario

Along with the help of Soi Dog Foundation who have seen many situations like this over the years, we’re seeking justice for the people who hurt Mario. Cases like these can often be complicated, especially with local politics involved and while we can’t give too many details, we’re hopeful that in this instance, we’ll be able to get justice for this little guy.

A happy dude

Despite the awful things that have happened to him so far, Mario has been nothing but a Very Good Boy at Happy Doggo Land. When he came to us he must have been in terrible pain but he always greeted us with a wagging tail and a big smile. 

And his pain must have been really bad. It soon became clear that not only did Mario have one broken leg, but the other one was in pain and infected too. We don’t have the resources to deal with that on Koh Samui so Mario was pencilled in for a trip to the mainland to visit the vet hospital on Hua Hin. 

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Mario's big trip

Mario travelled with his friend Billy to the mainland and went through various operations to get him better. His trip was only supposed to last a week but sadly, he had some complications and he ended up staying for another week before travelling back. One of his legs had an infection, caused by his injuries and it took a long time to heal.

At this point, we barely knew Mario. He’d come to the land really sick and almost immediately travelled to the hospital. It was clear he was a friendly little guy but he’d been in a lot of pain and hadn’t really come out of his shell.

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A different doggo

Boy were we surprised by the dog who returned. It turns out that Mario is one of the cheekiest chappies we’ve ever had at the land. As his injuries have healed, his personality has exploded.

Someone eating lunch? Mario’s there 

Someone getting on a moped? Mario’s there 

New dog arrived? Mario’s there 

Meeting happening? You guessed it…

He absolutely loves to be part of the action and is constantly following us around, snout in the middle of everything. He’s also clearly had some human friends in the past as he’s an expert in hopping on and off a moped. Every time Niall gets on his bike, Mario hops on too. We now know that if he isn’t in the office, making the most of the aircon with his best friend Eve, he’s off on an adventure on someone’s bike.

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A happy ending

We tell a lot of sad stories at Happy Doggo. It can be depressing but it’s the nature of what we do - to save dogs, you need to see dogs who need to be saved. Mario’s is actually one of the saddest so far. Now we know his personality, the fact that someone beat him up is unbelievable.

However, it’s also a happy story. Mario is getting ready to find his own forever home where we know he’ll be the apple of his human’s eye. Without the terrible thing that happened to him, he’d have continued a life of struggle on the streets. And, hopefully, we’ll be able to get justice for what happened to him and deter people who want to do harm to dogs even further.

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