After rescuing hundreds of dogs, you get an idea about how they’re going to recover. For some, you think it might never happen. Others, you think it’ll take days, and some weeks. And then some totally surprise you… 

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Getting a feeling for the healing...

We’re not medical experts. But we’ve seen hundreds of sick dogs over the last few years. Sybille who helps us here is also a human doctor and usually when we put an estimate on a dog’s recovery, we’re not too far off.

That’s useful as we can plan ahead. We only have a certain amount of spaces at the land and it’s good to know how long each dog will be with us or how long it will be before they’re ready for adoption. Then, we can estimate when we’ll be able to bring another dog in to help or start adoption admin. 

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Dogs will surprise you

Recently though, we’ve had a couple of big surprises that have made us think we’re not actually that great at estimations. 

Most of you will remember little Stella who came to us with a piece of string tied round her neck. When she came to us, she was absolutely terrified and we really thought it would take weeks, if not months for her to stop being scared of us. Stella however, surprised us all. With the help of some of the other dogs at the land she came out of her shell within a week and is now well on her way to recovery. 

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The case of Mr Big

The biggest surprise recently though has been the aptly-named Mr Big. He was discovered in a toilet, covered in fleas and ticks and had completely given up on life. He was severely anemic and his ear was filled with maggots. 

We assumed it would take Mr Big at least a couple of weeks to feel better once the medication and good food began to kick in. However, within just 24 hours he was like a completely different dog!

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A remarkable recovery

With a diet of good food, a lot of love, and medication for his anemia, Mr Big recovered quickly. Our wonderful friend Sybille, who is a human doctor, took Mr Big under her wing and helped to ensure his skin was healing well, rubbing creams onto him. 

24 hours after his admittance to the land, Mr Big was jogging down Hope Avenue and within 72 hours, he was running and bouncing around with happiness. 

His biggest issue currently is his ear. When he arrived it was filled with maggots and was causing him a lot of pain. We managed to get the maggots out immediately but there was a lot of damage and we’re still not 100% sure we’ll be able to save it. The vets are also on the fence so we’re at the “wait and see stage”. For right now though, it’s not particularly bothering Mr Big and he’ll get the treatment he needs, if he needs it.

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Planning dogs' futures

As we said above, knowing a dogs’ rough timeline is important as it affects many other aspects of land life. But it’s also good so that we can plan what happens with the dog’s own future. 

With some dogs, the solution is obvious. We might realise that they’re never going to make it on the streets and will need a forever home when they’re feeling better. Or it might be clear that they won’t adapt to a home and will be best back in their territory with their dog friends. 

For dogs who have emotional or behavioural struggles like Britney and Stella, it can be a waiting game to see how their personality changes. For Mr Big, he’s a bit more complicated. In Thailand, it can be hard to rehome older dogs as people want puppies or easy, cute dogs. His breed also means that he can’t travel. While we hadn’t thought much about his future, we did consider that Mr Big might cause us some headaches in future… 

Thankfully, our amazing community decided Mr Big’s future for us. Multiple people within Thailand have come forward and said they want to take Mr Big on. When he’s beginning to feel even better we’ll begin vetting candidates for his forever home.

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Want to find out more about adopting a Happy Doggo? Check out our adoptions page