(c) Kinship Circle, Thailand Flood 2011 / photos this page: Bryan Grant
CLICK ANY PHOTO ON PAGE TO ENLARGE TO ORIGINAL SIZE.
Steve, with Save Elephant Foundation, wades dog food out to a woman with dogs in a flooded area. Photo: (c) Kinship Circle, Thailand 2011 / Bryan Grant
Kinship Circle’s Bryan Grant joins Save Elephant Foundation volunteers for food delivery to animals in Rangsit. The team recovers 5 dogs, 4 pups and 1 young dog with a broken hip. Photo: (c) Kinship Circle, Thailand 2011 / Bryan Grant
Puppies are among 80 dogs fed along Thanon Sala Thammasop, Thawi Watthana, Bangkok. Though hungry, these little guys are equally interested in tumbling all over each other! Photo: (c) Kinship Circle, Thailand 2011 / Bryan Grant
A team of Save Elephant Foundation and Kinship Circle volunteers give dog food to a woman who cares for 14 dogs on a bridge in flooded Thawi Watthana, Bangkok. Photo: (c) Kinship Circle, Thailand Flood 2011 / Bryan Grant
|
 |
Food Is Delivered To Animals Across A Watery Sweep
En route to flooded regions, we deliver food to four puppies and a mom at a gas station on Hwy. 3 in Bang Pu. We search for dogs reported near the Chinese Gate along Hwy. 3, whom Darrick Thomson — Director of Operations & Rescue for Save Elephant Foundation (SEF), and field leader for large-scale boat rescue and food delivery — asked us to locate… But we are unable to find the dogs or anyone familiar with them. We continue to Bang Kae in western Bangkok.
Flood Food Delivery #1: A woman oversees loose and kenneled dogs atop a bridge. She literally has no food to give roughly 14 hungry animals. We’d spoken to her days earlier and are happy to make good on our promise to return with food.
Flood Food Delivery #2: To reach some 16 dogs on a floating barge, Kinship Circle’s Bryan Grant loads a small boat with big food bags. A man lives with the dogs atop a plywood barrel ⁄ barge platform. His makeshift dwelling includes a few kennels and a tub of topical penicillin — but no food. Bryan addresses one dog’s wounded paw and examines another incapacitated dog with infected genitals and immobilized rear legs. She aggressively snaps at Bryan, who records a need for veterinary assistance at this site.
Flood Food Delivery #3: We encounter a woman aware of several pockets of stranded dogs. She describes a hut with 12 pugs and one poodle; a second hut with 15 puppies and two moms; another enclave where six dogs live amid junk heaps… In total, 40 animals are fed at this stop. The woman agrees to check on the dogs and help disperse food among them. Bryan, Steve and other SEF volunteers, hike through flood waters for more than an hour to access remote areas where people care for companion animals. The team notes that they must return for four 2-month-old puppies raised in a small cooler with no room to walk around.
Flood Food Delivery #4: Twelve dogs trail a woman through a wide water span. One of two yellow Labs suffers severe fur loss and a grapefruit-size abdominal tumor. Though we can’t rescue caregiven animals, we advise the woman to keep her dogs out of the water as much as possible and leave plenty of food with her.
Flood Food Delivery #5: A man who looks after four dogs on a large bridge gets our remaining dog food.
Flood Food Delivery #6: Two kittens are discovered behind a store. The team gives a man who feeds them a good stash of cat food.
Flood "ponds," are scattered throughout the area, with ample opportunity to deliver more food. Bryan notes that "we may not have scratched the surface here." He also recommends an additional pick-up truck with at least three to four medium size kennels, blankets (to stabilize the immobilized dog during transit), more food, and a veterinarian or tech to accompany the team.
Above: A shaggy flood dog is perched on shop steps that end in water. Below: Two-month-old puppies are found confined to a cramped cooler with no room to walk or run. Photos: Kinship Circle, Thailand Flood 2011 / Bryan Grant
Ron Presely, Kinship Circle IC on his second Thailand tour, rides in the "Big Truck" for large-scale boat rescue and food delivery. Darrick Thomson, on right, is Director of Operations & Rescue for Save Elephant Foundation. Darrick has led deep-water rescue and food drops since October. Photo: Kinship Circle, Thailand Flood 2011 / Bryan Grant
|
