SCAD is still hard at work, helping local monks take care of the community strays.

Here's an update from a new volunteer writer, Kristen Funk --

Bangkok, Thailand: Home to Nearly 300,000 Stray Dogs

By Kristen Funk - Best Friends International Network Volunteer Writer

Bangkok, Thailand is home to an estimated 300,000 stray dogs, all of whom the Thai people consider “community dogs” rather than feral dogs.

A particular temple filled with good-natured Buddhists spends an estimated $1,500 US dollars per week to feed the 700 dogs they house. While the stray dogs of Bangkok will never go hungry, the rapid growth in their population continues to pose a problem for the city.

Currently, a private organization called Soi Cats and Dogs (SCAD) has created an animal birth control program in order to slow down the population of stray dogs. This small not-for-profit group identifies the packs of dogs, and then one-by-one vaccinates and alters the dogs before returning them to where they came from.

As home to so many stray dogs, Bangkok’s community dogs even have their own blog page, which houses multiple pictures and descriptions of the many dogs that call this city their home. This blog is a light-hearted look into the dog’s side of the story, while also raising awareness to the overpopulation issue that hinders the city.

Being that veterinary services are limited and SCAD can only alter and vaccinate a few animals at a time, they always need lots of support for their animal birth control program. With more help and support, in a few years Bangkok’s community dogs can decrease in population all the while continuing to live in harmony with the Thai people.

To read the Bangkok Street Dogs Blog, please visit http://bkkstreetdogs.blogspot.com

To read an article about this on National Geographic, please visit: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090608-thailand-straydogs-video-ap.html

Or to visit the website of the Soi Cats and Dogs (SCAD), please go to http://www.scadbangkok.org/[/url]http://www.scadbangkok.org/

Photo of Mollie the dog from Bangkok Street Dogs Blog Page