After leaving Cambodia we took a flight to Singapore and then onto Phuket. On arrival in Phuket it was total mayhem at the arrivals building so we quickly jumped into a cab and headed to our accommodation at Pen Siri House. We arrived at 10.20pm and the cab driver had to call the lady to come and check us in, not sure she was too happy about it but I had told her of our late arrival. We have a large room with a sofa which is nice as we are going to be there for nearly 4 weeks. It was quite late by the time we had sorted ourselves out and then being up early to catch the van that picks everyone up and takes them to Soi Dogs.
The van picks everyone up around 8.30 and brings you back around 4.30 or you can be dropped off on route if you want the shops or local market.
We were met by Rachel who I think is the organiser of the volunteers and she told us we were going to care for the dogs in B4 as the girl in there now was leaving and returning back to the UK.
After a tour and introduction of the site we were put into B4 with 19 street dogs, everyone of them at different social levels. Some of the dogs you can't get near and don't get walked to others who are very friendly. A little pup was put in the run today and he had not long had his back leg amputated but I don't know his history. Fallen in love with him but he keeps being attacked by the bully in the run called "Brick". I have reported them and hopefully they will remove him from the run until he is a bit stronger and can defend himself. So our first day is finished and looking forward to the weekend on the beach and seeing what's around this area.
We tried to catch a bus to head into Phuket town but after waiting 30 minutes decided to head to the beach instead for a swim. That afternoon they were releasing quite a few turtles back into the sea and this was great to watch. The turtles are reared from eggs until they are big enough to take care of themselves back in the wild. The sea is nice and warm but not clear at all but still nice. There are lots of places to eat here but they all do the same food at these me prices so don't really a lot of choice, but I do have my favourites.
So the start of a new week at Soi and all the dogs are excited as they don't get walks at the weekend. It was a relief to see that my little dog that had been bullied had been moved to the small dog run and we went and visited him everyday. We have 19 dogs in B4 run but one is going to Canada this Thursday and 3 others are waiting for flights. All our dogs get at least one walk a day around the pond but a few of them are just glad to be outside the run. After lunch we sit with the dogs as it's just too hot for walking them so we go and play with the puppies and the small dogs. On Wednesday we had a massive storm and the dogs don't get walked when it rains so we all went and helped with the cleaning in the new hospital. We were pulling the plastic of the stainless steel and then cleaning them with spirit. The next day it rained again but only for the morning so we were able to walk our dogs that afternoon. In the storm one of the local fishing boats was wrecked in the surf and then later broke up and was washed up onto the beach.
The town has a market that sells everything from clothes to meat and vegetables and it's on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday so we have been going to buy fruit as its so much cheaper.
The weekend has arrived again and we were going to hire a car and explore the island but the weather wasn't brilliant so we stayed local just lazing around. Lots of volunteers left the center on Friday and looking forward to meeting the new ones that are arriving on Monday.
So another week at Soi and the dogs were all happy to see us. The weather wasn't very good this week so on some days we never got all the dogs out which I hate. Strawberry was attacked by Cadillac quite badly and I got very upset by this as I carried her to the clinic as she was losing a lot of blood. She was lucky as it was only her paws that were damaged and all the blood came from her paws. A few of the volunteers were leaving this week so we all went out for a meal to say goodbye and also to welcome in the new volunteers to Soi. While it was raining some of us did some cleaning in the new hospital while others folded bandages that are made from old bed sheets. I took the opportunity to go and sit with the small dogs and play with the puppies.
It's the weekend and we jumped on the local bus to Phuket town and a walk around the shopping mall. The local bus took about an hour to get there but it was OK as the journey was interesting. It was nice to get out of Naiyang and see some more of Phuket. We caught the the airport bus back to Naiyang and then had a long walk on the beach as the tide was along way out. On Sunday we again took the local bus to the outlet center which is not far outside Phuket town. It was nice to walk around and have some lunch but we didn't buy anything.
So the start of a new week at Soi and all our dogs in B4 are glad to see us on Monday morning and I'm happy to see my little Strawberry. So the daily routine starts with the alpha more dominant dogs going on their walks first and then the slower more shy ones later in the day. Biggy is trusting me more and more to put her lead on and then remove it. I have her walking to the edge of the pond now and she has allowed me to stroke her head, so proud of her. Sally has been helping Cadillac get over his fears of being outside the run also and she is now walking to the end of the pond and back. It's great to see so much improvement in so many of the dogs but it also makes it harder to leave them. We had two big fights in our run this week, one with Strawberry and the big dogs and the other little black dog with only 3 legs Hayyal also got caught up in a brawl.
A lot of the longer volunteers left that weekend and Monday morning we had some new ones but it seems strange with so many new faces and also they are all only staying one week. It rained at some point during everyday there this week so a couple of days we never got all the dogs out which I hate. The week ended with sunshine and looking forward to the weekend but sad also as I know that we leave next Wednesday after 4 weeks of caring for our dogs in B4.
We caught the airport bus into Phuket town and then got a taxi up to the big Buddha which is high up on a hill with amazing views of the coast line and islands that are dotted around. It was nice to see some of the island and this appears to be the biggest attraction in Phuket. We got our driver to drop us off at the old part of town where the houses have a Portuguese influence, very colourful. After a walk around the old quarter we stopped for some lunch and headed back to the bus station to catch the bus back to Pensiri.
So my final few days with all my dogs that I have come very close to especially Strawberry who I hope to adopt. I need to step back and think about her while I'm not witnessing her being attacked by the other dogs and her cowering in fear. Very sad day at the Center and I know I will be back and I'm sure I will see a lot of familiar faces still in B4 run.
It's custom for everyone to eat together on people's last night and also to welcome in the new volunteers just starting. So there is about 20 of us heading to Penns restaurant for our final sad farewell.
