FRANKIE

Frankie was a 7 month old puppy who loved sitting on the motorbike and driving around Koh Tao. When Frankie was brought into the clinic his gums were very swollen and there was purple around the back molars. The teeth were very loose. We sent the dog and his owner to the clinic on Koh Samui for x-rays and blood work.

When he came back to Koh Tao a few days later, he was still very weak and his gums were bleeding profusely. We gave him medicine to help the blood clot and put him on IV fluids and, eventually, the bleeding stopped. He was also on many different medications to treat what the vet believed to be a viral infection. Frankie’s condition started to improve over the next few days, but then took a drastic turn for the worse. His gums started bleeding a lot again. He was extremely pale and weak and was having trouble breathing. We put him on oxygen and then did something that has never been attempted by our clinic.

We did a dog to dog blood transfusion. It was almost as if Kit Kat, our clinic dog, knew we needed her help. Without any anesthetic, she sat like a perfect angel while we took blood from her and gave it to Frankie. The effect on Frankie was miraculous. He sat up and even walked around wagging his tail. Unfortunately, this was short lived and his condition began to deteriorate once again. In the end, we decided that the kindest thing to do was to end his suffering and so Tony held him in his arms while we euthanized him.

SPIDER MONKEY

Spider Monkey was brought to the clinic after being hit by a truck. Her pelvis was fractured in two places. She was just a puppy and so we knew that her bones were still growing and, therefore, the fractures would heal quickly. For the first couple of days, she walked on her two front legs and let her hind legs dangle to the side. This looked really funny and earned her the name Spider Monkey. Over the next couple of months, her pelvis healed and she was able to run and play with the other clinic dogs. She is such a lovely dog that we decided to keep her up at the volunteer house just in case we needed another blood donor.

FRANKENSTEIN

Frankenstein was brought to the clinic just after Christmas. Her owner had just returned to the island, after having been away for over a week, to find her puppy with two deep slash marks across her throat and a large bump on her skull. She told us the horrific story of a drunken man taking a large knife to this sweet, innocent puppy. She left the puppy in our care for the night and promised to pick her up the next day. When we stitched up her throat, she looked like Frankenstein and so the name stuck. The owner never came back to get Frankie and we couldn’t find her anywhere on the island.

We kept Frankie at the kennels for a while, but she was miserable being locked up at night. She cried all the time and was eventually brought inside the house just so that we could get a few hours of sleep. Kit’s aunt said that she would foster Frankie until we could find her owner. The two of them bonded immediately. Frankie slept in her room each night and went to work with her each day. One day Frankie wandered onto the road and was struck by a motorbike and broke her leg (as if she hadn’t suffered enough misfortune already). Being a true Koh Tao dog, her leg healed well and she was back on her feet in no time.

Unfortunately, Kit’s aunt had to move and dogs were not permitted at her new place. Poor Frankie’s world was changing once again. We brought her back up to the volunteer house, but let her roam free with the other dogs. Now she is a healthy dog who is extremely affectionate to all of the staff and volunteers at the clinic. She runs alongside our motorbikes to and from work each day.

Sindbad