NAKHON RATCHASIMA — A couple who have adopted more than 90 stray dogs over the past 10 years say they are struggling to pay the bills and need help to feed all animals in their care.
The philanthropic couple, Supawadee Hormwiset, 55, and her husband Prung Bamrungkij, 77, began bringing home abandoned dogs a decade ago. Their financial plight became known after after neighbours posted details and photos of the dogs on social media.
The pair are taking care of more than 90 dogs of different ages at their two-rai property in Moo 10 village, tambon Po Klarng of Muang district. All the dogs have been sterilized and are allowed to roam freely.
Mrs Supawadee, a contract employee at the Royal Thai Air Force's Wing 1, said recently she and her husband had to ask neighbours and a nearby temple for any leftover food to help feed all the dogs.
Mrs Supawadee, known locally as “Aunty Au”, said the dogs eat three big pots of rice mixed with 20kg of boiled chicken carcasses and at least four bags of dried pet food every day.
Even so, she intended to continue taking care of the animals until all of them die naturally, despite the difficulty in footing the bill.
Mrs Supawadee and Coco, aka Hero Dog. (Photo by Prasit Tangprasert)
Most popular in the bunch is a five-year-old male dog named Coco, but local people call him “Mah Hero” (Hero Dog) after the tan and white mongrel courageously attacked a man who tried to rape a woman who had often fed him last year. The attacker broke Coco’s hind legs with a stick, and he has walked with only his front legs ever since.
Mrs Supawadee said she was a dog lover who had raised only three pet dogs more than 10 years ago. Then she noticed that more and more people were abandoning their dogs on roadsides and in forested areas every year in her neighbourhood. These dogs struggled to survive. They were often hurt or killed by owners of chickens and ducks they chased as food.
Feeling pity, she began adopting some of the discarded canines as pets. Their number had grown to almost 100 after 10 years.
“The number of abandoned dogs continues to rise and I cannot afford their food anymore. My salary alone is not enough,” said Mrs Supawadee. “Many neighbours help, donating food pellets and money sometimes.”