We catch up with Issy from Phangan Animal Care (PAC's)

Isabella Barnes - Phangan Animal Care (PAC)
Job Title - Public Relations and Fundraising Manager

Hey Issy, we hope you are enjoying our Doggy Day! How did you get into working at PAC?
Originally I was meant to go to India. At the time my dad was doing a job for a man at his house, this man's daughter was in Thailand and working for PAC. We got in touch with each other through email etc and I decided to come here to Thailand instead. At first I volunteered for 2 months then a job opportunity came up so i took it! It has been one year now.

What is the current situation and what are the main problems?
The main problem is an increase in tourism in general. There is more traffic so more accidents, also more food available for the street dogs, so although they get healthy, they have more puppies which leads to even more street dogs. We have been focusing on neuter females which of course is important but there are more males so this leads to more fights. They get small injuries which usually wouldn't be any bother but in this climate they can become maggot infested within 24 hours.
Is there anything that tourists can do to help?
Yes, there are lots of things. Whilst it in our nature to feed these dogs, this leads to a growing population which increases the problem we have been trying to fix. Most of these dogs are looked after by the resorts or local residents anyhow. Money by tourists would be better spent on getting animals neutered or getting in touch with us and donating towards our mission. It costs approximately 20 dollars an hour to run PACS.

You had a fundraiser at Crave recently, how did it go?
We have fundraising events every 2 months. they range from parties to lounge bars etc. A lot of the local businesses support by giving us space or excellent prizes for our raffles. At this particular event we raised over 30,000 Baht! This is going towards our next Vaccination camp in Haad Rin.

What is vaccination camp?
Businesses in a certain area will help with giving us a space and tables so we can vaccinate as many of the dogs as possible. We have a six in one vaccine which prevents Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus, Rabies, Parainfluenza and leptospirosis. They are meant to have this twice with 4 weeks in between but it can be hard to get them as they wander freely but the locals help out and bring them to the clinic.

What would you like PAC to have achieved in the next couple of years?
To bring more education of ownership of pets on the island. More responsibility of the adoption of the Thai street dogs rather than importing pedigree breeds which find it hard to accustom to the climate.
We would also like to have a full time vet as at the moment we rely on voluntary vets who can only stay for a short period of time. A full time vet costs a lot of money so we may need some kind private sponsor for this, or a few! It will cost roughly 50,000 Baht per month!
And also employing a Thai vet would give our amazing head nurse more time to visit animals around the island. Many hands make light work. At the moment she is our only full time medically qualified staff member it would be great if she could have some help all year round.

Thank you so much Issy and keep up the good work!