Rocky Has A Home

Since Rocky appeared in our lives 12 days ago he has had a monumental impact on my thinking about the street dog problem.

Sometimes you need a little reminder in life why you are on a certain path. It could be a sunset, a great meal with friends or a baby’s laugh. For me personally the moments of clarity usually come via dogs and that was the case this week with Rocky and an exhausting work schedule.

So much came together in the last few days and clarity ensued…

There are 12 days between these two photos. You don’t need to know a lot about dogs to see the difference. Rocky was hours from death, he was scared, he couldn’t see and he was lashing out. He knew his life was coming to an end.

Fast forward to today and I think you’ll agree he looks positively debonair, distinguished and more at ease. His health is returning and he is proving that it is always worth fighting for every single life.

While Rocky is positively thriving he is only the tip of the iceberg in what has been happening this week…

Saving one dog like Rocky means the world to me and I think his story inspires us all. He is however one of 8-10 million street dogs in Thailand. I want to tell you how we are helping so many of his friends…

Just this week we launched something that helps show the massive scale we are operating at and the ambition that we have. From the very first day of starting Happy Doggo as a charity I wanted to focus on 3 key areas..

1. Fix the root cause of the street dog problem

2. Get money into the hands of the people who need it most to help street dogs

3. Detailed transparency on where the money goes

We have achieved a lot of that with this new tool. Just by clicking around you’ll see the insane scope of our mission, the wonderful partners we fund and also the science and costs behind it all. Every dot on that map is a dog that has been operated on.

403,598 litters stopped and while the numbers might seem abstract and huge I always like to trace it back to one dog and their story in my head. Imagine how many Rockys we are helping that none of us will ever meet. This is very much version 1 of this tool and it will get even better from here in terns of what it shows and how much reach we have and funding we provide.

We help street dogs a little with Happy Doggo but it needs to be more ambitious to make lasting change. While we are taking some good early steps to fix the problem, globally it will take a movement. We need the most passionate and talented people working for us, we need huge global funding and massive educational and awareness programs.

Most of all we need governmental support. This week we started taking huge strides in that area by signing partnerships to cover an additional large province in Thailand with our mobile clinics.

Look closely and you’ll see my big bald head in there smiling as the only non Thai person in the room. It’s a significant moment in our history but I also see a future very soon where I’m not even in the the next room. I’m a huge believer in local problems being solved by local people. My job is to ramp this up around Thailand and the world and then step out.

I have a sore back from bouncing around Taxis in rural Thailand going to meetings to develop relationships and sign up government partnerships. I am genuinely exhausted from conference calls and admin.

While I am proud of what we are achieving all I can think about is getting back to Rocky and all our other sick dogs. I don’t know about you but I find when I travel I get some really good time to think and get some perspective about life. There is something about being away from home and staring out windows that makes you introspective.

I decided Rocky’s future on the road. While I can’t be 100% sure which option it is this is what I came up with in terms of preferences…

1. Rocky will come and live out his days with myself, Hank and Chance

2. I will build him a “Palace” in our retirement village to live in

There are some factors like his health, if my dog Hank would accept him and his continued eyesight improvement that will all factor into the decision. Either way and whatever his health trajectory is, Mr Rocky will live out his days in the ultimate comfort with love and treats on tap.

The thing about the street dog problem in Thailand and especially globally is that it is nearly impossible to tackle. The scale of the problem is just so immense. I’ve always said I want to fix it in my lifetime but I’m acutely aware that the chances of failure are probably 99%.

But you know who else had a 99% probable negative outcome? Rocky. As he lay on the beach hidden in the rocks his chance of surviving in the heat without water, with no eyesight and after being dumped was 1% at the very best. If the lady who spotted him had looked the other way none of us would have ever heard of Rocky

Dozens of people told me to put him out of his misery. His test results showed he was as good as dead. Yet here he is standing tall, eating well, improving by the day and now with great options to live out his days.

I can’t explain how hard it is to achieve what we do with street dogs and thing like the map and government partnerships. But if Rocky can win his battle then so can we.

As I stared out the window I also thought about the people supporting this mission. I still pinch myself every single day that I get to do this. I don’t take the support for granted. All I can do to say thanks is continue to dedicate every waking hour I have in my life to the street dogs.

I really hope you can feel the difference we are making and now you can see it and track it at all times here too. I firmly believe we are only 1% into this mission in terms of what we will all achieve.

I’m off home now via the organic shop to get Rocky his poached chicken and break the big news to him. I sometimes doubt myself and wonder if what we are trying to do is even possible. Looking into Rocky’s eyes and feeling him leaning into me reminded me this week that we are on the right track. Sometimes all you need is a 1% chance.

Have a lovely weekend and be kind to each other.

Big Love

Niall

P.S You can support the mission by just subscribing to this newsletter or donating to Happy Doggo here. It really does help.