| Killing of stray dogs rampant |
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A BEACH dog popular among tourists has been poisoned and died “horribly” after living in the area for about eight years, the founder of the Dog Rescue Center Samui (DRCS) said in her June info letter posted on the DRCS website. Brigitte Gomm, founder of Killing of stray dogs rampant the rescue center, said dog-loving tourists have come up with a Bt10,000 reward for information on who killed the dog, named Egg. Egg, according to Ms. Gomm, was one of the most popular Chaweng Beach dogs. “Many tourists and people working on Chaweng Beach (believe it or not, many tourists return mainly to catch up with their beach dogs) will be devastated to hear the sad news,” she said. She said that a week before the poisoning, the manager of a resort called asking the DRCS to remove all dogs from the beach. Gomm, however, said, “We do not think that Chaweng Buri had anything to do with it since whenever an animal was in need of help in the past we got a phone call from them.” In her June info letter, Gomm also stated that besides Egg, a mother dog and her puppy were poisoned in Chaweng Noi Beach (near First Bungalow), while another mother dog and her four-month-old puppy were believed killed near the Lompraya pier in Maenam. Meanwhile, two house dogs, Max and Maxime, living at the Imperial Boat House in Choeng Mon were reported to have disappeared. A Bt3,000 reward has been offered to anyone who can give information on their whereabouts. Gomm lamented that “there is still a lot of mistreatment and poisoning of dogs going on in Samui,” adding that the recent cases “are only a few of many cases we could tell you about.” She vowed that the DRCS “will continue to fight for the dogs and cats that cannot fight for themselves.” The DRCS was established in April 1999 as a response to the need to care for the growing number of stray dogs, which the local government tried to curb with mass poisonings. The center has expanded operation by including stray cats into its care. The DRCS accepts sponsorship of a dog or cat for 15 euros (around Bt606) a month. |
