Neglected and mistreated 'street dogs' around the world.... and the man working to save them

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

It all starts, as so many dog rescues do, with my WhatsApp pinging.
A picture message.
I don't recognise the number it's been sent from, it's not from a friend or a member of the family back home. So I can be pretty sure that the image I've received will be of a dog — and it's probably not going to be a cute 'awww' kind of one.
In those few milliseconds as I wait for it to download, there's a familiar sense of dread of whatever's coming next. It wasn't long after getting sober that my mission to save the street dogs in Thailand began. I've grown used to the fact that I'm like the fourth emergency service out here. For humans there's the fire, ambulance and police services — for dogs, however, well, it's fair to say I've become the go-to in that department.
It seems to take an age for the image to become clear.
Living in Koh Samui, a tropical island off the east coast of the country, has many wonderful things going for it — clear blue skies, fluffy white clouds and luscious jungles to explore. It even has some of the fastest WiFi in the world but today it was taking forever.
A little anxiety seeds in my tummy. Come on then, how bad will it be?
You'd imagine I'd get hardened to seeing upsetting pictures of mistreated animals after all this time. Some are cruelly abused by humans, others were just unlucky enough to be born. Unwanted and unloved by anyone.
Suffering, because the world just isn't always fair.
Yet despite all the horrible states I've found animals in, I never get desensitised. I'm a big softie I suppose, there's always something that can still shock me, make me wince, or induce flashes of utter fury sometimes. (Never aimed at the poor wretched animal. I'm only ever angry at the humans who've neglected them — or, worse, maliciously inflicted the damage. Or just society as a whole for not caring as we should.)
Niall Harbison: "Tina had spent so many unhappy years being used for breeding puppies, which had completely worn out her body."
A first look at Tina
As the picture on my iPhone finally crystallises with definition, turning from a blurry shape into a clear photograph, I see it's a dog on a chain. The fur is fair, thin and matted in places, while sparse in others; there's some expanses of sore-looking skin exposed. I peer closer and notice the poor thing has been lying in its own toileting.
Eugh.
But the dog's face is long and noble somehow, and poking out from the fur obscuring the poor thing's vision are the most vulnerable-looking dark eyes I've ever seen.
The expression is of complete dejection, one of the saddest-looking animals I've ever seen. I groan audibly and put my head in my hands briefly.
It is impossible to tell the breed of the mutt from the picture, and let's be honest the 'breeds' in Thailand are way more loosely based on the intended breed. Most of the dogs out here in Koh Samui are a mix-up of all sorts as they've haphazardly mated on the street and multiplied (and multiplied, and multiplied …). All sorts of doggy DNA exists, born by accident and not design.
And in my opinion they're just as beautiful as any pooch who might be showcased at glamorous dog shows like Crufts in the UK or the National Dog Show in the US. And their life is every bit as valuable. I just wish there weren't quite so many of them.
I read the rest of the text that follows the picture.
This particular poor mite had been spotted by a tourist in the mountains earlier that morning. That part of the island isn't one I was so familiar with. I have to admit, I still don't know every corner of Koh Samui. (The fact that for the first couple of years of living in this paradise I was mostly steaming drunk definitely didn't help me in that regard.)
I rub my eyes again. God, I'm knackered. I want my dinner, I want a shower, and I want to curl up on the sofa with my own dog Snoop. But this is one of those moments when you just know you have to drop everything. Just go, Niall. I know in every bone of my body that here is a dog in dire need; he or she simply could not spend another night in that miserable dirty state.
Whoever it belongs to, and however it got there, I need to go and help it. Immediately.
Why opt for sterilisation
Spring was fast approaching and Tina had long settled in and had really seemed to be thriving. She was well enough, we decided, to have a sterilisation operation. It was espe cially important to have that taken care of now that she was out and about having fun and socialising with other dogs on our walks.
Tina had spent so many unhappy years being used for breeding puppies, which had completely worn out her body, getting the operation was particularly symbolic and a start of a better future ahead.
Dogs can't talk to us but they can to each other.
You can clearly see Hank here looking on and telling her it'll be ok here. And it's clear Chance knows that too.
Hank is my secret weapon 🥰🙏 (7/7) pic.twitter.com/vpJeBW0YoJ — Niall Harbison (@NiallHarbison) May 27, 2025
I felt incredibly proud of her as I got her ready to be sent off to the vets, like we did with all the others. It was hard to know exactly how old she was, to tell you the truth, but the vet guessed around eight, which meant she could still technically get pregnant, and that was the very last thing Tina needed — or any of us for that matter.
It might seem like a small footnote in the bigger scheme of things for Tina, but it still felt like a significant moment of closure for this wonderful lady.
'Don't you worry, angel,' I kissed her affectionately on her wet snout before she went under the general
anaesthetic. 'We're just making sure you never have to have another puppy in your life again.' Not only would her ill health not have coped with a pregnancy, but I felt she deserved to just focus on being a dog for the first time in her life, and sharing all the amazing love and affection she had to give.
To be very precise Tina was the 521st dog we have sterilised since starting this mission to solve the street dog problems in Thailand. And yes, I really do keep count of each and every one, as it just means so much to me. I used to keep a count in my head but now I've developed a helpful spreadsheet. I know their little quirks, like who doesn't like the rain, or who needs their skin checked during the wet season. When a dog is walking a little gingerly, I can look at them and know if it's serious or not. If they are a little underweight or need to see a vet.
I don't have kids but I guess this is a similar way parents would know through intuition about their kids. With 80 dogs to look after, I know the odds are stacked against me in terms of keeping them all healthy and alive, but they are my pride and joy. I think of it as having 80 pets that happen to live on the streets.
Street dogs across the world
I think there's 500 million street dogs in the world — that's more than the population of America — and I want to halve that in my lifetime. Sounds crazy, but I think I can do it, and I'm really proud of the fact that we now have eight other partners in three countries, not just Thailand but Sri Lanka and Indonesia, too.
Until as recently as 2022, I wasn't even aware of what neutering was. In the space of just two and half years, we have amazingly reached 90-95% coverage of dogs sterilised here on the island of Koh Samui.
We can never get to having 100% of the dogs sterilised in any given area because some locals won't allow their dogs to be done; there are still, sadly, some dog breeders who want to make money from puppies, and dogs are still being brought in by workers. But we've stopped a vast amount of unwanted, unloved and uncared lives being brought into this world.
Tina: The Dog Who Changed the World (HarperCollins) is out now
@NiallHarbison
instagram.com/niall.harbison/