Published on May 13, 2005

In a cruel twist of fate, five dogs were killed over the weekend at a Chiang Mai temple where an animal-welfare project has been operating for almost a year.

During a visit to Wat Don Chan on Saturday, members of the Lanna Dog Rescue (LDR) organisation discovered that five temple dogs had been beaten to death on the property.

“We found three of [the dogs] dead around a fire, along with paws and organs stuck onto sticks and left over the ashes – these dogs were clearly killed to be eaten,” said Karin Hawelka, one of LDR’s six core volunteers.

“We also found the head and skin of one of the dogs buried beneath the earth.”

Children attending Wat Don Chan school told the LDR members that two more dogs were removed from the temple on Sunday by employees connected to Wat Don Chan. They are suspected of being involved in the killings.

LDR was established early last year in response to the overwhelming problem of Chiang Mai’s stray dogs, many of which find shelter in the city’s temples.

“The temples act as unofficial shelters for the street dogs and the monks provide them with food,” Karin said.

“What is missing is medical care, such as treatment for mange, infections, cancer or accidents, and access to sterilisation and vaccinations. This is what LDR aims to facilitate.

“While we do supplement the dogs diet with dried food, our main focus is on ensuring that they are healthy, and on taking them to vets to be spayed or neutered.”

LDR has six core members and a number of part-time volunteers.

The group has been caring for temple dogs at Wat Suan Dok, Wat Pa Daeng, Wat Buddha Kasaet, Wat Don Chan and Wat Paa Ngiow.

At Wat Don Chan, LDR had extended its programme to include children at the hill-tribe school located within the temple grounds.

“We created a programme here where children were able to adopt a dog, give it a name and be involved in caring for it,” Karin said.

“We also arrange motivational activities for the kids – we take them on outings or organise creative activities for them. “We recently took them to visit the elephant hospital in Lampang.”

Karin said the programme was working out wonderfully for both the dogs and the children.

“Some of these kids only see their parents once a year, others are orphans, so it is very special for them to have a pet they can call their own,” the volunteer said. “This experience has been devastating for them.”

Cindy Tilney

Special to The Nation

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