You do need to be careful when you volunteer at a dog rescue shelter anywhere, but I think more so in Thailand. I volunteered at Second Chance Shelter in Pattaya, it’s about 90 minutes from Bangkok. Now I am running their volunteer programs ! So what exactly happened, it’s a double whammy, you do a really rewarding and fun activity, with like minded people from all around the world. Then this happens in paradise ! Not just paradise either, a paradise filled with fun activities and exciting things to do every day. So you may not want to return to your old life.

Adventure & Travel in Thailand

Thailand has been a magnet for adventure travellers for a long time now. Nowadays though it is very easy to come here, tourism is vital to Thailands economy so they make it safe and easy to travel around the country. There are beautiful temples, elephant sanctuaries, water sports galore, island hopping, traditional markets and so much more, its very easy to see why people fall in love with the place and want to spend more time here, or in many cases live here.

A Tough Life For Street Dogs

Paradise however does have a darker side, it’s an incredibly difficult environment for street dogs ( soi dogs ), and there are estimated to be up to 8 million stray dogs across the country. This huge number means there are many dogs suffering and many more being born, a single female can produce 14 puppies a year, and within a year all of those female puppies can do the same, so a population explosion can ( and has ) occurred very quickly. These dogs get sick, injured in road accidents and other ways, or starve.

Second Chance Shelter Thailand’s Mission

Second Chance helps these dogs in the area around Pattaya, so when you volunteer with us you make a tangible difference to the dogs in the area and the local community. The Volunteer fees allow us to pay vets to help the sick and injured dogs that constantly come our way, they allow us to feed the dogs that can not be returned to the streets. But most importantly they allow us to begin a TNR ( Trap Neuter Return ) or CVNR ( Catch Vaccinate Neuter and Return ) program. One female and her offspring in just 4 years can produce 2000 puppies. So a program to neuter dogs is essential in fixing a stray dog problem. So ultimately Second Chance wants to care for the dogs that cannot survive alone, or assisted on the streets and prevent more and more dogs being born into the street dog life. So when you volunteer with Second Chance Shelter here In Thailand, no matter which program you do, you directly impact the street dog population in a positive way. And unlike many other dog shelter volunteer programs, ours give you real skills that will allow you to train and help street dogs and pet dogs for the rest of your life.

How to Volunteer at Second Chance Dog Shelter in Thailand

So if you like the idea of helping street dogs and shelter dogs, and like the idea of spending some time here in Thailand, we would love to hear from you. Step one would be to check our volunteer page which gives details of programs that are available. Compare our programs to others that are available, we are entirely confident that ours are the best available anywhere in the world. Feel free to ask as many questions as you want about the programs, living in Thailand, travelling around thailand or what it’s like helping in the shelter. We will answer all of them, we want people to join the program and love it, we want you to go home and bore people talking about the great time you had volunteering at a dog shelter in Thailand.

Join Us

If you are undecided and maybe doubt your ability to be a dog trainer, or help in the shelter, because sometimes it is daunting. I am constantly amazed that people like Adrian set up shelters like this and care for so many dogs. I couldn’t do it, the worry and stress would be the end of me. But I can still help. But I always remember being told in life ‘there are no ninjas’. We assume people who do incredible things like set up a dog shelter, climb a mountain, sail across an ocean anything, we assume they are different and more awesome than us. The reality is they are the same as us, they just do it. You can definitely help the stray dogs of Thailand, if you love dogs it’s enough, we can provide the rest. You won’t go home disappointed, you may even stay !