Terrible News Fom Dog Rescue

[yantzen]

TODAY I RECIEVED THIS NEWS FROM DOG RESCUE CENTRE SAMUI!

Today I have a very sad subject to inform you of.

The past 3 weeks have been spent continually checking all 300 dogs at the Rescue Center to see if

they were showing any signs of illness.

In with a very short period of time we lost 43 dogs in a terribly tragic way. Why all these dogs

died remained a mystery to us.

It started with Sporty in compound 5, she began to suffer from internal bleeding and consequently

died two days later. Then we found Moustache with the exact same symptoms lying dead in the

compound. Next Tinchen became apathetic her skin had turned yellow in color, despite infusions

and drugs to support her liver we were unable to save her.

Things continued in this manner and every day more dogs got sick and died in with a very short

time. Every day we all went through each compound checking every single dog, paying particular

attention to their stomachs and gums, we began finding more and more dogs with jaundice.

Of course we immediately set about trying to find out what was killing our dogs. We sent blood

tests to the laboratories of Bangkok Hospital, hoping they could determine which disease or

diseases we were dealing with. These were very expensive and unfortunately didn’t bring us any

steps further.

After so many deaths we started to think poison might be the reason, so we checked everything to

try and establish the cause. We disinfected all the food, water bowls, not using any of the water

from our well (after all the rains, we are now sufficiently supplied with public water).

A stretch of land behind our shelter had been cleared and we supposed that lots of pesticides had

been used and may have contaminated our well water.

We were trying every avenue to find the cause, every day we receive food leftovers from the

hotels for the dogs, even these we boiled again before serving, the resulting soup was greatly

appreciated by all the dogs.

We also considered the possibility of rats –via the drinking water – as having infected our dogs

with a disease but simultaneously in all the compounds??

Despite all our efforts we got no where, we could only helplessly watch our dogs die.

We did however, notice that there were significantly more deaths in our back compounds, these

dogs eat mainly dry food.

In our house at Chaweng we have around 50 dogs, none of whom were infected. These dogs are fed

a lot more on the food from the hotels and rarely eat dry dog food. They also get given dry food

from tourists and some Thai people but not the same stuff as the dogs at the shelter.

So, the only thing left to be checked was the dry food.

We ceased using our dry food and bought new food from Macro. Jay and Linda also collected all

the food which they delivered to the temples. They found a couple of suspect cases of jaundice,

but thankfully no deaths. We sent samples of our dry food to Bangkok and ordered a small “Labkit”

from Bangkok for ourselves so that we could test for poisonous toxins. The results showed

that the food was seriously contaminated with Alpha-toxin.

Even though the findings terrified us, we were at least glad to know what had caused the

death of so many of our dogs.

After a few days of “non-toxic” food it was obvious that many of the dogs were getting better,

they started to play again and were much livelier. Unfortunately we still find sick dogs for whom

treatment may be too late, but it’s only a few individual cases now. We really are doing our best,

still checking all the dogs every day. I’m sure for some dogs, once their system is compromised its

very difficult for their bodies to expel high levels of toxic residence. As a result of this we have

started every dog on a course of liver supplement drugs, in a hope that they will survive this

poisoning.

I am sorry to admit that we have had some procurement problems, as we need a lot of medicine

and right now at first we were forced to buy what we needed at huge expense from pharmacies

around the island but next week we expect a large mail-order to be delivered.

For the last 3 weeks we had a vet from Sweden, staying with us. Dr. Sith was so happy to have her

as she supported him extremely well. Every day Bärbel and Günter spent never ending hours

checking the compounds for sick dogs.

When we finally understood what our dogs had died of, we immediately contacted the producer of

the dog’s dry food in Bangkok. He explained that production had been changed in December from

using rice to using corn and that the contamination must have occurred then. This “Gentleman”

must have already known as he was not at all surprised when we contacted him.

Now we must find out how we proceed. Please consider that in Thailand there are no rules of law

like those we are accustomed to. Next week we will talk everything through with our president and

we will see how far the producer (a veterinary doctor) is willing to take back the dog food and

refund our expenditure but would not accept us dumping all of the poisoned food in our incinerator.

First he told us he would reproduce the food for fish – a great idea, isn’t it! In his thinking if

people eat the fish, if they do not overindulge and eat too much, they may only suffer minor liver

damage or have a nose bleed from time to time. He has now changed his mind and said that he will

blend the food with non-toxic food, so the total contamination will be less serious. Providing that

the animals do not eat too much they will certainly not die as fast, rather at a much slower rate.

Words fail me! With such an unscrupulous businessman it will certainly be very hard to have our

claims compensated. Furthermore for several unmentionable reasons I do not know whether it

would be prudent to inform the press; when our president returns next week, I will discuss things

with him.

The supplier is now angry with me because I contacted Soi Dog in Phuket. My goodness, of course

the first thing I would do is call them, knowing that Phuket uses the same food. John from Soi Dog

also suffered the loss of 5 dogs at his shelter. Fortunately he received his order later than us so

was able to prevent more deaths from occurring. The supplier is willing to take back the food from

John and refund their costs. I will talk to John about how he wants to proceed.

At this point of time, we are waiting for the 106 000 Bath (2500 Euro) which had been submitted

as a pre-payment for the next food delivery.

Then we have to see what we’ll do with the poisoned food, the value of which is about 2500 Euro.

A Thai vet, who is breeding huskies in Bangkok, also bought from the same supplier. As of today, he

has lost 10 dogs and another 3 are currently fighting for their lives.

It is also in the vets’ interest to put a stop to the production of this company (and boss!). We have

sent 2 of the original dry food-bags to Bangkok for testing and this vet is prepared to make these

tests will be carried out thoroughly.

The dirty bastard of a producer had told us that this food had only been delivered to US!

As sad as it all is, surely it will be easier to proceed against him with a Thai person by our side.

I ordered all the sacks of food to be removed from

our food store and had them all labeled “Danger-

Toxic”, in Thai as well, of course!

Our store was completely crammed full, around two

hundred 20kg-sacks of dry dog food.

Unfortunately when the supplier comes to pick up

his toxic waste, I will be giving away all the

evidence, perhaps he will not refund anything

afterwards. Meanwhile, we must wait for the

written test results from Bangkok University and

then we will see….

In the rescue center, we have many dogs waiting

for their departure to Europe or other parts of

the world. Usually they are chosen by their new

families here on Samui. These dogs are then

waiting with us around 4 months until they are

ready for take-off.

Coco was already in Bangkok awaiting her flight

when she had a sudden nose bleed, of course we

couldn’t allow Coco to fly, she is back with us and

recovering well. She’s inside our house, where the

dogs hardly eat any dry food. Hopefully after a

couple more blood tests Coco can join her new

family in Germany.

Unfortunately we also lost one of our “flyer-dogs”.

Thai recently flew to Germany and died shortly

afterwards from the same poison -he bled to

death internally. Thai was also eating our dry food

at the shelter for quite some time.

Somehow I don’t think we’ll be reimbursed for

flights and vet bills for these two dogs!

The bills will have to be translated into Thai and

court procedures here are interminable and very

often end with a settlement-where we can only lose

our case.

Moreover, legal fees and court costs will certainly

be at our expenses. Perhaps I have lived for too

long in Thailand and have therefore lost all

confidence in law courts and justice.

In this country, a dog is neither of importance nor of value. In the north-east of Thailand, you can

buy an adult dog for 300 Baht or a puppy for 100 Baht, just then to kill and eat him. So, what’s the

value of a dog from an animal shelter?

Certainly not more.

I have no idea how long we will have to fight for the refunding of 2500 Euro for the food and of

course all the additional costs involved. The blood test alone passed by Bangkok Hospital was 150

Euro. Our little test laboratory was not for free either.

On top of that we have to pay much more for our new food, but I do hope, we can enforce our

claims for indemnification better with big companies such as Macro or Tesco.

Now we have our own small test lab and after a day of study, Dr. Sith is well versed. We have

tested the cat food and it is ok. If in the future we have cases where the cause of death is unclear

we will certainly be taking the dry food into consideration.

I hope that such a calamity will never occur again. You cannot imagine how it is to see so many dogs

die and not be able to help them.

We deeply mourn the senseless death of all of these dogs, many who were with us for 6 or 7 years

and who all had a sponsor\Godparent who helped support us throughout.

Dear Sponsors, I am very sorry and sad if your protégés were amongst the victims.

We will be contacting all of you, but at the moment, as you can imagine, we are still very busy at

the Rescue Centre and a lot of office work has been piled up Please be a little patient and

understand the sometimes much delayed reply to your email.

So please continue to support us with your donations!

Contributions for food are always welcome, especially now as the cost for dry food will be about

500 Euro a month more than before. This is a serious blow, but since we cannot order our food

with our former supplier, we have no choice but to buy elsewhere.

I will get back in touch with you in about 2 weeks and hopefully with only positive news.

With a very heavy heart

Brigitte

[MattCinderey]

Is it possible to let us know the brand of this dog food?

Matt.

[BigC]

u need a lawyer. a good one. one with international cerificate and speak with them and ask them if u have a case.

not some mickey mouse lawyer who will asked u for loads of money and either lose the case or just go away. There are laws out here. sometime people are shocked but there are ways to get justice.

if not then there is always the news papers. Makro is an international firm. i am sure they do not want this to go public.

i know i would be proper pissed off if my dog was being poisoned by the hand that supplied the hand that feeds it and is still doing it. the only word that talks is money.

If this product is going to damaged their reputation. then they have 2 choices either pay you out of court settlement. Or do something out of court. though if u have gone public then that would be hard. the media would protect u. or they can go through the court or have international newspapers publishing about an internationaly company poisoning animals. which is not good for thailand or for makro.

bear all this in minde then u might win the case and get allot of money which could take care of alot of dogs.

[mitmig]

You should read more carefully BigC, they bought new food at Makro to replace the poisoned food.

Really sad to hear so many dogs died, but very lucky they eventually found out what was causing the problem.

As I've got 5 dogs who mainly eat dry food, I too would like to know the brand of the dry food.

[Rooo]

From what I understand, the food was supplied bulk by the manufacturer in Bangkok. I also think that other dog rescue places used the same supplier. Also understand that the same batch was supplied to the police dogs, lucky they didn't need it as yet.

I don't think you can just purchase it from retail outlets.

[BigC]

You should read more carefully BigC, they bought new food at Makro to replace the poisoned food.

Really sad to hear so many dogs died, but very lucky they eventually found out what was causing the problem.

As I've got 5 dogs who mainly eat dry food, I too would like to know the brand of the dry food.

rodger doge. My mistake. well the same principal applies but to the manufactures

[Tatsujin]

Yantzen > I'm sorry to hear about this, it's terrible and you should definitely be sueing the manufacturer. Are you able to let us know which dry dog food was causing the problems and the manufacturer name? A PM would be great if you can't post publically.

Thanks, hope the dogs improve now you've found the cause.

[Major Major]

As managing director of a foreign law firm in Samui, I promise that we will look into the case and if possible sue those responsible and not charge you a penny (or baht). Please PM me for details of how we proceed, if that is what you want to do.

[eljeque]

This is not meant to sound cruel.

Although a dog is not of value here as a life, it is a commodity, and the food destroyed your saleable commodity.

This may be a route to sue the dog food manufacturer for damages.

[John 1]

Yes this is sad news dogs have a problem without being fed poison. If you check the web there were problems with dog food from china it was Optima dog food it was also poisoned. I would suggest you contact the Thai newspapers also Bkk post and for sure one of these will cover the story if you have pictures and fact's as Thai's still love there animals even though some are treaded badly. You have a Thai manager there that can do this if he has the will power.

Edited February 27, 2011 by John 1

[thaibear1]

As managing director of a foreign law firm in Samui, I promise that we will look into the case and if possible sue those responsible and not charge you a penny (or baht). Please PM me for details of how we proceed, if that is what you want to do.

A great offer, I guess you respect animals as many here.

Thailand seem be a problem in many matters as few month ago Malaysia refused Oranges (Mandarines) with to much of pesticides.

Yesterday I see a fire-truck in front of a old dirty building supplying water to a distributor of "drinking water" which will be supplied in Acryl (blue glass clear, high grade) and in the Polyurethane (lower quality) 4 gal bottles. Also seen how they reseal to make believe it is original filling. Bad I had't my camera with me.

It remember me 2 years ago that a foreingner living in Chiang Mai die after consumption of such water...!!!

So not only dogs have to care what they drink and eat, we human too (just to remember) :jap:

[yantzen]

Hello Thaivisa friends

I'm not working @ dogrescue.

Please contact Brigitte Gomm (//e-mail removed//)

They will be very grateful for your support

Edited February 27, 2011 by Tywais
e-mail removed as per forum rules

[julesandmartin]

As managing director of a foreign law firm in Samui, I promise that we will look into the case and if possible sue those responsible and not charge you a penny (or baht). Please PM me for details of how we proceed, if that is what you want to do.

Fantastic gesture Major, on behalf of all cat and dog lovers on Samui we thank you................I hope this offer is taken up and if so we would be happy to contribute to your out of pocket expenses

[BuckarooBanzai]

Hello Thaivisa friends

I'm not working @ dogrescue.

Please contact Brigitte Gomm (//e-mail removed//)

They will be very grateful for your support

yantzen, since you have her e-mail I hope you have already e-mailed her with the address to this thread. If not please do so post haste! I would hate to see MajorMajor's very generous offer go to waste.

[starcandle]

I have to admit that I'm not generally very sentimental with regards stray dogs, however I'm not a cruel person either,

your plight has prompted me to pen this response

My impression of many Thau people is that they do not find animals of any importance (I did say many and not all).

Many do not even find human life so important, on so many times I have heard the phrase "oh he dead already" I do accept it may just be

their way of expressing what they are thinking, but could you imagine in the western world bumping into an old friend and they ask how's the

family and you reply "ah my mums been dead 2 weeks already"

My point is the scumbag who has produced this poison will monly be worried about his pocked, as you state he was not suprised when you phoned him

which tells a story, HE KNEW, HE DID NOT CARE. so I suggest you hit him hard where it'll hurt, no not on the nose, in his wallet, sue the scumbag for all you can.

keep up the good work with the rescue center, well done.

[robsamui]

Two separate issues here - one being the suffering of the animals.

The second is the arrogant, couldn't-care-less offhand blatant admission of fraud and deception as if it is a normal and acceptable way to do business. Which, of course in this country it is. This is happening in a country where everybody has a motorbike a TV and a mobile phone - even many of the children. The Thai people are so so proud to consider themselves 'first world' and civilised and it speaks volumes about then nature of their flimsy social veneer that simply don't know what this means.

In a civilised country the attitude of this dog-food seller simply would not have, just could not ever have emerged. The open and fraudulent cruelty and criminal intent simply would not have been tolerated. But then, in a country which has a legal system straight out of the middle ages and where none of the authorities are the least bit interested, criminal attitudes like this can flourish.

I think what has happened here is almost a definition of the difference between a civilised country and an 'emerging nation'. Although, by the same definition, few Thai people are able to realise that they are a 'third world' country, as they have little or no idea of any other way of life and therefore grow up to believe their country is the tops.

It's a mind-set that's identical to the way that a person who is utterly stupid thinks he's smart - simply because he's too stupid to understand that he's stupid.

There are so many delightful and enjoyable aspects to living in Thailand (and many really lovely people) that one tends to overlook the sharper and less tasteful underbelly - the ignorance, superstition and corruption - and sigh it off as the price you pay for the privilege (!) of being permitted to stay here. It's a 'different way of life', after all.

But when a story like this surfaces you realise that this is a small and arrogant third world country and some of the 'smiles' in the LOS are only on the surface.

My sincerest sympathies to Dog Rescue. It's a hard job and an uphill battle and it's a struggle at the best of times. To have a thing like this happen must be a crushing blow to their morale. I hope they're able to ride it out. Good luck, guys. I'll shortly be making my first donation.

Rob

Edited February 27, 2011 by robsamui

[Gatorade]

Two separate issues here - one being the suffering of the animals.

The second is the arrogant, couldn't-care-less offhand blatant admission of fraud and deception as if it is a normal and acceptable way to do business. Which, of course in this country it is. This is happening in a country where everybody has a motorbike a TV and a mobile phone - even many of the children. The Thai people are so so proud to consider themselves 'first world' and civilised and it speaks volumes about then nature of their flimsy social veneer that simply don't know what this means.

In a civilised country the attitude of this dog-food seller simply would not have, just could not ever have emerged. The open and fraudulent cruelty and criminal intent simply would not have been tolerated. But then, in a country which has a legal system straight out of the middle ages and where none of the authorities are the least bit interested, criminal attitudes like this can flourish.

I think what has happened here is almost a definition of the difference between a civilised country and an 'emerging nation'. Although, by the same definition, few Thai people are able to realise that they are a 'third world' country, as they have little or no idea of any other way of life and therefore grow up to believe their country is the tops.

It's a mind-set that's identical to the way that a person who is utterly stupid thinks he's smart - simply because he's too stupid to understand that he's stupid.

There are so many delightful and enjoyable aspects to living in Thailand (and many really lovely people) that one tends to overlook the sharper and less tasteful underbelly - the ignorance, superstition and corruption - and sigh it off as the price you pay for the privilege (!) of being permitted to stay here. It's a 'different way of life', after all.

But when a story like this surfaces you realise that this is a small and arrogant third world country and some of the 'smiles' in the LOS are only on the surface.

My sincerest sympathies to Dog Rescue. It's a hard job and an uphill battle and it's a struggle at the best of times. To have a thing like this happen must be a crushing blow to their morale. I hope they're able to ride it out. Good luck, guys. I'll shortly be making my first donation.

Rob

Well said Rob!!

As if Brigitte does not have enough work to do. To cope with all this due this greedy bastard must be a nightmare!

I hope that this incident makes the International press and

the person(s) responsible brought into the limelight and held accountable.

I also hope that the Samui papers get involved. It's a story which should be told.

Like you and many others I will try to help with a donation.

It might be useful to know where all the Donation Boxes are sited as I'm sure that there will be plenty of people wishing to help.

Gator

[BigC]

From what I understand, the food was supplied bulk by the manufacturer in Bangkok. I also think that other dog rescue places used the same supplier. Also understand that the same batch was supplied to the police dogs, lucky they didn't need it as yet.

I don't think you can just purchase it from retail outlets.

can u name me PM or on here the name of the manufacture because i have told allot of people and they are shitting themselves cheers

[sbk]

From what I understand, the food was supplied bulk by the manufacturer in Bangkok. I also think that other dog rescue places used the same supplier. Also understand that the same batch was supplied to the police dogs, lucky they didn't need it as yet.

I don't think you can just purchase it from retail outlets.

can u name me PM or on here the name of the manufacture because i have told allot of people and they are shitting themselves cheers

OP is not Dog Rescue, merely posting a letter received from them. Call Samui Dog Rescue and talk to the people there for info.

[surayu]

Can anyone which already got the name of the guilty stuff please share it somehow? thanks

[seekingfriends]

Is it possible to let us know the brand of this dog food?

Matt.

hello . what a terrible story . they are horible people with no consincence. we need to know the company name . and the brand of dog food they produce . james

[surayu]

1250 views of this thread and so far nobody knows the name of this poisoned dog's food.....

[sbk]

Suggest you call Samui dog Rescue yourself and talk to them in person, cheers

[surayu]

Suggest you call Samui dog Rescue yourself and talk to them in person, cheers

Ehhrmm, yes thanks, i was aware of that option, so nobody has given them a call already? i just would be gratefull to get a private message with that info if possible, thanks.

[mudkicker]

Brigitte, I contacted the centre a few months back about volunteering there - I arrive on Samui on Wednesday. I'm also a journalist and will very likely be working at one of the island newspapers once visa etc is sorted. If I can cover this story I will. Obviously I'd need to be careful about naming the firm but I can certainly publicise what happened and ask for donations on your behalf. I won't call in to the centre just yet as you're clearly very busy at the moment, but you can PM me if and when you can. Good luck.

Laura

[mudkicker]

Heh, must read rest of thread before posting...Will email Brigitte direct, although as a poster above said I do hope she has the link to this thread with that lovely and generous offer of legal help.

[Tracer Round]

Roooo:

I don't think you can just purchase it from retail outlets.

But pet shops could and repackage it, right?

What sort of a public forum cannot use the word, "alleged" and tell us the bloody name of the brand? There is no difference in posting the name of the brand in question and posting where you can ask to get the same information. It's aiding and abetting. Assuming there was a crime in the first place.

Come on, spit it out.

[Rooo]

Roooo:

I don't think you can just purchase it from retail outlets.

But pet shops could and repackage it, right?

What sort of a public forum cannot use the word, "alleged" and tell us the bloody name of the brand? There is no difference in posting the name of the brand in question and posting where you can ask to get the same information. It's aiding and abetting. Assuming there was a crime in the first place.

Come on, spit it out.

Who do you want to spit what out? If it is being repackaged, won't be under it's original name.

Secondly if legal proceedings are taking place, this forum is not the place to discuss such matters.

15) Not to use ThaiVisa.com to post any material which is knowingly or can be reasonably construed as false, inaccurate, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of any law. You also agree not to post negative comments criticizing the legal proceedings or judgments of any Thai court of law.

[Rooo]

From what I understand, the food was supplied bulk by the manufacturer in Bangkok. I also think that other dog rescue places used the same supplier. Also understand that the same batch was supplied to the police dogs, lucky they didn't need it as yet.

I don't think you can just purchase it from retail outlets.

Roooo:

I don't think you can just purchase it from retail outlets.

But pet shops could and repackage it, right?

What sort of a public forum cannot use the word, "alleged" and tell us the bloody name of the brand? There is no difference in posting the name of the brand in question and posting where you can ask to get the same information. It's aiding and abetting. Assuming there was a crime in the first place.

Come on, spit it out.

Just to reiterate a bit further. Firstly when you quote someone, try & use the whole quotation & not be selective to make it appear out of context.

If you would have bothered to read the thread in it's entirety, from the full letter from Dog Rescue to the offers of legal help, you would not have made your comments.

Many people have asked what type of food it was & were asked to contact dog rescue for this information.

NO ONE on Thaivisa suppressed or omitted this information, this is just too silly to even contemplate or make such an accusation. I am very sure that if Dog Rescue had any doubt about this product being available RETAIL they would have taken it upon themselves to inform animal lovers on the island. (Again read original letter in the post).

As for the slanderous comment of :

" It's aiding and abetting. Assuming there was a crime in the first place.

Come on, spit it out. "

These are very serious accusations. If you wish to pursue it further, please do so Via PM,

so this matter can be addressed by Thaivisa's legal department.

[sbk]

Roooo:

I don't think you can just purchase it from retail outlets.

But pet shops could and repackage it, right?

What sort of a public forum cannot use the word, "alleged" and tell us the bloody name of the brand? There is no difference in posting the name of the brand in question and posting where you can ask to get the same information. It's aiding and abetting. Assuming there was a crime in the first place.

Come on, spit it out.

Making false and defamatory accusations against mods and Thaivisa will not get you very far. I suggest you drop this line of thought immediately.