Hua Hin Dog Centre Needs Improvement

The Bureau of the Royal Household is an agency of the Monarchy of Thailand and King Bhumibol Adulyadej. In addition to a range of administrative and ceremonial responsibilities, the Bureau also serves as a direct conduit for the King's philanthropy.

The Mayor of Hua Hin Mr. Nopporn Wutthikul, said that the Deputy Secretary-General of the Bureau, Mr. Dissathorn Watcharothai called for a meeting with concerned organisations and asked for urgent improvements to the Centre.

The Hua Hin Municipality will undertake renovations to the Centre’s interior and exterior and repair the fencing inside the Centre and to the gardens. Army personnel will repair the perimeter fencing to prevent dogs from escaping, the Royal Irrigation Department will repair water systems and drainage and the Animal Hospital of Thailand will carry out medical check-ups, sterilisations and implant microchips for all the dogs.

Funding will be the responsibility of each organisation. However there is also there is also a budget from the Khun Thong Daeng Central Fund if required. His Majesty the King recently donated more than 140,000 THB to this fund. The work is scheduled for completion by May 2014, prior to the Royal visit. The Centre will then serve as a model for other administration offices in Thailand for establishing care centres to systematically take care of stray dogs.

Thong Daeng, a female copper-coloured dog, is one of the pets owned by King Bhumibol and was adopted in 1998 from the litter of a stray dog. Her name means "copper" in Thai.

Mr. Nopporn said that the Dog Care Centre at Wat Iti Sukhato was opened in 2003 under a royal initiative of His Majesty the King to take care of stray dogs in Hua Hin. Despite an ongoing budget from the government and the Khun Thong Daeng Central Fund, there have been some problems with the management of the Centre. The Mayor of Hua Hin will now address these issues.

There are about 1,800 dogs at the Centre under the care of 17 staffs. Sixteen sacks of dog biscuit worth around 9,000 Baht are consumed daily. During the 11 years since it was established, the Centre has suffered from a lack of maintenance and an increasing number of dogs being cared for.

The Animal Hospital of Kasetsart University in Hua Hin is opening a special clinic in the afternoon on Monday and Wednesday. The clinic, offering water therapy to strengthen dogs' joints and muscle and help sick dogs, will provide services as cheap as 100 Baht from qualified veterinarians.

The issue of stray dogs is a frequently discussed concern to residents and visitors to Cha-Am. Injury because of motorcycle accidents caused by roaming dogs and dog bites requiring rabies treatment are considered by many to be in urgent need of attention.

-- Hua Hin Today 2014-03-03