Large push to eliminate fleas and ticks at the Tiger Cave Temple
Fleas and ticks as well as other parasites are a very big problem for dogs and cats all around the world. This is especially true in a place like Thailand where the weather is warm or even blisteringly hot all the time. The humidity contributes to this environment being absolutely perfect for parasites to spread and even thrive on animals, especially those without real homes. This is more true with dogs than with cats because dogs are pack animals and will gather together even if one or more of them is infested. Ticks aren't all that harmful on their own, but they can lead to wounds that can become infected and this is a big problem particularly if the dog cannot reach the area in order to clean it.
Bravecto is just one of many brand names that involves fluralaner which is an ingredient that kills parasites and prevents re-infestation for up to 4 months. In Thailand this product is very affordable but for an organization like ours that is always stretched so thin with our budget, we can't afford as much of it as we would like. So this donation from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous was so wonderful to receive.
We are not sponsored by Bravecto (I wish we were!) so this isn't an advertisement for them in any way. Honestly, there isn't much difference between any of these products but Bravecto is just the one that is most readily available here in Krabi, Thailand.
What makes this product so great is that most dogs are happy as can be to simply eat the medicine because they have engineered it so that it is a treat of sorts. The dogs that are a bit more fussy about what they eat can be convinced to swallow it with a bit of peanut butter or chicken broth.
There are more than 50 stray dogs that reside at the Tiger Cave Temple, and the location is a bit of a pet project for us because even since we got involved at this temple, the quality of life for all the animals here, even the native monkeys, have improved since we took the project on.
Fighting parasites is a tough thing to do because it is a battle that you can't ever truly win. By treating all of the dogs at the same time though, this gives us 3-4 month window of opportunity to evaluate other potential issues with the dogs and cats that live there. The real issue was ensuring that we didn't accidentally dose any of the dogs twice. This was solved with a can of water soluble "paint" that is actually an antiseptic that is commonly used on minor wounds for dogs, cats, and even people in Thailand.
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It didn't occur to me to take a photo of all the purple dogs when we were doing this, because it was a very busy day. It can be quite complicated to give each animal just one treat without there being some sort of competition between the males, and then of course we have the stubborn ones that don't really want to eat it.
It isn't massively dangerous if a dog ends up with more than one dose. We weren't afraid of overdose, we were afraid of accidentally wasting our limited supplies. It was a pretty effective and cute process though, if the dog was already purple, that meant that they already had their medicine.
This marks the first time ever that we have been able to treat every single animal at the same time anywhere, so it is a pretty special day for our organization.
This is a temporary "fix" though, we are aware of this. While it would be possible at a private residence to completely eliminate fleas and ticks as well as prevent their reintroduction, there are hundreds of monkey at that also live at this temple and there is no way you would ever be able to treat all of them. While I wouldn't exactly call the monkeys and dogs pals, they do wander among one another and after the 3-4 months, the monkeys will end up re-introducing fleas and ticks to the dog pack.
This is fine and normal, but this mass treatment gives us a chance to really get the situation under control and make sure that it stays that way as long as we pay attention. The monks are instrumental in helping us with this because they live there and we do not. They have been very helpful as far as letting us know about any problems.
All of our fur-friends will be a lot less itchy this rainy season, and that makes everyone happy.
If you would like to see how you can help out or simply spread the word, please visit our website at
http://krabianimalwelfare.org
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