What to do when a sick dog refuses to be helped?

Well first off unless you know the dog you shouldn't try to do it yourself. Sick dogs are more likely to lash out and harm anything that gets near them.

A problem that even we regularly face with dogs that are sick or injured is that they are very untrusting of humans. This is understandable because many of these dogs have never been shown much compassion by people and see all humans as a threat. This happens in rural areas where a dog who is simply looking for something to eat will tip over trash cans or tear open trash bags to get something to put in their bellies. They are just hungry, they aren't trying to make a mess but what else are they supposed to do. The notion of "never feed a stray or it will stay" is alive and well in the country areas, and because of the high Muslim population many of the people are forbidden by their religion to so much as keep these animals around. I could be a bit wrong about this but I do know Muslim people here and they have said there are certain rules about how they can handle a dog and mostly they are not supposed to and therefore they keep them away if possible.

In these areas when someone does alert us to a dog that needs our help we sometimes suspect that they are trying to encourage us to get it out of there before it is poisoned perhaps even by the person that is calling us. It is our duty, regardless, to handle these situations but when we arrive it can prove to be a rather time-consuming process to simply get near the dog.

This dog has no name. It has no home. But we were able to tell from afar that it has a leg-injury as well as some skin problems that are only going to get much worse if untreated. We are not terribly familiar with this particular area but we couldn't detect any sort of pack around. Normally when you approach one dog that is part of a pack the rest of the pack will at least bark at us when we approach one of their members. I think that this female is living alone and that is just kind of sad.

We first put some wonderful treats in the cage and kept our distance but the dog could sense that something was awry. We were patient though and eventually she went in to the cage but didn't stay inside to eat it, which is normal. This is a natural instinct of any dog and if you have one at home you have probably noticed how they will take a piece of food to a certain part of the room that they consider to be their "safe space" before eating it. I know my own dogs are like this despite the fact that I have never given them food only to take it away from them later.

So when this girl took the chicken she immediately ran off with it and we had to resort to other tactics of capture. We snuck up behind her while she was eating and had to "net" her.

Obviously dogs do not like this and do not understand that this is for their own good that you are doing this. After this we transported her to the crate and gave her the chicken inside the kennel as well as some other snacks. She eventually calmed down like most dogs will but we still needed to be careful.

Even though my intentions are good she was still apprehensive to allow me to approach her. I want to once again warn everyone out there that sees stray dogs or even dogs that are owned by someone else: You should always treat every dog that is not your own as if it can and will bite you. Dogs are easily spooked, especially strays and they will lash out at things they do not understand. When we are handing this dog initially, we wore protective clothing and bite-proof long gloves. Once at the veterinarian where she will receive care the dog is placed in a kennel and sedated before she is treated. This is honestly the only way that this can safely be done for both the dog, us, and the veterinarian. We are there to help her but if we touch her wounded leg her immediate reaction is going to be to defend herself and that means taking a piece of your flesh away with her very powerful jaws.

In the next few days we will assess the injury, sterilizer her, treat her for parasites and then try to communicate with the people in the area about if someone will agree to feed her with food that we provide to them for free. We do understand that not everyone has the financial means to look after a dog, but all we are asking is that they put a bowl that we give them outside, with food that we give them, once a day. In most situations the family or individual that is charged with this quickly develops a bond with the dog in question and everyone's life is changed for the better. We can only hope that this is what will happen this time.

---

if you would like to see how you can help out or simply spread the word, please visit our website at

http://krabianimalwelfare.org

_{Krabi Animal Welfare is a charity run entirely by volunteers and are a registered non-profit organization in Thailand and the U.K.. We aim to relieve the pain and suffering of dogs and cats within Krabi Province.}

เป็นผู้สนับสนุนรายเดือนหรือบริจาคครั้งเดียวได้ที่:

http://krabianimalwelfare.org

---

---