Part V: The road to recovery!

And the results are in....

My most important check up had finally arrived and there were a few questions on everyone's mind:  have I successfully gained weight? have I overcome my anemia? and was I finally on the road to recovery with my blood parasite? We had to wait half an hour for my blood sample to be ready and then the results were in........ 

I have successfully put on 0.50 kg since I was first rescued over 3 weeks ago, a very impressive and healthy gain! I have also completely overcome my anemia and my blood levels are finally looking normal! As expected, I am still fighting the blood parasite as full recovery requires 6 weeks worth of medication but I am definitely bouncing back and showing that parasite who is boss!

It is not only my health on the inside that is improving, my coat is becoming thicker, softer and shinier (I could give the Loreal hair models a run for their money!) and my skin is itching less so I don't bite my tail as much! All in all I am starting to look like a beautiful healthy pup! 

Mischievous Molly 

I have had lots more energy this week and I even barked (if you can call it that) for the first time when I was chasing a stick around the garden, I am finally getting more vocal! One day we decided to chill by the hotel pool after having a long walk. Jade and Cass thought I would probably be quite tired after running about and want to rest, but they couldn't have been more wrong! Jade was in the pool and I sat with Cass on the edge. The trouble was that Jade looked like she was having far too much fun without me so I decided to jump in the pool to join in! Apparently I wasn't meant to do that but I don't regret it as now I know how fun water can be!  

I also keep hiding under the bed to secretly chew the TV wires but like my attempts at stealing clothes and shoes, I always get caught! I have decided to stick to stealing socks for now as I have mastered the art of not getting caught so easily!

The next step 

Since finding out that I will be staying with Nienke at Lucky Dogs we have been visiting her more often so that I can get used to everyone. I am slowly gaining my confidence with the other dogs that I will be living with such as Pai and Munkey, but my favourite friend is Lucky! Lucky is Nienke's pet pug and she is very nice, I always want to say hello to her and I am even brave enough to try to play! I will be staying with Lucky Dogs for about 5 months so I can get ready to fly to the UK next April to finally meet my new family! I am very lucky to have found my forever home with Nicky and her family in England and I can't wait to meet them but there are other dogs here that aren't quite as lucky. My good friend Pai is still waiting for somebody to give her a forever home and she has been let down many times before. Pai is one of the sweetest dogs I have met and she really does deserve a happy ending. If anyone would like more information about this amazing dog please click here or contact 'Lucky Dogs'.

Lets help Pai find a new home!

If you are interested in Charley's story please visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/charleythestreetpup

"Care for Dogs" and "Lucky Dogs" both do amazing work for dogs across Thailand! Please visit their Facebook pages and see the great work they are doing! 

Part IV: Making new friends

"Fun & Games"

This week I have been very busy, meeting people, being cheeky and just loving puppyhood! Every day I am feeling more and more energetic and I love playing! I think Jade and Cass have noticed my increase in energy as we started hanging out at the park more often. Once we went there with Kam and John, a very nice couple who thought I was very sweet and took lots of lovely pictures of me. Another night I got to meet Nico at my favourite restaurant, he also thought I was sweet and even sat next to me! I like the park and I love socialising but I am always on my best behaviour when we are out and about, I save my cheekyness for when we are home! 

         

 Playing in the garden is my favorite part of the day where I get to play tug of war with a bush (I'm still yet to win!).  Running away with Cass' trousers or Jade's socks is also a great game but I somehow always get caught before I can make it out the door. My other home habits include looking into my neighbour's rooms when I am not always welcome, chewing shoes, chasing Cass, keeping Jade and Cass up all night when I am not tired! I also enjoy running off with things that I shouldn't have like my medicine pots, Jade's glasses and the aircon remote control. I do have lots of toys but where is the fun in only playing with things you are allowed to! 


"My new home in the UK"

This week hasn't just been about fun and games, it appears all my hard work in writing this blog has paid off! I am a very lucky pup and am happy to announce that I have a wonderful family waiting for me in England! Nicky contacted Jade and Cass to say that she read about my story and wanted to give me a nice loving home for when I make the trip over to the UK. Nicky, her husband Rob and their little girl Zoie were looking for a friend for their dog Buster when they came across my blog. Nicky fell in love with my story and wanted to help me, Jade and Cass couldn't have asked for a better family home for me to become part of! I cannot wait to meet my new family. They also have two other dogs in the pack called Max and Charlie who I am excited to have play dates with! As there is already a Charlie, I have been given the lovely new name of 'Molly' which I really like!

"More good news"

Although I have a home waiting for me, I am unable to travel for a few months as I need certain injections and health checks before I can fly! Jade and Cass have been looking everywhere for the perfect inbetween home for me. They contacted dog shelters, charities, Expat groups and an organisation called 'Care for Dogs' who look after neglected and ill dogs. Unfortunately they couldn't have me but they were extremely helpful and suggested  'Lucky Dogs'. 'Lucky Dogs' is owned by Nienke who looks after neglected dogs and dogs like me who are flying to their forever home. I went to visit her yesterday, she was lovely and gave me cuddles! I also met the other dogs I will be living with; Lucky, a very playful pug and Munkey, a lovely and timid Thai dog. The dogs were both very nice to me, they really wanted to play but gave me space to adjust! We will be visiting them every week until I move in with Nienke and begin the process for getting home to my family in the UK! 

There is still a lot that needs to be sorted and I will still need an operation on my bad legs when I fly back to the UK. My health is still improving day to day and I can't believe how lucky I am to be getting a new loving home, which makes all the hard times worth it! 



If you are interested in Charley's story please visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/charleythestreetpup

"Care for Dogs" and "Lucky Dogs" both do amazing work for dogs across Thailand! Please visit their Facebook pages and see the great work they are doing! 

Part III: Life in Chaing Mai

"Puppy life"

After my first ordeal at the vets it was time to rest and settle into life in Chaing Mai. During the first week I still needed lots of sleep to help me get better but when I was awake I made sure everybody knew about it! I started to enjoy chewing things, well anything from socks to buttons to fingers to shoe laces and I enjoyed being cheeky and hiding in the grass from Jade and Cass! I started going into the garden more regularly and even though I can't walk properly I started to pick up a bit more speed when I hobbled after Cass!

 

I also got to meet lots of people in Chaing Mai, the first being a student vet called Pascal. He was friends with Jade and Cass and he was really friendly towards me! He observed and examined me and said I was very small and weak but also a cute little fighter, he was also concerned about my leg and thought that I may have fragments of broken bone by the break. Luckily I have an x-ray booked later in the week!

The second lot of people I met were two American's called Robbie and Will, we had dinner a few times together in my favourite restaurant 'Mamory Delicious' where I am a local and always receive lots of attention! Even the boys noticed a difference in me, as the week went on I became more and more playful, we even went to the local park! One day I took a wrapped chocolate bar out of Jade's pocket and ran off with it! 

Even though I was feeling a lot better I was still weak and couldn't stay out for too long without getting very tired and needing my bed!

"The vet check up"

After a week of rest I had my vet check up! The first thing they wanted to do was a blood test to check my levels. The results showed lots of good news! My anemia had improved, I was only slightly under the expected levels and my platelet levels had returned to normal! I still have the blood parasite but with more treatment that should go within the next month! Another positive result was my weight gain which went up from 1.7kg to just over 2kg in less then a week! I then needed an x-ray of my legs.

The x-ray results revealed a lot for Jade and Cass. It showed that both my back legs were broken. The vet said I had been hit by something on one side, causing that leg to break and then I must have fallen the other way with force causing the other leg to not only break but the bone to fragment into lots of pieces (Pascal was right!). 

The vet couldn't actually do anything to help my legs as not only I am too little and not strong enough for an operation, my bones haven't calcified yet, making them too weak to operate on just yet. I was going to have a support bandage but the position of the break makes it too tricky. 

The vet then observed me walking, they were actually quite happy that I was able to get around and that the break didn't seem to cause me much pain or discomfort so they advised Jade and Cass to let me rest and gave them some more calcium treatment, joint supplements, an anti-inflammatory and pain killers. 

I was very nervous throughout my time at the vets so Jade and Cass gave me lots of cuddles!

The vet said that as long as I seem happy, can get around and don't seem in pain then I will be fine without an operation. Luckily I am very happy and I can get around! 

If you are interested in Charley's story please visit my Facebook page at 

www.facebook.com/charleythestreetpup

For Part IV of Charleys story please visit her new blog!

Part II: Pai to Chiang Mai

"Journey to Chaing Mai"

After spending two days being looked after by Jade and Cass in Pai we were on the move! We needed to get to the nearest main city which in this case was Chiang Mai so that I could be taken to a bigger vets. The journey down from the mountain village was full of twists and turns and all the motion made me sick over jade who was carrying me. Eventually though we made it to the city where we checked into a nice dog friendly hotel. It was nice to be out of the van and better still the hotel had a large patch of grass! I soon discovered how fun it was to roll around in the grass! I hobbled around with Cass until it was time to go to the vets.

"Animal Hospital"

I really didn't enjoy my time at the vets! As soon as we arrived I was taken into a private room full of people who were assessing how bad my condition was. The first thing that everybody noticed was how many ticks I still had in my fur, inbetween my paws, and in my ears. I had 3-4 people taking these ticks off of me and i was given more treatment to make sure they stayed off. Because of these nasty ticks living off of my body I had to have a blood test to check for blood parasites. I did not like the blood test one bit, it took the vets a while to find a suitable area on my body to obtain blood from, it appeared that my blood levels may be quite low. The results showed that I was in fact suffering from a blood parasite but it also showed that i was anemic and lacked platelets in my blood. I needed treatment for the parasite immediately and if i was left in Pai it would have killed me.

 The vets also had a look at my legs and said that  because I was so malnourished my bones had not hardened as much as they should which coupled with my bad leg meant that my hind legs were not supporting themselves properly, also my bones hadn't healed properly from the bike accident. However, because i had already been through enough they decided to leave the x-ray until my next appointment and let me rest. Jade and Cass were given my parasite antibiotic, a blood supplement, specialised food and immune system support for me and then we were finally able to go home to Chiang Mai to rest and recover! 

To read about the next stage of my story please visit Part III of my blog

If you are interested in Charley's story please visit my Facebook page at 

www.facebook.com/charleythestreetpup

Part I: My early days in Pai!

Hi, my name is Charley! 

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I am hoping that my story will raise awareness for dogs everywhere in Thailand and encourage people to help in anyway they can! 

"Life in Pai"

I am 8 weeks old and come from a town in northern Thailand called Pai. I grew up in a outdoor market on a busy road sleeping under tables and living off of scraps left by tourists. I was the runt of the litter and am half the size of my two brothers. I barely got a look in when it came to feeding time and they were much stronger than me so I was pushed around a lot. I ended up getting very ill because I did not have enough to eat and was scared of being hurt after my leg was broken in a motorbike accident. Due to my bad leg, weak bones and ingrowing claws I found it very tricky to walk so I would spend my time sitting or laying down.  I  also didn't have enough energy to clean myself so had a lot of ticks and flees nested all over my tiny body.

 I was in a very bad way and needed help desperately! 

"My humans"

One day I met Jade and Cass, they came across me and my brothers in the market. They saw how ill I had become and stayed with me, feeding me individually so that my brothers could not steal my food. I think they must have liked me because they came back the next day to see me and feed me again.  The next morning they took me back to their hotel to take care of me. Jade let me sit on her lap and sleep for hours whilst she removed hundreds of ticks from all over me, including inbetween my paws . I was given a nice bath and was also taken to a local vet who cut my long nails, gave me some tick treatment and also some calcium tablets to help my weak bones!
I was so happy to be looked after by Jade and Cass!

   

Carry on reading about Charley's adventures in Part II 

If you are interested in Charley's story and would like regular updates please visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/charleythestreetpup