Sunday Times 2
Giving every dog its day
When Nelson arrived at the dog sanctuary deep in the Sri Lankan forest in April this year, there was little hope for his future. He was clinging to life after having been hit by a train, had one eye bulging out of its socket and was unable to walk or eat. He also had a suspected brain injury.
Incredibly he was nursed back to health and Nelson lives happily, walking and running around – although the brain injury has left him a little unsteady on his feet.
Saved: Nelson the stray dog in the safe hands of Kim Cooling, a former social worker, at the dog sanctuary in Ahangama, south Sri Lanka
That Nelson’s change in his fortunes is thanks to the efforts of Kim Coolidge, a former social worker from Woodford in Essex, who has ploughed thousands of pounds of her own money – as well as donations from generous Daily Mail readers – into helping stray dogs.
We first told the heart-warming story of how Kim Cooling and her husband Gareth, a roofer, fell in love with Rama, a street dog they met while on holiday in Thailand and ended up bringing back home to the UK, 13 years ago.That first meeting with Rama remains as vivid to 55-year-old Kim today as the day it happened.
‘When I first spotted Rama, I was sitting in Patong, a bustling area of the Thai island Phuket, drinking a cup of coffee,’ recalls Kim. ‘I suddenly saw an emaciated, fawn-coloured stray dog weaving through the crowds of stall-holders and tourists.
‘She was in a sorry state, emaciated, covered in sores, her ears flat back with fear, desperately searching for food and trying to dodge the firecrackers boys were throwing at her.’
Kim, a dog lover who carried tins of pilchards in her handbag to give to stray dogs, raced after Rama and offered her some food.
It was the beginning of what can only be described as a love affair, with Rama, spending day after day with the couple, sleeping under a deckchair on the beach outside their hotel overnight and bounding over to them in excitement every morning.
With rumours abounding that all dogs on the beach were due to be poisoned as part of a cull, Kim, then a social worker, took it upon herself to bring Rama back to the UK.
In all, it cost her over £5,000 and took eight months, but it was an effort that Kim felt from the outset had been worth it.
‘Rama was a wonderful, loyal, loving and happy pet,’ says Kim. ‘And ultimately, that effort changed the course of my life. As I watched Rama blossom, I found myself thinking about stray dogs and their plight more and more. The more she flourished, the more I wanted to help other stray dogs.
By 2006, Kim had rescued three more dogs from Sri Lanka, at a cost of over £10,000, and two from local dog shelters.
Sadly, in 2009 Rama died at the age of 13 following a brief battle with an aggressive form of lymphoma.
It made Kim even more determined to help other strays on the Asian island. Two years before, she and her friend Morag had made their efforts official by launching a charity named Animal SOS Sri Lanka.
By the time of Rama’s death, Kim had raised £20,000 through fundraising events in the UK – enough to buy a plot of land in the Sri Lankan rainforest and construct a basic building.
Kim recalls: ‘I used to say “We need land where the dogs can live out their days” or “We need a clinic and a vet who works for us”. Those ideas gradually became my vision and always I’d keep Rama in my mind as an example of just how much of a difference we’d be able to make.
‘Getting started was a struggle. As well as red tape and cultural differences, the land we bought was in the middle of nowhere, with no water supply or electricity, and we’d had to clear it and build a small basic house, with a clinic downstairs, from scratch.’
But by July 2009, just a month after Rama’s death, the first building was complete and the Animal SOS Sri Lanka became operational.
Today, Animal SOS Sri Lanka employs ten people, including a British manager and a full time vet at a cost of up to £10,000 per month, all funded by Kim’s constant efforts to raise money. Incredibly, until last May, she still worked full time as a social worker.
They have become known in the area and locals leave stray, sick and injured dogs at their gates.She says: ‘I’d work all day then come home and sit up most of the night working on Animal SOS Sri Lanka.
My whole life has changed beyond recognition. The effort has aged me and I often lie at night worrying. ‘
Yet, says Kim, it all feels worthwhile because she can see she is achieving her vision inspired by Rama of giving other street dogs the same chance at life as she had. Today, the charity looks after 420 dogs and has treated over 4,000.
‘Some are rehomed, but we have a “no kill” policy so many end up living out their days at the sanctuary,’ says Kim. ‘We have dogs arriving all the time and sometimes get several litters of puppies dumped a day. We give every dog a chance, no matter how shocking the state they are in.’
‘Many have been mowed down on the roads and come in with broken backs or their limbs hanging off. But what is incredible is that these dogs do understand what you are doing for them.
‘I’ve seen dogs with horrific injuries, almost dead, begin to wag their tails once they realise they are, for once in their lives, about to get some help. And look at Rama. She would often sit and gaze at me adoringly for hours, even in the final stages of her life. She never forgot what we did for her.’
The charity also does outreach work, going into communities and sterilising dogs and vaccinating them against rabies, and also attempts to educate locals to stop dogs having so many litters.Whilst this is a huge achievement, Kim says her dream is not complete yet.
She’d like to see her charity have other bases across Sri Lanka and says she’s still woefully short of funds and basic equipment such as an X-ray machine. And of course, says Kim, at the heart of all her efforts remains the emaciated street dog from which her vision was born.
‘Rama was a wonderful animal until the day she died, and I still miss her today,’ she says. ‘But this is her legacy. I just hope that wherever she is, she is able to look down and understand how that chance meeting in Phuket 13 years ago has now changed the course of the lives of hundreds of other stray dogs, and will continue to do so for years to come.’
To support Kim’s work, become a volunteer or make a donation, visit www.animalsos-sl.com
© Daily Mail, London
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