I am a spayed female dog, 2 1/2 years old, weighing 22 lbs/10 kgs, who survived the brutal and illegal southeast Asian dog meat trade over two years ago, in the late summer of 2013. After policemen seized my transport and I was removed from a suffocating crush cage along with many others, I once again lived at the edge of survival for many months, at the government livestock center where I was brought after my rescue.
Overcrowding, disease, lack of sufficient food and medical care – all combined to create an environment almost as perilous as the dog meat market where I would have been sold to a hungry passerby to be tortured to death before being eaten. But I survived both – and came out on the other side with my tail still wagging!
A Good Samaritan halfway around the world saw my photo and looked into my eyes – he sponsored me out of that place in the fall of 2013, which is how I ended up at the wonderful Elfesworld dog sanctuary on an idyllic Thai island. A complete reversal of fortune!
On January 1, 2014, I flew to Elfesworld on Koh Samui (Samui Island), after leaving the shelter in November and driving the long road to Bangkok, where I was treated at Hataimit Clinic for malnourishment and brought back to good health over the course of six weeks.
I live here now – lucky me!! However, although Elfeworld is a lovely place for its fortunate inhabitants, I am not faring well here. And Elfe – mama to all 650 of us – knows that I cannot realize my true potential until I find a home to call my very own.
Elfe describes me as very sweet, lovely, and affectionate. I love all people including children and I generally get along well with other dogs.
Elfe wrote this plea to us recently:
“Chiya is a small girl with a very cute and lovely personality.
She is playful and interacts well with other dogs, but after some time had passed peacefully, a problem developed with keeping her as part of her group of dogs in a large run. I saw her withdrawing into herself, which was not a good sign since we cannot always supervise all the dogs at once. Then the other dogs ganged up and bullied her!
I had to take her out and try her with another group. Again, at first all was fine and she integrated beautifully, playing with the other three dogs and acting completely secure and confident. But then after a few months, we noticed she began keeping to herself again. One evening, the other two girls ganged up on her (the boy did not join, thankfully) – and if I had not happened to be passing by there and able to immediately stop the attack, it could easily have ended badly for poor Chiya!
Since then (over a month ago), she has been living isolated and lonely in a cage! I am too worried to try to out her with another group since other dogs have ganged up on her twice. I am trying to bring her to my house when I can…
…but there are too many to oversee and even in my house, I cannot guarantee her complete safety – so she has mainly been in a cage since these events.
Chiya is so sweet and very pretty. She has lovely and gentle ways of communicating with humans, whom she adores – and I know she will be very loved by a family if she can find one.
She is super friendly with people and seeks attention and love all the time.
She is good with other dogs in general, and could very well be placed in a home with another dog or dogs, since a family situation is much different than our shelter runs.
I send you this appeal with great hopes and prayers for my wonderful Chiya.”
But truly – this is no life for me. I want nothing more than to be with people!
I am so very sad, and my depression is growing due to my confinement.
I miss and crave human affection so. I have no idea what an actual home with my own people would be like, but from what I gather, it is something like a heaven on earth – and it sure sounds like it!
Are you the adoptive angels I am destined to live with forever?
Can you help make my dreams come true?
I fall asleep each night to the sweet vision of a future life with a forever family, though I know it’s dangerous to dream so high…
Thanks for reading my story.
Love, Chiya
