Australia-based travel company The Global Work & Travel Co. is helping to find homes for street dogs in Thailand by flying them internationally to families wishing to adopt a pet.
International adoptions are an innovative idea — this one connects the dots between Thailand’s overpopulation of dogs with people looking to provide a loving home for a dog in countries such as Canada and the US.
Global Work & Travel Co.’s CEO Jürgen Himmelmann says the operation started when one of the company directors vacationed in Thailand and was disturbed by the amount of street dogs living in horrible conditions, often with sickness and injuries.
In conjunction with Hua Hin-based charity Rescue PAWS, Jürgen aims to end Thailand’s pet overpopulation by desexing, vaccinating and de-worming stray animals prior to placing them in a new loving home. Rescue Paws was a program originally set up purely to feed street dogs, but as it became more apparent that the dogs required additional care, they turned their attention to rescue and rehabilitation.
An adoptions coordinator role was implemented and via The Global Work & Travel Co.’s network of contacts and suppliers, an international re-homing program was launched.
“We set up a ‘Flight Volunteer’ program where people who were visiting Thailand from the US, the UK or Canada, could chaperone an adoptable dog on a flight home and meet the dog’s new owner on arrival at the airport,” Jürgen says.
All travel and adoption arrangements are made via Global Work & Travel Co.; to date, they’ve re-housed 259 pets globally and now employ two full-time staff in Canada searching for potential pet owners to adopt a dog from Thailand.
“International volunteers can sign up to help from two weeks to six months: whether they’re vets, vet nurse students or just animal lovers. We’ve had everyone from retired vets to an accountant who just wanted to shake up her average vacation,” Jürgen says.
Travellers not in a position to chaperone dogs can still help make a difference through The Global Work & Travel Co. volunteer program. If you’re interested in becoming a flight volunteer, check out their YouTube video.
About The Global Work & Travel Co.
Founded in 2008, The Global Work & Travel Co. is an international gap year travel company with offices around the world including Canada, Australia and the UK. As a leader in the gap year travel sector in ethical tourism, it serves over 8,000 travellers a year.