S.O.S.

As I have mentioned before, I have two good friends, Sarah and Tracy Grooters, who are traveling through South East Asia and being what they call "professional volunteers." Their most recent work was on the tropical island of Thailand named Ko Samui where Sarah and Tracy helped work at a cat and dog rescue center. At their website, there is a great deal of information about their experiences but to summarize; there were over 300 dogs there, not nearly enough workers, they spent their days washing dogs, scooping poop and caring for animals, many of which have serious injuries or disease.



From their time on Ko Samui, the Grooters sisters have started an exciting project to increase the impact of their time overseas before they return to the United States from "professional volunteering" (which will unfortunately be soon since there is not a great deal of money in professional volunteering!): Sarah and Tracy are trying to save a dog! Below, I've posted some information from their web page. Read to see how you can help or visit Save Our Sappy!! at their website!

SAVE OUR SAPPY!

During our stay on the island of Koh Samui, Thailand, we met an unexpected friend in the market. What we first noticed about Sappy, short for Sapparot (สับปะรด; meaning “pineapple” in Thai), was that he was very skinny. We could see his ribs clearly outlined in his chest and his stomach caved in. Like thousands of dogs here, Sappy has been living as a starving stray, relying on the mercy of tourists. We offered him our dinner, and he slowly ate all our food. We think he hasn’t eaten in a while.


Despite of his sad state, he has the happiest personality of any dog we’ve met! His tail wags when he sees us, and he loves a good petting. After several nights of feeding and hanging out with Sappy, we brought him to the Koh Samui Dog and Cat rescue where he is living with 300 dogs and trying to get bigger and stronger.

Although the workers at the Koh Samui Dog and Cat Rescue are working hard with these unfortunate animals, the overcrowded state means Sappy will be dropped back off at the market within the week to fend for himself.

We can’t let this happen for Happy Sappy! The only way to give Sappy a future is to bring him to the U.S. and we need your help to do it. Purchasing his freedom and plane ticket will total about $1700 USD. The plane ticket alone costs $1200 USD and the rest goes to fees, permits and kennel equipment. Unfortunately we cannot pay this amount on our own… If you would like to help by giving a cash donation for Sappy, you can donate anything at our paypal account email account: saveoursappy@gmail.com or visit http://www.halfwayroundtheworld.com/save-our-sappy to donate.

Thank you!

If you are able to donate, Sappy will be sure to send you a picture, update, and a paw-print thank you card after he arrives in the US.

..what about Brad?

I've dedicated this blog to Sarah and Tracy's efforts in Thailand. I'll working on another blog for later this week to catch you up on life in China. Meanwhile, keep an eye on the thermometer on the right side to see updates on Sappy's progress!

Thanks for reading!