Scaled-down dog pound gets go-ahead

THALANG: The four-rai mega-pound for stray dogs at the Bang Kanoon forestry plantation in Thalang has been approved, Sunart Wongchawalit, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO), told the Gazette today. Construction will start soon and the pound, which will cost about 2 million baht to build, is expected to open in November, he said. “[The site] is far away from any neighborhood, so there is no need for anyone to worry about being annoyed by barking dogs,” K. Sunart said. The pound will initially be able to accommodate about 1,000 dogs, which will all be sterilized. Dogs will receive regular health checks and treatment from a vet and aggressive dogs will be kept isolated from the rest. The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization will provide funds for the operating budget, while the running of the pound will be overseen by the Governor CEO’s office, with the PPLO and local pet and dog clubs lending a hand. K. Sunart said that dogs kept at the pound will be trained so that they might be chosen as pets and eventually find new homes with loving owners. In June, the pound project came under fire from Phuket-based dog welfare group Dogs in Distress in Thailand, with founder Linda Wells saying that the plan would prove too expensive and was unworkable. The proposed capacity of the pound at the time was 11,500 dogs.