Koh Tao Animal Clinic

Welcome to Noistar Thai Animal Rescue Foundation
The Foundation takes its name from two dogs - Noi & Star rescued from the island of Koh Tao, Thailand. In 2002 the Foundation helped to fund a temporary clinic on the island, run by veterinarian Beata Chodakowska.

In July 2004 we opened the first permanent vet clinic on the island and have to date treated over 5,000 animals. On Koh Tao there is no RSPC, no PDSA, no animal's shelters, no sanctuaries, and before our clinic virtually no medical care of any kind for the animal population. Ravaged by mange, hungry and often abused, many of them didn't survive. With your help we are changing this.

For up to date details of our activities please see Latest News and Newsletters.


Sponsor an Animal

Every month we are going to feature one animal who we would like you to sponsor. As this will be our first one we felt it would be appropriate for the chosen animal to be Zelda.
We have been looking after Zelda since February 2005 when she came into the clinic in a terrible state.
Now, over three years later we continue to treat her and she lives happily on Sairee beach where a local restaurant worker, Som, keeps an eye on her. Zelda's story shows the Foundation's commitment not only to excellent acute care but also ongoing medical treatment for the animals of Koh Tao irrespective of cost.

Please make a donation to sponsor Zelda and help us to keep her in great condition!

The first fifteen sponsors will have their picture posted in our Sponsor's Gallery so please if you make a donation for Zelda email a photo to jayne@kohtaoanimalclinic.org

Please Help us Help
Please help us to help the animals on Koh Tao!
Five pounds can make a lot of difference. It can pay for one dog or cat to be neutered, treat 3 animals with skin problems such as mange, ticks etc. which are excrutiating for the animal but easy to cure.

A monthly donation of five pounds for 12 months would pay for specialized surgery on one animal - bone repair or emergency surgery after trauma. We will send you quarterly newsletter telling you about the work of the clinic so please, if you do donate make sure to tell us so we can add you to the mailing list.

You can also help us through Sponsoring an Animal or you can:

make a one off or regular donation directly to:
Noistar Thai Animal Rescue Foundation
Lloyds Bank, 58 Queens Road
Clifton, Bristol BS8 1RQ

United Kingdom

Sort code: 30 92 13
Account number: 03343954.
IBAN: GB60 LOYD 3092 1303 3439 54

send a cheque payable to Noistar Rescue to:
Jayne Chard
Noistar Thai Animal Rescue Foundation
Stable House, 1A Westfield Place
Clifton, Bristol BS8 4AY
United Kingdom

Any amount is greatly appreciated!
Thank you for helping us help!

Our story
Noi & Star's story in brief
In April 2001 myself, my friend Miranda and her eight year old son Jordan visited Koh Tao. On our second day we met a black disabled puppy that we later called Noi - which is Thai for little one. She had been rejected by the pack because she had weak back legs and a clubfoot, she was starving and infected by maggots. We fed her up and managed to enlist the help of the pharmacist to procure some anti-biotics from the nearby Koh Samui island. After I jabbed her she ran off and we didn't see her for three days. We thought she was dead.

One evening when we were walking along the beach in the sunset she appeared from nowhere. At first we weren't sure if it was the same dog because she looked so much better. She followed us around faithfully from then on and spent the nights on our balcony. By now we were completely hooked and wanted to take her home with us but it seemed impossible. We would have to leave her behind.

When we came back to the UK we couldn't stop thinking about Noi. I discovered that there was a Dog Rescue Centre on the nearby Koh Samui island and we made contact with Bridget and her husband Verna who run the centre. After another month of deliberation we decided that the only thing to do was to go back and get Noi. Miranda can speak Thai so to keep costs down we decided that Miranda and Jordan should go to Koh Tao and I would co-ordinate things from the UK.

When they arrived on the island they took the photo we had taken of Jordan and Noi around to the different restaurants but no one had seen her.

There were a few heart stopping days when we thought she was dead. Then she suddenly turned up but she was in a pretty bad state. She was sicker than before and was covered in mange and wouldn't eat. Over the next few they fed her up and gave her some anti bioitics and Vitamin C. But now there was another problem.

Whilst they were looking for Noi another outcast had attached himself to them. Like Noi he was an Indian Pia puppy and also like her he was the bottom of the pack and in a pretty bad state. He had a perfect star on his chest so there was no problem in giving him a name - Star. Since they'd first met Star someone had thrown stones at him and he was now hobbling painfully on three legs. They decided that they would take him with them to the vet at the dog's home in Koh Samui, fix him up and return him to the island.

The only way from Koh Tao to Koh Samui is by speedboat and it's a pretty rocky journey. For Miranda the journey by jeep to the jetty and then the crossing to Koh Samui with two dogs, a kid and luggage was a challenge particularly as the dogs wouldn't walk on leads and had to be carried. But probably most challenging of all was the continual vomiting of little Star on the speed boat that reached such a pitch that she wanted to throw him overboard!

Arriving at Koh Samui they were met by the motorbike and sidecar from the dogs home. The dogs were loaded up and Star howled all the way the rescue centre. They had to go between two different vets to get the dogs injected, get their vaccinations and get Star's leg fixed and then take them back to the rescue centre. By the time they arrived at their hotel they were exhausted. They stayed on Koh Samui for the next few days visiting Noi and Star and generally helping out at the rescue centre. By now they had another dilemma. Star was really attached to them how could they take him back to the life of a beach dog where anything might happen? After much soul searching they decided to bring Star home. Back in the UK I frantically sorted out the import license and alerted the quarantine kennels that we were now bringing two dogs back!

To prepare for the next leg of the journey - the flight from Koh Samui to Bangkok, the airline had insisted that the dogs be sedated until they were asleep. The quarantine kennel here in the UK had expressly said not to sedate them because of the danger of hypothermia. A double dose of tranquilliser was administered to Noi because the first one didn't seem to work.

When they arrived at Bangkok the dogs, in their sky kennels, were actually sent out on the conveyor belt with the luggage!!! Miranda went off to sort out some documentation and whilst she was away Jordan, thinking that Noi didn't look too good, put his hand into the cage and in her drugged state Noi bit him and wouldn't let go. He started screaming. It took a security guard to prise her off. Miranda came back to find Jordan in tears and blood all over the floor. She had to bundle the two dogs, still in their cages, Jordan and the luggage off to the nearby private hospital where Jordan had to have rabies and a tetanus injection and get his wound cleaned and his arm bandaged. They dropped the dogs off with Tordis - the contact in Bangkok that Bridget from the rescue centre had arranged and dragged themselves off to their hotel.

At nine o'clock the next morning Tordis rang the hotel. There was a problem. The excessive dose of the tranquilliser may have caused Noi to go blind. Miranda and Jordan rushed to Tordis's. Things didn't look good but fortunately after a few days Noi's sight began to return and she is now fully recovered.

On their return to the UK there followed six long months in quarantine from which they were released in February 2002. I trained them over the last year and have successfully re-homed Star with a lovely couple Kath and Richard. Noi lives with me an my original dog Ruby.

Our experience of the great suffering of the animals of Koh Tao has led Miranda and myself to form the Noistar Thai Animal Rescue Foundation. We believe the only way to solve the problem is to set up a permanent vet clinic facilitating a neutering and nurturing programme. We hope you will support us in our efforts.

Jayne Chard

The clinic's own story
Now that you have read the story about the "founding four legged members" that were behind the beginning of the foundation and the “Noistar” name, here are a few more of the clinic’s own special residents – both past and present.

At the beginning of 2005, Melissa Lintern , a talented artist offered to paint the outside wall by the entrance to the Koh Tao clinic for free, as a her way of contributing to the clinic and showing her love for the animals.

The first subjects of the wall mural were not hard to find, of course the clinic logo which was designed by Eline De Neuborg’s brother and the official Noistar charity logo which was designed by Ekapon of Air Design/Graphics and Noi & Star, the clinics name stakes would be featured to welcome all to the clinic.

But what or who else? Well as the discussion was taking place Kit Kat wondered in and was being very sweet to a very sad and sore Benny lying in the corner, both being closely watched from above by the hardcore Claws growling and complaining away in his rattling tin voice…

It was such a funny site when he jumped down, stopped his moaning and decided to join in, which in turn had Kit Kat and Benny quickly scattering away, as they, along with most animals that came into the clinic, were petrified of this old scrawny cat. Thus we all agreed to imortalise the clinic pets together and that they would be the additional stars o go on the wall.

Claws was one of those cats who wouldn’t take grief from no-one. When first brought in he was in a really bad way, kidney problems, bad skin, infected wounds and practically starving. No-one believed his odds of survival were very high, but treated him the best they could anyway. He responded really well and the more attention and food he got the stronger and faster he healed and the more affectionate he became, following people around the clinic whilst demanding a taste of whatever was being eaten. Then, about a week after his arrival, he started purring for the first time - it was a deep loud rattling and croaking purr, which grew louder and louder and had everyone laughing and waiting their turn to make him purr away. Nobody had ever heard anything like it! He became very vocal as time passed about everything and anything.

Soon after his recovery in the clinic, he decided to stake his claim to this new territory, despite bigger dogs being there already. Claws became part of the clinic’s ever extending family of really amazing animal characters that had been taken in by the clinic - despite the strict policy of either trying to re-home or returning them to their previous territory, as the clinic is a charity not a rescue home.

Noistar's objectives
The objectives & long term plans for the Koh Tao Animal Clinic;

We can only succeed with the support of animal lovers around the world. We ask for your help in achieving the following objectives:
1. to establish a permanent vet clinic on the island of Koh Tao.
2. to introduce a neutering programme to bring the animal population under control.
3. to introduce a vaccination programme including mange and flea control to maintain a healthy animal population.
4. to introduce an education programme for visitors to the island to reduce causal feeding of the animals by tourists and encourage support of a properly managed programme through the vet clinic.
5. to introduce an education programme for the islanders in good animal management.

Original start up proposal

Phase one 0-6 Months
1. establishment of permanent base for vet clinic run by veterinarian nurse/administrator and one volunteer veterinarian.
2. establishment of veterinarian rota to visit different areas of the island on different days.
3. establishment of access to veterinarian via email and mobile phone.
4. promotion of the work of the clinic through posters, word-of-mouth and the showing of the promotional video
in dive shops.
5. distribution of charity collection boxes and establishment of a system of collection and banking for donations.
6. establishment of accounting system.
7. establishment of record system for animals treated.
8. establishment of volunteer system and appointment of volunteer co-ordinator on the island.
9. establishment of permanent sponsors from the islands businesses.
33% of running costs to be secured from international sources.

Phase two 6-12 Months
1. to work with local officials on a neutering programme to bring animal population under control.
2. to introduce a euthanasia programme for those dogs and cats in extreme pain as defined by the veterinarian.
3. to work with local officials to introduce vaccination system and mange and flea control for all cats and dogs on the island.
4. to seek additional funding to facilitate these programs.
5. to establish a re-homing/adoption program whereby, for a fee, the clinic will re-home animals belonging to people who are leaving the island.

Phase three 12-24 Months
1. to run regular education programs for islanders in animal management.
2. to run education program for tourists to encourage constructive intervention.
3. to introduce dog wardens to ensure that dogs and cats don't cause nuisance to local businesses, are not being badly treated and are full inoculated.

Contact us
Jayne Chard
Noistar Thai Animal Rescue Foundation

Stable House
1A Westfield Place Clifton
Bristol
United Kingdom
BS8 4AY

Koh Tao Animal Clinic
Tel:+66 (0)8 10 90 53 72

Koh Tao, Suratthani, 84360 Thailand. Located next to Chaiwat super market along the main road leading from Mae Haad to Chalok Baan Kao.