Steemit Donation Drive - Lanta Animal Welfare, Koh Lanta, Thailand

100% of SBD payout from this post will be donated to the Lanta Animal Welfare (LAW). Thanks in advance!

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17 years ago, Junie Kovacs was on a leisure visit to Koh Lanta. Just like any visitor to this tropical island, she enjoyed the sights, the food, the sun. What she didn’t expect to see, was the huge number of strays on the streets. As a matter of fact, the stories I heard was back then was, because there were too many stray dogs and cats on the islands, they were abused, injured and even slaughtered. I’ve heard accounts where you could be strolling on the beach, admiring the beautiful sunset, only to trip on the corpse of a slain stray.

So that was what Junie experience. She was troubled by the situation, but like most tourists, at the end of the trip, she just went home. There are, however, things in life where you cannot un-see or un-experience, and for Junie, it was the stray conditions in Koh Lanta.

One of the many beaches in Koh Lanta. Trust me, they could be just 1KM away, but each beach has their own characteristics. This one, is for it's secludedness.

It was then that she made a bold decision: one that involved her selling off all her belongings, packing the leftovers and essentials into a suitcase, and relocated to Koh Lanta. Yes, I know, it’s not something most of us would do, but like the many history makers and trend setters before and hopefully, after her, Junie was one of the few who really took massive action.

She decided the best way to manage the stray situation was to sterilise the strays, so they don’t breed anymore. Just a little context: one female cat can have up to 18 kittens a year. Even on a very linear scale, that’s a very unhealthy growth rate.

Of course, nothing comes free, and sterilisation equipments cost money. Instead of giving up, Junie’s passion and compassion just would let her. She started a few ventures, the most famous one being Time For Lime cooking school, where visitors could visit and learn how to prepare authentic Thai dishes.

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It was a hit! And following that was a restaurant, bar and cosy bungalow resort units too. Profits from her ventures would eventually lead to her opening and supporting the first Animal Welfare Center in 2015, complete with 24-hour veterinary clinic.

Entrance to the center. Renovations are going on on the left, I believe it's the dorms for the volunteers who fly in from all over to donate their time and love.

Since then, they have brought down the number of strays on the island by over 90%! The 10% are living in the jungles, so getting to them wasn't easy.

They have also educated the locals to bring in any strays that they saw, so they can be sterilised. Junie was working as a graphic designer in her "previous life", so a way to mark the strays were by a little tattoo on the ears, so they could be easily identified.

While they release most of the sterile strays back to where they were found, sometimes the center would look for animal lovers to adopt them too. Heck, not only did they encourage the locals to do that, some of the animals were adopted and brought all over the world!

Dogs and cats rescued by LAW is on a world domination mission, set to meld hearts all over the world!

Talk about making shit happen, eh?

My first visit to the center was about a year plus ago, with @deborism. We couldn’t adopt any of the strays (Debbie already had two at home and we lived in a condo), so we just donated money. FYI, it takes about USD18k a month to run the center, along with all their other initiatives like mobile clinics.

This time, however, I have the power of Steemit in my pocket, and decided I can do much, much more.

Inside Kitty City, where the stray cats can laze around, away from the hot sun.

Hence this post, and yes, as mentioned earlier, all SBD payouts generated from this post will be donated to LAW. I also spoke to Laura, one of the volunteers there about Steemit, and hopefully the support for this post will help encourage them to be active on the platform, and use the payouts to help support the center.

And of course, William has to tag along as the model for the pics.

Here's Will speculating which kitten would win in the cat-fight.

When you first visit the center, you can hang around the cats, grab some souvenirs, or even grab some snacks. Or, as most visitors will do, is to sign up for the tour.

They have a tour every 1 hour or so, so make sure you sign up for one. And they have lovely tour guides too!

The tour guides usually start with Junie's story, and also what she and her team have done over the years. Seriously, you could be moved by the passion of one commitment lady! It was the second time I heard the story, and I could still feel myself having goosebumps. She's a living proof that when you set your heart into something and pour yourself into it, miracles happen.

Marketers can definitely learn a thing or two from Junie and her team, because of all the things you can do in Koh Lanta, their's is ranked #1 in Tripadvisor.

Then, our second tour guide, Laura took over, where she showed us the various sections of the center, usually the places the dogs are being cared for.

That's Laura, and you see the names on the shed behind her? Those are the awesome people who donated for the center.

Yums Yums, one of the dogs just had their lunch!

This cutie is up next (for lunch!) Ok, I meant the dog, guys.

Say Hi to Buster, one of the three-legged dogs living at the center. Super friendly, tons of energy, eager to please too. He really knew how to get snacks. Dogs like Buster go through lots of training at the center so they are friendlier around other dogs and people. You have to understand, some of them had been abused or even injured by traffic before, so over time, they have developed a natural fear. This could be a problem for those who wanted to adopt them, which is why they are being "domesticated" in way. Like Buster here, for example, is learning how to live around the kitchen, so banging of utensils don't startle him.

Behind Buster is a little bed were the night volunteer will be sleeping. The work in shifts, and the night shift is one that's particularly important because of their 24-hour service. Laura was just telling me that on one of the nights, sometime around 2am, a lady brought in a cat with severely broken bones. If not for the center, the cat probably wouldn't have survived.

I believe thanks to LAW, the locals have a go to place as well. You see, we are only as resource as the states we're in, and because the locals are aware that there is a place for them to go for help, they would have a chance to practice kindness.

Always have a drink after a full meal!

Here's a little shop where you can get some souvenirs. Of course, all profits go to support the center.

Animals love locks? No, it's not about caging them. There's a romantic origin story to it, I assure you. You know how at Pont des Arts, at River Seine in Paris, where lovers would have this grand romantic gesture of "locking" a padlock on the bridge and throwing away the key? That's something you can do here too.

Since @deborism has her "CNY appearances" to do and couldn't join us, Will and I thought of purchasing a padlock for her.

My lovely baby with her lovely baby, Tokyo! And yes, he drifts on slippery floors.

The padlock is a simple process. You buy one from the counter for THB500 (SBD3.2), and that simple gesture goes to sterile half a stray, or feed them for 2 weeks (I may have gotten my numbers wrong, but it's probably around there). Then, you get to play with nail polish and lipsticks to decorate your padlock.

As you can see, William and I kind suck at padlock painting. We tried to write Tokyo's name on it, but it's just say I seriously lack the experience of pedicures to properly do his name.

Will figured putting it next to the hand sanitiser would be a great place to showcase his work.

And no, we're not throwing away the key, because God knows what the kittens and dogs may be swallowing. They make a nice take home gift, and a reminder to care.

Because of their grand mission to aid all animals in need, LAW advocates adopting rather than buying one from the pet store. And because they would like visitors to adopt, they made it really easy to get all the paper works done.

As a matter of fact, if you flying back to any of these destination, you get to play a hero too! Yes, you get to be like Jason Statham's The Transporter, minus the crazy stunts in expensive Audis, gun fights, ass-kicking or going bald. Your package? A dog or cat under your care during your flight home. Your reward? Big hugs and sometimes tear-filled smiles!

Chilling by the cafe.

This Kitty City (with the attached cafe) was just completed two months ago. In the old days, the stray cats can roam free, but they would be injured/attacked by wild monkeys or incoming traffic. Plus, during the night, it's hard to round up up to 60 cats sometimes! With this new addition to the center, the cats have a safe place to stay during the night, away from danger. Well, I guess on hot days as well!

So, do help to upvote and resteem this post, and thanks in advance for your support. I kinda wanted to use this post as a showcase to the management of LAW that they, too, should leverage on Steemit to gather support for the center. I mean, they got so many, many amazing stories of strays being saved and going around the world to their new homes. And while monetarily donations may not be easy to come by, upvotes by comparison are much, much easier.

Yup, help me convince them by showing a NO SHIT THIS IS REAL crypto-donation, and welcome them to the Steemit Family. Ain't no better way to spread the love. :)

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Wait, why's Mav posting on Steemit nowadays?

Well, unlike other blogging and social media platform, Steemit is the only platform that allows me to earn cryptocurrency when I engage with it. Yup, one Steem is about USD7, and you, too, can earn Steem Dollars every time you:

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