Photos From Soi Dog Foundation's Post

November 1 marked a very special anniversary in the life of Marlen, a physiotherapist here at Soi Dog Foundation.

But it is the most important anniversary of all in the life of a dog Marlen loves dearly. That dog, named Genius, naturally has no idea the date November 1 is significant.

For this special needs pup, it’s just another relatively wonderful day in a life that, before she and Marlen met, most of us would consider barely worth living.

Genius first came to Soi Dog after she was found wandering the streets with a very serious injury to her leg. A life-threatening infection had set in, so it was too late to save it. Sadly, her leg had to be amputated immediately to end her terrible pain.

A painfully shy and frightened girl who’d been deeply traumatized as a puppy, Genius wasn’t doing much more than simply existing throughout her six years at Soi Dog, despite the tireless and sincere efforts of the many humans who wanted help her.

Understandably, the poor girl, found abandoned in a small house as a puppy for who knows how long, remained severely traumatised by her past.

Genius is a former sponsor dog. Sponsor dogs are considered unadoptable for health or behavioral reasons, but we almost always care for them for the rest of their lives, with our generous supporters’ help. She had many loving sponsors, but also a host of problems she was overcoming.

And then Genius met Marlen. Months later, on November 1, 2018, Marlen brought her home forever.

Theirs has not exactly been an intense love story, but one that has developed slowly. Marlen’s blue eyes shine as she talks about her puppy love.

She explains how, when she first came to Soi Dog as a volunteer, it was recommended she not approach Genius because of the pup’s extreme shyness and nervousness. So Marlen hung back for a while.

Then, she says, the two of them had a moment: One day, Genius shyly approached Marlen on her own, just a little bit, and then retreated.

And that, as they say, was that.

“I fell in love,” Marlen says simply. “She was so scared and I just wanted to help her. That she trusted me just that little bit made me so happy.”

Marlen began taking Genius, who didn’t like walks, out on a lead. Up to that point, the pup had only let one behaviorist and another volunteer take her.

When Marlen had to return to her native Germany for two months, she left regretfully. She says she thought about Genius the whole time, and worried something might happen to her.

When she returned to volunteer again, Marlen says, “I was so excited to see Genius. I really missed and worried about her.”

Marlen began taking the dog to Soi Dog’s off-lead area, where shyer dogs can congregate off their leashes. Genius enjoyed it, she says.

That was in August. Then Marlen received a job offer from Soi Dog to be a physiotherapist in our hospital. Once she decided to accept it, she made another decision as well.

“The day I got the job offer, I decided to take Genius home,” she says, beaming. And so on November 1, 2018, she did.

And the 7-year-old, for such a shy and timid girl, has blossomed.

“Genius loves walks now,” Marlen says. “She loves the beach. She loves to sniff grass and eat a little of it.”

Marlen is excited Genius gets on well with her other foster dogs, whom she says treat this still extremely shy, timid pup as top dog. And Genius, for her part, is definitely making herself at home.

“Genius has discovered my bed now,” Marlen says, smiling. “I love to watch her lying on her side, dreaming.”

Occasionally, she says, a flash of her pup’s nervousness will briefly return. At those times, Marlen laughingly says she wonders if Genius “wants to murder me.”

For a dog who was once so terrified she wouldn’t interact with other dogs for six years and only interacted with humans when she had to, Genius’s new story is nothing short of a miracle.

“To anyone else, Genius might seem like she has problems,” Marlen says. “But I’m happy. She’s safe. I don’t expect anything. I know she loves me in her way.”

Of course, we at Soi Dog are thrilled to have witnessed this beautiful transformation and happy ending, and were happy to recently wish Genius and her mom a very happy anniversary.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/SoiDogPageInEnglish/photos/a.137025..

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Soi Dog Foundation

Established in 2003 in Phuket, Thailand, Soi Dog is Southeast Asia's largest organisation helping stray animals. The Gill Dalley sanctuary in Phuket is home to over 1,600 animals. Soi Dog also has a treatment facility in Bangkok and responds to crisis situations throughout Thailand. The organisation is dedicated to implementing effective, sustainable solutions that reduce the suffering of dogs and cats in Asia, runs entirely on donations and works efficiently so all donations are used to help animals as effectively as possible.

The foundation is a registered not-for-profit organisation in Thailand, the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, France and Holland. It has a maximum 4-star rating with Charity Navigator, the largest and most-utilised independent non-profit evaluator in the United States, a platinum seal of transparency from Candid, the world’s largest source of non-profit information, a Top Rated award from Greatnonprofits and the Travelers’ Choice award from Tripadvisor.

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