Stepping in to Help Strays Out

Fifteen years ago, more than 70,000 stray dogs roamed the Thai island of Phuket. You could hardly walk without having to step around animals, many of them mottled with mange or limping from a run-in with a vehicle.

That is, until the founders of Soi Dog International Foundation decided to do something about it. They set up a charity with a big goal: to improve the welfare of animals in the area. Driven by generous donations, they soon grew into a five-building sanctuary that shelters up to 750 animals and 200 volunteers, including 12 vets who can see 180 dogs in a day. They’ve also given a whopping 380,000 vaccinations and sterilizations.

But as they continued to help more and more animals, Soi Dog found that their hodgepodge network struggled to keep up the pace. When roaming the grounds, vets and volunteers couldn’t always stay connected to the internet. So they had to take turns inputting data about vaccinations and treatments on only a few terminals in the hospital. When it came to their network, it seemed Soi Dog needed some help of their own.

Cisco partner NTT Ltd. was happy to step in. As a team-building event, volunteered to rebuild Soi Dog’s network from the ground up. They installed tech donated by Cisco, including indoor and outdoor wireless access points, Meraki switches, and outdoor surveillance cameras.

Now, Soi Dog’s network is as dependable as the dogs they help. Their vets and volunteers can upload data from mobile devices, from anywhere on the property. For difficult cases, they can also easily consult online with vets in Bangkok and beyond. And their small IT team can manage it all from the cloud.

Since the original deployment, Soi Doi has strengthened and expanded their own network of care. The next phase for the foundation is to establish a new cat hospital and residence, an isolation ward as well as maintenance and facilities building. So they’re well on their way to improving the welfare of all animals across not just Phuket, but all of Asia.

Between a stray in need and a helping hand, there’s a bridge.

Watch the Soi Dog Success Story