Thailand Vet Clinic
Thailand
A busy vet clinic located in Khao Tao, right by the beach and overlooking the gulf of Thailand. This beautiful and culturally rich area is top on many people's travel bucket list and the project provides an authentic way to get to know Thailand whilst giving back to animals in need. You do not need any qualifications to attend this project, although it is a popular vet and nurse student placement, as well as new graduates wanting to develop their experience. Your daily tasks will be tailored to your level of training. This is a placement that covers all aspects of medicine and clinical work, and is not a surgery training course, although we encourage participation in surgical procedures based on your level of experience and at the vets discretion.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Help dogs and cats in need
Support a fun and enthusiastic team of animal lovers
Reduce the stray population through sterilisations
Vets, nurses and vet/nurse students will assist with medical and surgical treatment
Non vets will provide support to the medical team and help rehabilitate and socialise the dogs and cats
Educate the community about animal care and welfare
Discover delightful Thai culture and delicious Thai foods
Weekend trips to meet monks, track wild elephants and enjoy the beach
Project video
Facilities at the clinic include 22 kennels, a clinic to perform surgeries, isolation room, and a play area for dogs. From these premises, we coordinate and conduct all sterilisations, vaccinations, parasite treatments, veterinary care and rehabilitation for abandoned, mistreated stray animals. We also venture out to surrounding villages regularly to perform fieldwork, caring for upwards of around 750 street dogs on a monthly basis, and educating Thai youth and adults on proper pet care.
Working hours for volunteers are Monday to Friday 08:30 to 16:30 with Saturday and Sundays free. Volunteers are split into two teams, clinical volunteers and non clinical volunteers.
CLINICAL VOLUNTEERS
Those with medical experience (vets, nurses, vet students in years 3 and above, and all vet nurse students) will take a clinical role in line with your abilities, future career path, and level of training. You will be supervised throughout your stay in line with Thailand’s laws, and work underneath a locally registered veterinarian at all times.
As your skills progress, you will be given more independence to complete procedures and develop your clinical reasoning and skills. With the huge caseload coming in, you will have plenty of chances to participate in all aspects of medicine and surgery. Jobs can include:
Spays and castrations
Caesareans (dog and cow)
Consulting
Vaccinations
Fracture repair/splinting
Road traffic accidents
Leg amputations (dog, cat)
Diagnostics (blood, smear and crush samples)
Managing tetanus
Wound management
triaging emergencies
Infectious diseases like parvovirus, corona virus and distemper
Diagnosing and treating internal and external parasites
Euthanasia
NON CLINICAL VOLUNTEERS
Vet students in pre-clinical years (1 and 2) or volunteers with no medical training, who wish to join us to care for, support and rehabilitation of animals in need, may assist with the following duties:
Dog walks (beach/lake walks)
Special walks (assisting handicapped dogs with wheelchairs on the beach, aqua therapy, and rehabilitation cutest dogs ever!)
Crate training for dogs and cats awaiting international adoption
Basic puppy training
Shy dog training (dedicated volunteers work with shy dogs to build trust and confidence) Leash training
Clicker training
Bottle feeding puppies and kittens when needed
Cleaning duties
Washing and grooming dogs
Feeding dogs and cats
Monitoring for signs of illness
Enrichment activities (making toys and treats, building enrichment in kennels)
Bottle feeding puppies and kittens when needed.
Cleaning duties
Washing and grooming dogs
Feeding dogs and cats
Monitoring for signs of illness
Enrichment activities (making toys and treats, building enrichment in kennels)
OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
Feeding runs for local stray dog packs (32 packs and growing so this is a daily activity)
Monitoring stray animals health and assisting with parasite treatments
Witnessing and viewing catching/darting dogs (as this role can be quite dangerous, volunteers can only spectate and learn from our qualified team.)
Donating pet food to low-income families
Responding to reports of ill/injured dogs with our outreach team
Befriending packs
Returning dogs to their packs once sterilised and or recovered from injuries
Assisting the education team in teaching English and animal welfare to children at a local orphanage (this is an option for all volunteers every Wednesday, turned out to be a highlight of the week for a lot of our volunteers)
OTHER ROLES FOR ALL VOLUNTEERS
Fieldwork (or what we refer to as a ‘feeding run’) involves befriending various packs of dogs with food, administering parasite treatments & vaccinations, assessing the overall wellbeing of the packs, providing wound care to injured dogs as well as identifying & recording changes in numbers (i.e. new litters of puppies, newly dumped dogs, pregnant females, etc.) and condition (i.e. dogs to be sterilised). At any given time we oversee as many as 800+ stray street dogs so fieldwork plays an essential role in our commitment to improving the lives of Thailand’s stray animal population.
All the members of this team are willing to dig in and get their hands dirty with all aspects of animal care and we ask our volunteers to adopt the same attitude. No one here is above grooming dirty dogs, picking up poo or cleaning kennels when it needs to be done. Whilst it will not be the focus of your stay, a can-do attitude is important when working as part of a small team for the good of the animals.
Other responsibilities include spreading awareness about the clinic, educating local communities about animal/pet care and maintaining our presence on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Extra weekend excursions are available at an extra cost and can be scheduled within your off days during your volunteer placement. These extra activities include participating in a guided meditation with our local monk, attending a Thai cooking class and learning to cook traditional Thai dishes then enjoying eating it together. Hiking to Sam Rai Yot temple which is set in a stunning cave overlooking the stretching landscape below. Volunteers can also visit Kui Buri National park, which is known to be one of the best places in Thailand to see wild elephants.
Project Photos
ACCOMMODATION
There are two accommodation options for our volunteers. The normal option is in an authentic Thai house on a gorgeous ocean front street. It is a 20 minute walk from the clinic, and we also send a free shuttle for you each day if you prefer a lift. The house has a fresh clean decor, hot showers, western style toilets, and free wifi, but no air conditioning. There are nice common areas and depending on the number of volunteers you may be sharing a room with a fellow volunteer.
Option 2 is our upgrade for 20 pounds a night. Stay in a more upmarket BnB type accommodation with your own private air conditioned room, plus a private ensuite with western toilet and hot shower. There is weekly room cleaning and bed sheet changing service and unlimited high speed wifi. You can order food (room service or eaten in the communual areas) from the connected restauirant offering thai and western food.
Both options have a shared kitchen complete with all utilities, cutlery, and appliances such as a refrigerator, microwave, kettle, toaster and stove. Whilst we do not provide food, the local eateries are a treat and you can comfortably buy your food and drinks for under £8 a day.
You will be staying close to Khao Tao Beach. Those in the know consider it to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the Hua Hin area; with a backdrop of a large golden Buddha at the top of the hill, one couldn’t want for a better place to start or finish the day! Then, if it couldn’t get any better, 150 metres in the other direction, you have Khao Tao lake. With a mountainous backdrop this lake is surrounded by locally owned shops and restaurants for you to enjoy some incredibly delicious, authentic, and cheap Thai food.
LOCATION
Thailand requires little introduction. World famous for amazing foods, welcoming people, inspiring religions and stunning beaches. The clinic and kennel facilities are located on the grounds of Khao Tao Temple, a Buddhist temple that borders a long stretch of beach. The temple grounds and its surroundings are conducive to healing of animals and people alike, and the beach and ocean are perfect for rehabilitation through hydrotherapy and daily walks.
Khao Tao is an authentic Thai village about 12 kilometres south of Hua Hin, away from the hustle and bustle of a big town, but close enough to enjoy the amenities that a city offers. It is safe to go out and explore the area around the house and clinic. There is a good selection of local restaurants within walking distance of the clinic that offers both Thai and western food options. The volunteer house is a 5 minute walk around the corner from our clinic.
ASSOCIATED COST:
We run both a clinical, and a husbandry focused option for this project. We have discounted the clinical project rate to increase accessibility.
2024 and 2025:
2 weeks: £1,040
3 weeks: £1,275
4 weeks: £1,510
5 weeks: £1,745
6 weeks: £1,979
7 weeks: £2,214
8 weeks: £2,449
9 weeks: £2,684
10 weeks: £2,919
11 weeks: £3,154
12 weeks: £3,389
2026:
2 weeks: £1,040
3 weeks: £1,275
4 weeks: £1,510
5 weeks: £1,745
6 weeks: £1,979
7 weeks: £2,214
8 weeks: £2,449
9 weeks: £2,684
10 weeks: £2,919
11 weeks: £3,154
12 weeks: £3,389
In order to provide you with a fun, safe and rewarding stay, we have a project fee to cover your accommodation and all transfers when staying with us. This cost also allows you to be covered by our public liability and professional indemnity insurance. We do not charge for your training or spending time with our vets. So you can focus on having an amazing time and we will take care of the rest.
Want to know what’s included? Great news, it is pretty much everything! Including your:
Pre departure assistance with planning your trip from one of our destination specialists
Airport collection and returns
Accommodation in an authentic Thai house on a gorgeous ocean front street
Wifi at the clinic and your accommodation
24 hour support on every project and at the volunteer accommodation by staff
Subject to program duration, program additions include excursion to a cave temple, Kui Buri National park safari to track wild elephants, meditation session guided by a local monk and Thai cooking classes
OUR PRICES EXCLUDE:
Vaccinations - you are requested to be vaccinated for rabies
Meals (you can self cater for under £8 a day)
Visas
Required: Personal medical insurance. Optional: trip/flight/luggage insurane
Flights
Additional excursions
PROJECT SPECIFICS
· Thailand Vet Clinic Clinical
AGE: 18 +, no upper limit
QUALIFICATIONS: Vet students in 3rd year or later. Nurse Students in year 2 or later. Qualified vet/nurse/techs are welcome
EMS, CEMS, CPD, CE
· Thailand Vet Clinic Non-Clinical
AGE: 18 +, no upper limit
QUALIFICATIONS: No requirements. Gap year, pre-vets, furst year nurse students, and vet students in years 1 and 2 are welcome. This role is not suited to clinical year students, or qualified vets/techs/nurses, who are better applying for the clinical role above.
EMS
START DATES
This project starts every Monday of the year and you depart the project on a Sunday. You will be picked up and returned to Bangkok airport with a drive of about 3.5 hours to the project. Alternative start dates can be accommodated with advance planning so please contact us if this may suit your plans.
The clinical section of this project is now FULLY BOOKED FOR 2024. Slots for 2025 are filling fast so do hurry to book your slot for 2025.
Volunteer feedback
Sanna Korhonen
September 2023
"Cooky the veterinarian was really friendly and welcoming. I loved to learn about the differences in veterinary medicine when comparing to my home country. Every day was different and although we were situated in a bit more remote part of Thailand, Hua Hin was really close and I was never bored. Other volunteers and the staff were also one of the best parts of my experience. I gained many friendships during my volunteering."
Ella Mareschal
June 2023
"The best part of this project was the vet team getting me involved in the vet clinic and meeting the different dog packs on feeding runs"
WHAT NEXT?
We want you to join us in Thaland to help animals in need. If you are ready to take on this adventure just click the "apply now" button and we will be in touch with you shortly.