Kriengkai Thatwakorn, an animal lover who quit his family business to provide free grooming for stray dogs in Thailand, is finally allowed to return to his volunteer work after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted domestic travel, according to Reuters.
Now that the travel ban is lifted, Thatwakorn is back at the dog shelters he regularly visited prior to the lockdown, providing much-needed relief to all the scruffy dogs who’ve been suffering in the sweltering summer heat.
The traveling groomer uses trains and sleeps at dog-friendly Buddhist temples to get from shelter to shelter. Recently, he shaved 80 dogs in a Chonburi province shelter in just one day.
After leaving his family business, Thatwakorn now has to depend on donations and help from his friends.
“I’m the black sheep in the dog grooming business,” he said, “everyone thinks I’m crazy, but I don’t care.”
Giving up his free time, Thatwakorn helps hundreds of stray dogs get adopted.
“If we groom the dogs and help them clean up, we can give them better living conditions,” he said in a video detailing his kind-hearted work. “I usually take a comparison before and after the grooming. All the ones that we have helped were adopted.”
He doesn’t plan on ever stopping his impactful work.
“I intend to continue working and use my know-how to help the stray dogs until I can’t carry a hair clipper,” he continued. “I will work until I get old, and I will not change my profession.”
Thank you, Kriengkai Thatwakorn, for making the world a more compassionate place.
