The weather in Thailand can be unpredictable… It’s often said that we have three seasons, the wet season (May to October), the cool season (November to February) and the hot season (March to May).

The cool season is the best time for our dogs, with not too much rain and the weather comfortable enough that - while still warm - they don’t need to hide in the shade all day. However, the wet and hot seasons are not enjoyable.

In the wet season, it can be difficult to even feed the dogs as they spend so much time trying to find shelter. It’s truly monsoon weather and the downpours are biblical. In the hot season, the dogs can’t come out in daylight as it’s just too hot for them. They’ll spend their time looking for shaded areas, pools of water, or hiding until the sun goes down.

But how do the street dogs find shelter? Especially if they don’t live near a lot of trees?

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The hot season

While street dogs are usually born in Thailand and are used to the heat, it’s impossible to really acclimatise to extreme heat. Temperatures can reach in excess of 40° celsius or 104° Fahrenheit, meaning everyone (humans and dogs) tends to seek shelter.

Most of the dogs will find themselves trees, porches, or abandoned buildings to hide in or under. Some will dig themselves holes in the ground to get to the cooler earth. And others will find pools of water to sit in to keep themselves cool.

We’re lucky that our area and island has a lot of streams and pools dotted around, and the street dogs tend to live near them. It also means that they can easily find water without having to travel too far or us lugging hundreds of litres around as we do the feeding rounds!

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The wet season

Thailand rain is truly remarkable - and unpredictable. One minute it can be a dry warm day and the next minute, the skies open and it’s like standing in your shower. While that can be a total pain for humans, it’s even worse for the dogs who need to dive for cover - and don’t have their own “homes” to go back to.

That’s why we build tiny houses for the street dogs to sleep in. They’re nothing fancy but we use old plastic barrels and raise them off the ground, creating little sleeping and living areas where they can stay dry but watch what’s happening outside. The barrels have ventilation holes and drainage holes, creating a nice spot for them to hang out in.

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The cool season

Aaaaaaah. Time to relax. The cool season in Thailand is the best time for our doggos. It’s fairly dry, the weather isn’t ridiculously hot, and the dogs don’t need to continually shelter from the elements.

That doesn’t mean life is easy though. The boys and girls who live on the streets still need to find places to live where they won’t anger humans, where they’ll be safe from traffic, and where they can find food.

We can help with some of that - like the food - but we can’t protect all the street dogs all the time. All we can do is make life as nice as possible for them and help them out when the worst of the weather comes.

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Check out the video of us creating tiny houses for street dogs:

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Are you interested in adopting a street dog? Check out our Adoptable Dogs.