The story of a special person: Falko Duwe

My name is Jos Boeters. I have been living in Pattaya since February 2014. Like many of us, I also deal with a Thai Legal office for good business. When I commented that a dog was needed on our property, one of the employees immediately responded: 'I can help you with that.'

It was Falko Duwe who told me that he takes care of stray dogs in Pattaya and the surrounding area. Falko is originally a 65-year-old German, born in Cologne, with Buddhism as a great passion in his life. Because of his drive, he ended up in Thailand after his studies. I got to interview him.

Falko says:

'My hobby was the Chinese language in word and writing. I have also been in China for a while, even married to a Chinese woman. There I had the profession of a teacher Qi cond which is the basis of many exercise sports, such as Kung Fu.

When I came to Thailand, I followed a meditation course in Suphan Buri. Eventually I started doing social work. The study was completed and it was time to do something else. I moved to Phuket and became a Bungy Jump instructor for three years. After that I had my own catapult jump for a few years.

Back in Pattaya I started working as a marketing agent and my love for animals took a completely different turn. One night as I was about to get home from the office, there was a young cat sitting in my basket at the wheel. I was very taken with it.

The animal helped me to eventually take care of ten cats in a rented apartment for that purpose. An unpleasant experience was that tistimper, a viral disease, was diagnosed one day. It was deadly for my cat love.

After a few months I saw a cat lying on the street near my house that I thought was not too fresh anymore. Next to her sat a little dog that looked at me as if to say: I didn't do anything. The cat died at the doctor's and the dog stayed with me. In the end, this was the beginning of my life with dogs.'

When I ask Falko about his best and less fun experience, he ends up with this dog, although there are many more experiences, but this one was special. Falko continues:

'The dog with the cat was baptized Doggy and soon the dog family grew further. Doggy's mother also joined and the total number now stands at sixty.

Doggy suddenly disappeared from my life one day after eight months of care. I had almost forgotten about her when she suddenly appeared in front of us again after about eleven months. Once called her name and all brakes came loose with the prodigal son.

The mother immediately recognized her child. I came back 30 minutes later, when mother and son were apparently having an argument or something. The mother runs away, crosses the street and is run over and dies. Doggy was also gone after 30 minutes. I never saw him again.

Since I have a permanent job at Thai legal & Associates Ltd in Pattaya, I take care of about twenty dogs a day. By care I mean giving food and drink, keeping an eye on the health level in the group, so also visiting the clinic regularly. In Ban Ampoe the dogs are neutered, operated on if necessary, etc. I also work with a small group of enthusiasts who are just as crazy about dogs as I am.

Due to the amount of dogs there is something different every day. Recently a dog ailment has emerged that causes them to have thinner blood, so be careful that they don't bleed to death. To help them get over this, I now give them spare ribs to strengthen.

In the beginning it was intense when a dog had died or disappeared. Nowadays I deal with that a bit differently, also because it is becoming normal that dogs from your area are no longer there. In Pattaya Nua, for example, we had eleven puppies in a park; now there are three of them left. All dogs have a name that I give them, of course I know them all and they know me.

JB: When you drive to the temple with Falko, he can't just get out of the car until all the dogs have greeted him. The two dogs I now have through Falko are still wild when he comes over after three months.

– How do you finance this hobby that got out of hand?
'I am now 65 and therefore receive a German pension, which is not very much because of my years abroad. My office work is fairly paid. In total I spend at least 75 percent of my income on the dogs.

Also, every now and then there are people who have an organization around the world for actions like this. From Switzerland there is a foundation that supports me lately.

I also make a diary via a blog http://falko-duwe.blogspot.com/. As a result, donations also come in.'

– Are there more people like you working in this area?
'As far as I know, about ten to twelve do similar work. An elderly lady of 69 goes out every evening to collect leftovers from restaurants.'

– What is your greatest wish?
Falko immediately has his answer ready: 'My own piece of land with a building on it where I can take care of the dogs, such as in the emergency room in the hospital. Plus it would be nice if the transport of the dogs to, for example, the clinic could be arranged. Now I have to ask people what is not always easy. I have a moped myself, so you can't do much with it.'

At least ten thousand stray dogs live in Pattaya, according to Falko's estimate. There is even a canine friend who has taken in about two hundred into his home to give them a dignified life. Falko rides around on his moped and can't leave a dog that seems unhealthy to his or her fate. If people want to support Falko, they are very welcome. Telephone number known to the editor.