The Man That Rescues DogsDonate
A caregiver smiling among paralyzed rescue dogs running in their wheelchairs beside a river

Sriracha · Chonburi · Thailand

They don’t know they’re paralyzed.They just run.

800+ rescued dogs in Chonburi, Thailand, cared for by The Man That Rescues Dogs, and a wheelchair gang that refuses to slow down.

DonateMeet the Mafia

800+

dogs cared for at the sanctuary

400+

street dogs fed on the daily route

110+

in the special-needs Care Unit

The founder

One stray at the back door

In 2002 Michael Baines left Sweden for Thailand and opened a restaurant on the Chonburi coast. A sick street dog kept turning up at his back door. He fed it. Then he treated it. Then he couldn’t stop.

Two decades on, that instinct is a foundation: a sanctuary, a daily feeding route, a clinic, and a special-needs care unit. Tough exterior, gentle heart, and a standing promise to the dogs nobody else will take.

Founder Michael Baines standing among rescued dogs in wheelchairs by the river
Rescued dogs lined up in their wheelchairs, the Wheelchair Mafia

The Wheelchair Mafia

Paralyzed. And completely unbothered.

Dogs who’ve lost the use of their back legs get a custom set of wheels, and then they do exactly what dogs do. They run. Twice a day, every day, down the riverside path with the mountains behind them.

Morning run
6:00
Afternoon run
13:45

Meet the Mafia

Names, not numbers

Every dog here has a story. Sponsor one from a dollar a day and you’ll hear how theirs unfolds.

Marky, a rescued dog

Marky

Signed out of a municipal shelter before his first birthday. TMTRD reaches for the ones with the longest odds, and Marky was one of them.

Sponsor from $1/day
Lulu, rescued as a puppy

Lulu

Spotted as a puppy on the dawn feeding route, inches from a fast road. She was carried in before the traffic ever got its chance.

Sponsor from $1/day
Junior, a long-time sanctuary resident

Junior

Two years in and thoroughly at home, inseparable from his friend Butter, and never happier than with a treat or a soak in the water bin.

Sponsor from $1/day
NungNing, safe since 2017

NungNing

A resident since 2017 and the sanctuary’s unofficial welcome committee, still the first to greet anyone who visits.

Sponsor from $1/day
Kwan, a Care Unit resident

Kwan

One of the Care Unit family, looked after around the clock by the team who never clock off.

Sponsor from $1/day

How we work

Where your trust is earned

The quarantine area where new rescues are checked in

Quarantine

New arrivals are vaccinated, sterilized, and watched for about a month before they join the pack.

A spay-and-neuter procedure underway at the clinic

Clinic

Full-time vets run spay and neuter, vaccination, dental and water therapy, all priced at cost.

Dogs resting in the sanctuary’s special-needs care unit

Care Unit

Around the clock since 2016: physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, wound care, and the twice-daily walks.

The TMTRD veterinary team at the on-site clinic

Feeding route

Hundreds of street dogs are fed on a daily route, the sanctuary’s reach runs well past its own gates.

A rescued dog looking straight to camera

Where your money goes

Small numbers, real weight

$1/day
Sponsors one dog: food, shelter, and the care that keeps them going.
~$400
Buys one custom set of wheels for a paralyzed dog.
Every gift
Goes to food, medicine, and the vets who never clock off.
Donate

Ways to help

More than one way in

Donate or sponsor

One-time or monthly through Give.Asia, or sponsor a single dog from a dollar a day and follow their story.

DonateSponsor a dog

Adopt

Give a rescue a forever home. An adoption checklist keeps every match right.

Start adopting

Volunteer

On-site help from about $200 a week, meals, a t-shirt, and a place to stay included.

Volunteer on-site

Shop

Merchandise that turns straight back into food and medicine.

Visit the shop
The TMTRD team in orange staff shirts outside the sanctuary’s logo wall

The team

About forty people. One promise.

A founder, full-time vets, and a care-unit crew who work around the clock. They’re the people behind every rescue. The sanctuary’s work has been featured by Beast Philanthropy, and it runs as a registered foundation (details on the official site).

Follow along