I would like to tell you how I came to have my favorite Thai. Or rather: how he came to me. But before we arrive in Thailand, I have to tell you the story from the beginning.

Every child has dreams – my dream was always to have a dog of my own. I couldn't imagine anything better. Unfortunately, my parents saw it differently; too much responsibility alongside two children and a full-time job. So I had to do without the love of a dog (which I had always wished for as a little girl) for a long time.

Not a birthday or Christmas went by where a dog wasn't on my "wish list." Every day on the way home from school, I hoped that my parents would finally fulfill my wish for a dog. I still remember it like it was yesterday: Full of excitement, I would open the front door every day, hoping a wet dog nose would greet me happily. What could be better?

Many years passed, but the wish never did.

When I was 9, my best friend got a dog from the animal shelter.

My older sister would dog-sit for her every now and then; her name was Tina. One weekend, my sister brought the dog home and said we would be taking care of Tina for the weekend. I remember exactly that my parents said: "Only for this weekend, though." Due to circumstances, my friend moved away abruptly – and that’s how I got my first dog. A weekend turned into 9 years. She got to spend her happy dog life with us.

3 years later, we rescued another dog from Turkey in collaboration with others. I was finally old enough to rescue dogs – and that is what I did. Meiky, a Kangal mix from Turkey, was placed in a permanent home. A Chihuahua followed, whom we found at a gas station in the Czech Republic during the holiday season; he still lives happily with my sister to this day.

During my first holiday alone, I organized a flight to Munich for a dog that had wandered up to us in the desert, with the help of my friend Stephi. It wasn't easy getting dogs from abroad, my final exams were coming up soon, and I tried not to get caught by my parents. When Haya, the large Saluki, arrived from Abu Dhabi, I moved into my sister's apartment, where Haya also lives. To get me to come back home, my parents accepted my four-legged companions, without whom I still wouldn't be me.

Many happy years with my furry friends followed. After I started my first permanent job and began working full-time (the dogs were living with my sister by then), I realized after a while that my life was missing a dog. Three years flew by, during which I often dreamed of a life with a dog. As a child, I always told myself that when I grew up, I would have lots of dogs. What had become of that? I pushed the desire far away; my colleague with a pet allergy and a rather traditional company offered no room for it. There was no way to bring a dog with me permanently.

In 2019, my boyfriend and I flew to Thailand with our backpacks. We had no specific destination and just let ourselves drift. We started in Bangkok and, after several stops, landed on Koh Phangan. As we always did, we looked for accommodation on the spur of the moment. We found a row of bungalows, each looking identical to the next. It certainly wasn't pretty. But we were tired and settled for the rather shabby accommodation.

One evening, we heard a strange noise at the door. My boyfriend looked at me, I looked at him, and neither of us really wanted to open it. I sent my boyfriend out first; after all, I was scared… he could be the brave one! And… surprise! Standing there was a dog who was in good spirits, though a bit emaciated. He wagged his tail so wildly that his whole upper body shook. We set off immediately to get some food and served it to him on a palm leaf. We let him sleep in our bungalow overnight and gave him something more to eat in the morning.

When we drove off on our scooter, he followed us to the main road, where we naturally stopped. We were afraid he might run in front of a car or a scooter. There was a café next to us, so we sat down and thought things over. Suddenly, my boyfriend said to me, completely unexpectedly: "I'm not leaving him here. We're taking him with us." I hesitated for a moment; usually, that would have been my role. It didn't take much persuasion, I was on board immediately. I tried to reach a few animal welfare organizations, but all in vain. No one had capacity, no one seemed to want to help us, or we were promised callbacks that never came. We walked several kilometers to the vet, as the taxis wouldn't take us with a dog. It felt a bit like running the gauntlet – our foundling was strongly antagonized as we passed through the territories of other dogs. Once we arrived at the vet, we received a recommendation for an animal welfare organization. They then referred us to the decisive organization – Dog and Cat Rescue Samui, also known as DCRS.

I brought our newly found stray to Koh Samui by ferry, while my boyfriend packed our things, as we needed new accommodation. We had already stayed longer to clear up everything organizational with and regarding the affectionate, sweet four-legged friend.

Arriving on Koh Samui, my stray and I were picked up. We sat for almost an hour in the back of a pickup truck on the hot cargo bed, with the sun beating down on us.

Upon arrival, I just had to finish the paperwork with a woman from Berlin named Brigitte. By then, the dog was already gone; I couldn't even say goodbye. He was taken to an associated animal shelter a few kilometers away. I took a scooter taxi back to the ferry and then back to Koh Phangan.

We waited impatiently for two months for our dog, whom we named Chaiyo.

We could hardly wait! We were worried about whether he would get through the flight well. From Koh Samui to Bangkok, from Bangkok to Frankfurt, from Frankfurt by car to Munich – quite an ordeal. Finally, the moment had come; the flight escorts arrived with our Chaiyo.

Who would have thought it: after a good two months, the usually rather calm male dog jumped into our arms. He pressed himself against us, seeking closeness and security.

I am certain he now understood why he had to leave such a long journey behind him. But at last, he had arrived.

Because of his arrival, I also had to look for a dog-friendly employer, which is how I ended up at VEGDOG. My first, very own companion, the one I had dreamed of for so long as a child. In this way, we were both able to settle in; Chaiyo found his loving home, and I found the place where I can do more than just combine my love for dogs with my work.

Saving one animal will not change the world, but the world will change for that one animal!