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Niall Harbison

@NiallHarbison

Dec 21 • 8 tweets • 5 min read • Read on X

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Genuinely the best boy there ever was. Sorry to say that Derek left us this evening. He was the most unassuming, gentle, gracious and loving older gentleman I’ve ever met. I know he touched lots of lives but he’ll leave some remarkable memories… (1/8) 🧵

He never wanted much in life at all. His health went downhill very fast in the last 24 hours but we managed to get a little walk, some sausages and we slept for 3 hours together. It was perfect (2/8)

Derek come in on the 15th October last year. He had no dignity, nobody cared about him and he was hours from death alone. My dream last year was to get him to Christmas 2022. It turned out to be a lot longer even though his healthy started horrific (3/8)

It was amazing watching Derek get better. Derek always tried to talk. Like when he was in the vets in the early days he was clearly saying “thanks for the help now don’t leave me” (4/8)

Of course Mr Derek loved his VIP suite. He never had a thing in his life before and he was so proud of it. He used to put himself to bed early. For man months he just slept in their recovering from his hard life. It was his haven (5/8)

As Derek got better he made a few friends. He used to be the only one to hand around with Britney and he took little Rodney under his wing when he came in. Little Del Boy and Rodney 🥰 (6/8)

In the last 2 months Derek has been living with me. If he loved his VIP suite the the couch was the luxury he never knew he needed in life. He was always as quiet as a mouse in the corner. My theory is Derek was so quiet and kind to everyone as he didn’t want to risk ever going back to his old life on the streets. I always think of him as just the most grateful dog ever (7/8)

He passed gracefully and surrounded by all the people who cared for him and with his belly full of sausages.

My friends said to me I should take younger less sick dogs next to ease the pain but I disagree. It was only 14 months but every day was cherished and meant the world to Derek.

Derek. The best boy there ever was. Not even a doubt about it 🥰 (8/8)

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More from @NiallHarbison

Niall Harbison

@NiallHarbison

Dec 16

You’ll probably recognize little Bouncy. She’s always in my videos with her siblings Bubba and Daisy. I’ve been feeding her for nearly 2 years every single day. She’s the happiest of all the dogs.

Just after this clip she ran off and got hit by a car… (1/6) 🧵

I feed them away from the toad and also I have to do it fast. They started “guarding and protecting” me by chasing other bikes away. I’m their food source.

She took off after a bike and got blindsided by a car. They didn’t stop. She bolted screaming (2/6)

I have been blaming myself. I’ve been looking for her non stop, no locals have seen her. If I hadn’t gone to feed her she’d have been fine.

I don’t share the bad news as there is enough in the world. I’ve been having horrible nightmares about it (3/6)

Read 6 tweets

Niall Harbison

@NiallHarbison

Dec 11

I woke up this morning and a very special passenger had arrived after a 15 hour journey via 🛻 ⛴️ 🚕 to Bangkok.

Judging by Hank the Tanks tail he was excited to see a familiar face as he was a bit confused about his life (1/4) 🧵

Hank was very patient the whole way here. He said he wanted to make a good impression as this was his big chance in life (2/5)

I got him out for a big walk in the area. I thought it was essential to come along and help him settle in. The new owners have 5 dogs already and although Hank is a big sensitive soul he is coming into their territory. We did it all very very slowly (3/5)

Read 5 tweets

Niall Harbison

@NiallHarbison

Nov 24

People often comment how healthy the street dogs look. Food is a tiny part. Actually medicines and vet care is the main reason.

I’ve been noticing Mr Fox ribs for couple of days. Thought it missing meals in rainy season but turns out bit more serious (1/4)

Got Mr Fox to the vets. The only time he has ever left his spot in the jungle was when I got him sterilized. Otherwise he has stayed within 100 yard radius at all times waiting for his daily delivery. He was nervous on the way there but then relaxed. He loves humans (2/4)

He has severe tick fever and a high temperature. The vets put him on a drip for an hour and he has a month of various medicines. Without medical help he’d start to look awful and struggle to live on the streets but he’ll be just fine (3/4)

Read 4 tweets

Niall Harbison

@NiallHarbison

Nov 22

Prepare to smile with joy and relief…

This is Shaq. We took him in off the street on the 15th of October. His outlook was very bad as the mass was growing fast.

About 40 days later everything has changed for this lovely boy… (1/6)

Because he was so sick (anemia / tick fever etc) and there were so few vets who’d ever attempt the operation it took 3 weeks to get him in.

The operation was a huge stress on his body. I was warned he might not make it but he did. That was just the start (2/6)

Shaq had so much to process. He’d never even been indoors in his life. His body had to use all its power to get through the first few days. The bad news for him was he needed a 2nd operation to get the rest out (3/6)

Read 6 tweets

Niall Harbison

@NiallHarbison

Nov 7

Shaq went in for his operation today. It was a very dangerous procedure. All the big guy wanted as a street dog was a chance at life… (1/5) 🧵

The operation lasted 3 hours and took a huge amount out of Shaq. He was very scared, nervous and in pain despite all the drugs. He made it through the day though and came home this evening. You can see from the scar how much work had to be done (2/5)

We don’t have the luxury of 24 hour vets here. Getting the operation done was hard enough. He was still asleep when he came home. He is with me in Tina’s old bed. He was shaking, very cold and not looking great at first (3/5)

Read 5 tweets

Niall Harbison

@NiallHarbison

Oct 15

Often a rescue will start with a picture someone sends me. Like this guy here.

Was a bit of manic day but I knew I had to drop everything when I saw it.

A thread on hopefully saving his life and how he helped saved 20-30 other lives himself… 1/ 🧵

A couple of kind locals had cornered him. He seemed very aggressive and scary. Which is understandable with that hanging off his head. It was obvious he needed urgent help.

He is a street dog who doesn’t belong to anybody. 2/

It took a while to soften him up with sausages but eventually the old “right boot to the ass” technique worked. Having been bitten a few times in these situations we have to be careful. 3/