My saga with puppies in Thailand or how a seemingly perfect day can turn bad quickly

After recently arriving in Thailand from my Myanmar River Cruise I was excited to start exploring. One of my first adventures was a two-day trip to the mountains outside of Chiang Mai. I was having a great day visiting with elephants and preparing for a Homestay with the Karen Hill Tribe, an indigenous tribe from Burma (now Myanmar). The plan for the second day was hiking to a waterfall and taking a bamboo raft for a leisurely float down the river. 

After doing some research and armed with the advice of other travelers, I chose to book an overnight trip with Chai Lai Orchid, a destination hotel that helps rescue elephants and supports human rights. I had read some negative reviews, and with so much out there it is hard to be certain, so I am not willing to fully endorse this company. But I can say I felt comfortable with how my time with them and the elephants went. 

It was an early morning and a couple hours’ ride to the Chai Lai Orchid mountain resort. Upon arrival, I met my guide and was immediately taken to meet the elephants. 

Being with the elephants was a magical experience. I particularly liked it when I got to bathe them in the river. They are magnificent and I really hope this rescue and other rescues are doing right by them. I also recognize that doing right is complicated and there is no one simple answer. 

After a morning that was instantly a top highlight of my trip, I went back to the resort and was greeted with an amazing Pad Thai lunch. There were friendly dogs all around and the resort was beautiful, surrounded by lush jungle greens and fresh air. 

After lunch, I had time to wander around and enjoy the resort. To my delight, there were even 2-month-old puppies wandering around as well. 

This is where things went horribly wrong. 

One of the puppies attacked another one — and I don’t mean playfully — I mean attacked and went for the puppy’s throat. I acted out of instinct and tried to pull the biting puppy off the other one, but its bite was like a vice grip. While attempting to separate the puppies, the puppy being attacked bit me in fear and pain. After being bitten I stepped away and a staff member separated the fighting puppies.

But immediately, all I could think was “oh shit I did not get vaccinated for rabies” and I could hear the doctor at my clinic back home telling me to “just stay away from animals.” For 6 months I had done just that. I worked so hard to not pet the dogs I encountered no matter how cute they looked, and in fact, I think a very friendly dog earlier that same day was the first physical contact I had with a dog the whole trip. 

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So now the adventure really began. 

I went to “Dr. Google” and got a clear answer that rabies was fatal for humans and I needed to act fast. (At that time, I did not find the CDC page on rabies, but I wish I had. Post-exposure treatment calls for immune globulin followed by the standard rabies vaccine. I didn’t find this out until later.)

Unfortunately, in my panic and anxiety, it was hard to make sense of anything clearly. I was taken to the hospital in the mountains and they quickly, although confusingly, made it clear that I needed to go back down the hill to the hospital in Chiang Mai. 

After more bewildering across-the-language-barriers and some planning, I got a ride back to Chiang Mai and was dropped off at Ram Hospital. The good news was that the treatment for rabies is fully effective if given in a timely manner, and I got there pretty quickly, all things considered. 

The bad news was that there was even more confusion (yes, this is a theme) at the hospital and I was only started on the vaccine and not given immune globulin, which is key for folks who are not already vaccinated. 

I went back to my hotel in a state of serious anxiety and updated DeeDee. Since it was morning in the US, I had DeeDee make sure my doctor saw my message. After a very restless night and some waiting the next morning, I received the message from my doctor that I had been fearing: I needed to get the immune globulin as soon as possible after the bite. 

Recognizing I could not turn back time, I went to nearby CM Mediclinic where they spoke English to avoid more language confusion and potential delays. They were so compassionate and kind and for the first time in about 18 hours since the bite, I felt my anxiety going down. The gave me the 8 shots of immune globulin I needed (including 3 directly into the wound on my thumb, ouch) and told me I should be fine. 

Since then I have had 3 more vaccine shots and I am now past the 10-day window so I feel very confident I don’t have rabies. This experience has been the worst of my trip and I can feel my anxiety rise as I write this. I am so grateful for the medical attention I received and recognize the class privilege that allowed me to pay for this. I hope my travel insurance will reimburse this but either way, I am very thankful I was able to get the treatment I needed without having that answer. 

So let this be a cautionary tale for your travels — even the smallest, cutest puppies can pack a powerful bite when you aren’t vaccinated for rabies and are traveling. I lucked out since I was relatively close to medical attention, managed to get properly treated in time even with the language confusion causing some delays and was prepared to pay for it. But I’m just as aware things could have been a lot different. This was a somber, if alarming, reminder to not get too comfortable when traveling abroad, even (or maybe especially) when puppies are involved.