“One Woman’s Mission to Save Phuket’s Forgotten Animals” The story of Rawai Animal Lovers-Phuket Rescue, Adoption & Community, Phuket, Thailand. by Simone Allene
As part of Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort’s “Luggage of Love” Season 2 in 2025, the Blue Dolphin Team partnered with Rawai Animal Lovers – Phuket Rescue, Adoption & Community, an inspiring initiative led by Simone Allene. Passionate about Phuket and dedicated to animal welfare, Simone has been working tirelessly to help rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome animals across the island.
Here, she shares more about the journey, mission, and impact of Rawai Animal Lovers.
Question 1: “What inspired you to found Rawai Animal Lovers, and how has your vision for the shelter evolved since its inception?”
Rawai Animal Lovers began after the Tsunami of 26th December 2004.
Losing family and close friends, I stayed to help in the aftermath to find those that I had lost.
I also worked with both Poseidon CrusAIDers and the Phuket Sunshine Village Foundation to raise funds and work on specific projects to help build communities and homes, support orphans and empower people with the tools to rebuild their lives.
When times were difficult, I would visit my local temple as the peace and quiet helped me a lot.
The first time I went there, I saw a few dogs and one black female dog came and sat by me. She didn’t ask for anything, just sat there quietly providing companionship in a moment of grief. I began petting her and a monk came by. He told me there were about 12 dogs there and I asked what they were fed. It was a mix of left-over food from the school kitchens.
So, I began cooking food and feeding Dam and the other temple dogs every day from 8th January 2005.
Between 2005 and 2015, I was feeding up to 80+ dogs every day in and around Rawai, as well as the occasional cat.
As we worked on sterilizing the dogs and vaccinating them, the dog population decreased over time but, in exchange, this led to the next phase. An explosion in the cat population.
In 2016, I left my full-time job and began working more closely with Soi Dog Foundation as well as moving around more locally as I would hear about cats and dogs needing help from locals.
In 2017, I realised that my own funds and the occasional donation would be insufficient, so I set up the Rawai Animal Lovers Facebook page for the local community as I could not do this on my own.
Between 2016 and 2017, the percentage of cats and dogs being cared for in the community flipped 180º. I went from 90% dogs and 10% cats in 2016 to 90% cats and 10% dogs in 2017.
In November 2019, I moved house to a place where my new landlords allowed me to build a fence around the property and I could care for those cats and the occasional dog that were sick or abandoned. The RAL Shelter was open.
Since Covid and in the last 2-3 years, the number of animals abandoned is extremely high and all rescues and shelters find themselves being placed in very difficult and stressful situations.
The Shelter opened in November 2019 with 5 cats and now has around 42 cats. The worst-case scenario was during Covid when there was 50+ cats and 2 dogs at the Shelter.
The Shelter needs support in the form of food and veterinary care, volunteers to help feed and clean the cages and those who can improve the Shelter to make it more comfortable for the Shelter residents.
We are always looking for those that can foster animals which helps to take the pressure off the rescues and private volunteers.
Question 2 : “Can you share a specific success story, perhaps of an animal you rescued and rehomed that illustrates the life changing impact of community support and fundraising efforts like ours?”
During Covid, a kitten was heard crying in the jungle and some locals came to get me to help find it. After 2 hours, we managed to catch IB who was about 1 month old and a tiny orange kitten. He stayed at the Shelter and grew into the most affectionate cat.
6 months later, a child saw me at temple and was carrying another tiny kitten that he had just found. He was crying as he did not know what to do with it. Thus, Soda arrived at the Shelter.
Nicole, a teacher at an international school, was interested in adopting Soda as she had seen the photos of her on a post.
When Nicole visited the Shelter, IB jumped up on her and she was undecided as to which cat to adopt. A few days later, she adopted both cats together.
2 years later, Nicole had to move back to the US for family reasons and IB and Soda are now living their best life in Minnesota and have discovered and love snow!
Question 3 “Is there anything you’d like to share with others, and what would inspire you most to spread your mission among friends and family so we can reach even more animals in urgent need?”
Having helped people in the post-Tsunami projects and several projects since then, especially during COVID, I chose to help the stray and abandoned animals long-term as the animals helped me overcome my grief and loss and gave me a purpose.
Having worked hard to build a community where we can all help the animals as well as each other, support other feeders and rescuers, we would love to get even more of the community involved with their care instead of relying on the few to care for the many.
For the many visitors to Phuket, the problem of stray animals is an issue that is found all over the world, but knowing there are people who do what they can to help the abandoned, sick, and voiceless here, which they can visit and support, shows that community can make a big difference.
Contact via Rawai Animal Lovers or the RAL Shelter pages on Messenger is best.
Question 4 : There are many ways to help:
Adopt or foster an animal in need.
Donate to support medical bills, food, and shelter.
Volunteer your time for animal care, transport, or community outreach.
Spread awareness by sharing our stories and encouraging responsible pet ownership.
“Every Paw Deserves Love : The Rescue Mission of Rawai Animal Lovers”
Anyone who wishes to support or learn more can contact me directly:
Contact details and to support the community, please contact:
Simone Allene
Tel: 093 495 1133
Email: simone.allene@gmail.com
Facebook Community Page: Rawai Animal Lovers https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1PBZzc1QuB/
