Scrolling through social media, you may have stumbled upon a dog with multiple health issues in urgent need of help. One rescue dog that we’re about to feature today has the same condition as most dogs that you see online. Luckily, it reached the dog rescuer, Niall Harbison, who didn’t waste any chances to rescue the poor dog. Read how 48 hours can change a dog that’s been given the medical care and medications that it needs.
A message arrived to Harbison about a dog in need of his help, so he wasted no time rescuing it. An Instagram video showed the dog’s condition when he was found by Harbison, whose ribs are showing through the body and was tied to a short chain. He later named the dog Alba, which means dawn in Spanish and sunrise in Italian.
Alba was so underweight that Harbison described her “as light as a feather.” Harbison brought her to the veterinarian, where it was confirmed that she suffers severe weight issues with heartworms, anemia, blood parasites, and weakened organs due to her condition. No one knew how Alba made it still, given her conditions.
Harbison took Alba home with him as she’s in constant need of attention to attend to her needs. He gave Alba her medications, fed her, let her drink clean water, and so on. Luckily, Alba responded well to the care given to her in a span of 48 hours or two days.
Harbison said that Alba was too sick to stay at the Happy Doggo or the shelter for dogs up for adoption. Sadly, he didn’t know whether Alba would survive with all of the health issues she was facing at the same time.
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Who is Niall Harbison?
If your feed consists of rescue dogs, then most likely, you’ve stumbled upon a Niall Harbison video, like the story of Alba. But who is he, and why did he choose to rescue dogs?
Back on December 31, 2020, Irishman Niall Harbison, who’s based in Thailand’s Koh Samui island, admitted himself to a hospital because of a near-death experience with alc*hol. At that time, Harbison, who was 21 years old, was suffering from mental health complications that prompted him to be addicted to alc*hol.
During 2020’s COVID and breakup with his ex-girlfriend, life took a toll on Harbison. It made him consume bottles of w*ne each day. However, this practice led his body to break down, and he stayed in the ICU for 3-4 days.
Three and a half years later, Harbison fully recovered from his addiction as he started a new mission of feeding and caring for the street dogs of Thailand and those from other parts of Southeast Asia through his organization called Happy Doggo.
How Life Started with Happy Doggo
Happy Doggo started after Harbison was discharged from the hospital in January 2021 as he tried to think of what he wanted to do in life. All of it changed when Harbison was out jogging. When he noticed a malnourished dog following him, he later named the dog Lucky since he was the lucky one who made Harbison start his mission. He later bought Lucky food to eat from 7-Eleven and fed the dog. For Harbison, it felt good to help.
Harbison mentioned that there are about 8 million street dogs in Thailand. One day, he thought of getting a local lady to make all the food for them so it would be much cheaper and healthier. He put this plan into reality and later on started medical care for dogs.
Happy Doggo’s primary goal is to get the street dogs of Thailand spayed and neutered and help them stay fed so they never go hungry again. He formed teams from all over Thailand with people who were on the lookout to rescue stray dogs.
The Happy Doggo formed its own facility in Koh Samui to treat dogs with serious conditions like broken bones and illnesses like cancer. A hospital that he built is also in construction.
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From The Club
I didn’t know who Niall Harbison was until now, but I’ve always seen his videos of rescuing dogs from Thailand all over my feed. What truly touched my heart was his journey of battling addiction to finally finding his purpose in life, which was to rescue dogs. I believe that people who are good to dogs truly have a heart of gold, and Niall Harbison is the proof.