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Lucy and Jess Farrar.

BIG-hearted sisters have travelled thousands of miles to help dogs that have been rescued from the streets of Thailand – and possibly the dog meat trade.

Instead of just soaking up the sun on the fabled beaches of the island of Phuket, Lucy and Jess Farrar from Auldearn worked with the Soi Dog Foundation as volunteers.

Lucy (18) said: “Having learned about the plight of dogs and cats in Asia, we felt compelled to travel to the Soi Dog Foundation to help support their incredible work.

“The dog and cat meat trade is unfathomably cruel and Soi Dog has fought, and continues to fight, tirelessly to eradicate the trade and to educate against the torturing and slaughter of man’s best friend.

“The foundation is doing amazing work to combat puppy mills, neuter and vaccinate hundreds of thousands of street animals, provide outstanding veterinary treatment and give many abused and traumatised animals a fresh start – a life filled with love. How could we not get involved?”

Jess (22) said that she and Lucy spent their days at Soi Dog showing the animals that not all humans are cruel.

The overall aim was to build trust and to show love in the hope that these often scared and nervous animals can be healed and rehomed.

Jess added: “We were responsible for 24 energetic ‘teenage’ dogs during our time at the shelter. The dogs are introduced to walking on the lead and are socialised with other dogs and humans, resulting in an astonishing improvement in confidence, trust and happiness.

“There is simply no job or day more rewarding or heart-warming than spending a day at Soi Dog. We left every day with our hearts full, knowing that we were helping to change these dogs’ lives and to show many of them the love and care they had simply never known before.”

John Dalley, founder of the charity, said: “It’s wonderful having people like Lucy and Jess giving up their time to help us. Although we have paid employees such as our veterinarians, we rely very much on volunteers to do much of the essential work. We are always most grateful for their generosity. We couldn’t do it without them.”

The sisters were also praised by Amanda Leask from Struie, who has played a leading role in rescuing dogs from the meat trade in China and Thailand. Last year one of her rescue dogs, Braveheart hit the headlines after she was brought to Scotland with mutilated front legs.

To learn more about the Soi Dog Foundation, visit www.soidog.org