Billed as the top activity on Ko Lanta (filled with hundreds of rave reviews on TripAdvisor), and being the crazy animal lovers that we are, Zac and I were extremely excited to visit Lanta Animal Welfare. The entire experience, from the facilities to the staff and volunteers, was amazingly inspirational.

Zac and I were fortunate enough to catch Junie Kovacs, the founder of LAW at her Time for Lime cooking school at a different part of the island, and chatted with her. She explained that when she first visited Ko Lanta, that there were dead dogs along the beaches, and tourists wouldn’t even leave their hotels, the scene was so gruesome. Many Thai people did not know what to do with unwanted animals, and often abandoned them or neglected them. Not only was there a huge population control issue, but the suffering of the animals was unconscionable to Junie. She founded Time for Lime cooking school, and to this day, all of the proceeds go toward keeping Lanta Animal Welfare operational.

Junie’s vision, her drive, and her commitment to the well-being of Ko Lanta’s animals was amazingly powerful. Lanta Animal Welfare provides “forever homes” to animals brought to its facilities, as well as offering spay/neuter services, education, and outreach to Thai locals. I may or may not have cried at least once during our tour, because it was so beautiful to see people making a difference in such a direct way.

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