Twenty-five years of
free care.

Founded from necessity

In September 2001, three women — Khun Niramon Brande, Shevaun Gallwey, and Heidi Farmer — opened a small animal clinic in a renovated building behind Phangan Suksa School in Baan Tai. They called it the Phangan Animal Care project. The name was practical, the ambition was quiet, and the need was overwhelming.

Before PAC opened, there were no veterinary services on Koh Phangan at all. Animal owners who needed a vet had to arrange transportation across the water to Koh Samui — a journey most could not afford and most animals could not survive in poor health. Sick strays had no options whatsoever. When the stray population grew, the government's response was culling.

Niramon, Shevaun, and Heidi believed there was a better way. They started vaccinating, neutering, and treating injuries. They kept records. They kept their doors open every working day. They kept going.

A permanent home — and a new focus

Seven years in, the project had outgrown its borrowed premises. In 2008, PACS bought land in Wok Tum and built a purpose-built clinic — the site it still occupies today. Purpose-built meant proper wards, proper recovery space, and the ability to keep in-patients overnight under observation.

That same year, something significant happened elsewhere on the island: Koh Phangan's first private veterinary clinic opened — founded by a former PAC volunteer and alumna. For the first time, island residents with owned pets had somewhere to go. PAC no longer needed to serve both populations. It could do what it had always done best, but exclusively.

The project renamed itself PACS — Phangan Animal Care for Strays — and refocused entirely on sick and injured stray animals. The scope narrowed. The impact deepened. Government culls, which had been an intermittent reality on the island for years, have not occurred since PACS opened.

Governance and legal foundation

In October 2013, PACS formed a Board of Directors — five members, majority Thai, drawn from the local community. The Board governs the organisation, oversees finances, and represents PACS to local government and institutional donors.

In the same period, PACS applied for formal Foundation status under Thai law. That application remains pending local government approval. Until it is granted, PACS operates as a community organisation under the oversight of its Board — with the same financial transparency, the same governance standards, and the same commitment to the island.

New leadership, same mission

In February 2014, Elle Brindle joined PACS as Head Nurse. Qualified as a veterinary nurse in 2010 and experienced in clinical animal care, Elle brought professional rigour to day-to-day operations. She took responsibility for all clinical decisions and patient care from the outset.

In 2017, Elle became PACS Manager — taking on full operational responsibility in addition to her clinical role. That same year, Mr Chamniam (Niam) joined as Grounds Manager, living on-site and managing the early-morning animal care, maintenance, and all the practical continuity that a hospital running seven days a week requires.

Twenty-five years open and counting

PACS has now completed more than 22,000 examinations, neutered nearly 6,000 animals, and administered over 7,400 rabies vaccines. Koh Phangan has had zero reported rabies cases since the hospital opened. The stray population is managed humanely. The private clinic that opened in 2008 continues to serve pet owners. And PACS, as it always has, opens its doors every working day to the animals with nowhere else to go.

All of it — every surgery, every vaccine, every night of recovery care — is funded entirely by donations. No government funding. No institutional grants. The people of Koh Phangan, and visitors who care, keep the hospital running.