Caroline Haywood is a veterinary surgeon at Blake Veterinary Group Ltd. in Bridgwater, Somerset. After qualifying from the RVC she saw mixed practice and then transitioned after 4 years into solely companion animal work. Over the last 16 years she has achieved a CertAVP, developed an interest in laparoscopy and spent 15 months working in Phuket, Thailand as the Medical Director of the Soi Dog Foundation, a not-for-profit organization and the largest animal charity in Asia. Here she describes her volunteering experiences at PACS, Koh Phangan, Thailand which she highly recommends to anyone in the veterinary profession wishing to rekindle their dwindling sense of purpose.