Somewhere in Koh Samui, Irishman Niall Harbison is making a world of difference for street dogs. What started as a simple desire to help a few strays by nursing them back to health and finding them loving homes has turned into a mission that spans continents. He’s not only found the pups loving homes all over the world but last year, one of his rescue pups ended up in the home of none other than Liam Gallagher, one half of British band Oasis.
A street dog named Buttons
Niall, who set up Happy Doggo on the island of Koh Samui, said that the pup – which he named Buttons – who would invite herself to the sanctuary day after day. Eventually she stayed at the sanctuary, spending about three months at Happy Doggo before being posted for adoption.
Then came a big shock for Niall: among the names in the application form to adopt Buttons was none other than Liam Gallagher. At first, Niall thought it was a prank, but after numerous checks, it turned out that the potential adopter was indeed Liam himself. One of the checks was a video call with Liam and his wife, a standard protocol with all applicants to check if their home was suitable for Buttons.
One thing led to another, and Buttons soon joined the Gallagher family all the way in the UK. That was back in 2023, and Buttons has since settled in nicely with Liam and family.
As if that’s not enough, Liam Gallagher dedicated “Half The World Away” to Buttons during his tour this year, and even helped Happy Doggo raise enough money (£25,000) to build a hospital for rescued pups.
And now that Oasis has officially announced that they’re getting back together again, some are jokingly speculating that Liam’s new pup has something to do with it. Not bad for a little puppy that came from the jungle, eh?
Niall and Happy Doggo
Happy Doggo got its start in early 2021 with a simple mission: feeding hungry street dogs on Sunday mornings. According to their website, founder Niall was recovering from a near-death experience related to substance abuse and began jogging around Koh Samui to get his life back on track. During his runs, he’d come across some malnourished dogs and started bringing them food. That small act of kindness quickly grew into something much bigger after he started sharing the videos online.
As his online presence grew – he has over 300,000 followers on X as of late August – his global audience donated the necessary funds to secure a plot of land to build not just a sanctuary, but also a hospital for street dogs.
Similar to how little Buttons ended up with Liam Gallagher, many of the dogs from the sanctuary end up in good homes halfway around the world – mostly in the UK, Europe, and the USA. For example, Mr. Fox, one of their first rescues, ended up in Montana, and little Rodney found a home all the way in Wales.
Some dramatic rescues
Niall not only spends him time tending to affairs at Happy Doggo, but also updates his followers on the various rescues. Usually, they would only take in dogs that have been seriously neglected or abused in order to rehabilitate them and eventually find them good homes. Some of the most dramatic rescues include:
Billy: He was found in the streets with his face slashed. He had brain swelling, PTSD, and very little sight. After two trips to the animal hospital, Billy has completely recovered and is now a happy pup!
Whacker: He was found with a huge gash in his head. He’d been hit with a pickaxe and was millimetres away from death. Thankfully he made full recovery and has since been adopted by a family in Glasgow!
McMuffin: She was found covered in cancerous tumours and close to death. The team thought the only thing they could do was keep her comfortable until the inevitable happened, but not only did she survive, she thrived! The chemotherapy meant that she lost an eye, but gained something better: a new home in Germany!
Hope: She was attacked with a machete and a nail gun and had completely shut down. A silver lining for her came when a volunteering tourist fell in love with her, and adopted her. Hope now lives in London!
Faith and Phoenix: Both dogs had been caged for years and smelled horrendous, all raw skin and fur matted with poop. They didn’t even look like dogs. Faith had a deep wound around her eye with maggots crawling around it! It took a lot of patience, cleaning and medication – the pair look absolutely different now. Faith has been adopted by a family in Ireland, while Phoenix is still looking for a forever home.
Want to hear more inspiring rescue stories? Check out Happy Doggo or Niall‘s personal X page. Some posts are guaranteed to restore your faith in humanity! And if you’re interested in adopting any of the pups, head over to their website!
