Tribute to an Animal Lover

Leone
Cosens (2nd from left) lost her life while trying to warn other people at
Yanui Beach.
Phuket Gazette
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Phuket, and the Rawai community in
particular, lost one of its most dedicated and lovely people to Boxing Day
tsunami. Leone Cosens, wife of Tim and friend to many, moved to Phuket
from New Zealand some 11 years ago and quickly helped establish the Phuket
Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), which, along with other organizations, has
helped care for, sterilize, and therefore reduce Phuket’s stray dog
population.
Leone worked with her Thai helpers selflessly,
tirelessly, and very often at her own expense, to help strays in the south
of the island, and around Nai Harn Beach in particular.
Leone and her husband Tim worked hard in recent
years, creating a beach paradise at Yanui Beach, near Laem Phromthep. It
was there that she went to respond to a call for help from some guests
staying there. It appears she was swept away by the strongest wave that
demolished everything on and around the small, popular beach.
Leone, like so many casualties that day, had no
chance of escape. Her friends and relatives can only be thankful that her
end would have been swift. She will be deeply missed – and her fellow dog-carers
will endeavor to continue her excellent work.
Friends can pay their respects to Leone at Rawai
temple, where her body will be kept until her funeral at noon on Friday
(31 December).