One of Ireland's best-known media entrepreneurs has left the world of news for good to instead "devote" his life to saving thousands of stray dogs.
Niall Harbison, founder of the Lovin' Group that owns sites such as Lovin' Dublin, left the business in 2018 and has been spending most of his time in Thailand since.
The Tyrone native departed Dublin for Koh Samui the same year and "fell in love with the stray dogs and the weather".
The 42-year-old says the media industry "isn't the world for him" and instead he plans to stay in Thailand for the foreseeable future as he focuses on his latest endeavour.
Niall recently announced his '10,000 Dogs' mission which aims to help 10,000 stray dogs a month by feeding, looking after and giving them a better life.
The dog fanatic was struck on his arrival in Thailand by the huge numbers of canines roaming the streets without anyone to take care of them.
He has since taken 20 dogs under his wing by seeking them out and feeding them every day, which currently costs him around €500 a month.
Niall hopes to extend this care and attention to thousands more of the animals, not just by giving them regular meals but also by building a community that can take part in his work.
"I have always been obsessed with dogs [but] I never had one until I was 32," he told the Irish Mirror.
"I wasn't allowed growing up and then I lived in apartments and was travelling too much. Once I got a house I got my first dog Snoop.
"I'd always fed the strays here on an ad hoc basis but decided recently to make it my life's work."
Thailand is "full of strays" as "it's just the way things are" which can be difficult for people who haven't visited to comprehend, he said.
"People are very kind to the dogs in terms of feeding them but they lack medical help and there is no neutering which is the main problem," he said.
"They really are like all the dogs we know and love in the West in our homes. There might be the odd bad egg who would snap but that is incredibly rare. They just want love and care like all dogs."
Niall explained how the '10,000 Dogs' mission came about and why he chose such an ambitious monthly target.
"I had been feeding some dogs the odd time on a whim as I saw them for the past six months. Just popping into the shop to grab them some food when I saw them," he said.
"I came to the realisation that wasn't enough or really that fair as they needed someone they could depend on for a regular meal.
"I started a few weeks ago by adding them to a regular dog round where I feed the same ones so as they know I am coming.
"The big problem is that there are 100,000s of thousands of strays in Thailand and the feeling was always that while I am doing some good there are so many out there who are still going without.
"That's when I picked the 10,000 number and told myself I would dedicate my life to making it happen.
"It's a crazy big target and will take time to figure out how to do it. I've run businesses and grown companies in the past so I hopefully might have the skills to make this happen."
Despite doing his best to help these animals that have no one else, he admitted it was "really hard" knowing there are some dogs he won't be able to save.
"Knowing there are so many going hungry or that they are suffering is incredibly hard," Niall said.
"I just square it off by telling myself I am doing some good and will do more so in the future. The dogs are actually all super friendly.
"They'd easily slip into a lifestyle in a home. I've also made a rule that I can't take any home as that isn't a solution for getting to 10,000 dogs much as I would love to do it."
Niall will be giving updates on the initiative through his newsletter which you can subscribe to here.
