Stray animals find a home in Egypt's only pet sanctuary
(17 Apr 2014) LEADIN
Animal activists in Egypt are calling for more effective and compassionate ways to address the growing problem of stray animals running free on their city streets.
Stray dogs in Cairo have become a serious nuisance, but Egypt's only animal sanctuary is showing there is an alternative to poisoning or shooting strays.
STORYLINE:
This is one place in Cairo where dogs of all sorts can be safe.
All of these animals are former strays who've now found a home at this sanctuary run by the Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals (ESMA).
ESMA aims to improve all animal welfare in Egypt, not just stray dogs and cats.
It's the only shelter of its type in Egypt and today it's thrown open its doors to visitors in the hope of raising people's awareness about the plight of these animals and to raise funds to care for them.
ESMA operates two shelters like this one, where people can come and adopt abandoned animals.
With ongoing campaigns, initiatives, and advocacy ESMA aims to change public opinion and government policy on animal welfare in Egypt.
The dog sanctuary is located south of Giza near the Saqarra pyramids.
Marwa Tharwat is an animal lover.
She heard about the ESMA through her local veterinary surgery.
Tharwat says: "I started learning about (ESMA) through my vets. I had some incidents with street dogs. And one of them I tried to rescue. They were four puppies. And I went to my vets. And he said just as ESMA is a place they can take care of them. And since then I started like coming on and off because of the distance. I really don't have the ability to drive all the way. All I try to do is just to work with my neighbourhood and to give some donations through my vets."
Donations to the sanctuary aren't just made in cash, they come in the form of animal food, dog treats, even medical supplies and dog accessories.
Strays arrive here all the time and the vets ensure each new animal is given a full check up.
Any injuries are cleaned and disinfected, the dogs are given a rabies vaccination and if they require one, an xray.
ESMA's veterinarian, Mohamed Ahmed says: "If the dog had a car accident, we start dealing with it by injecting it with Hemostop to stop bleeding. But we still lack an xray in the sanctuary. So we do the xray in another pet clinic. Of course we do our best to check everything up on the dogs. xrays show us everything. And we are capable of dealing with all matters. We give them full health care. And if there is an infection we clean it quickly."
The government deals with strays by shooting, or poisoning them.
ESMA claims poisoning is most frequently used in affluent areas, especially neighbourhoods where foreigners live.
Tom and Susan Williamson moved to Egypt from Michigan in America more than a year ago.
They brought their pet dog with them, but he was accidentally poisoned.
Now the Williamsons want to show their support for ESMA.
Susan Williamson says: "We had our dog poisoned. We were living in Maadi. And we wanted to help the stray dogs of Egypt. And heard about the (ESMA) dog centre. So they had an open house today. And we want to come out and just support them. And meet the dogs. And they have walking that people come out and help volunteer walk the dogs. So I think I might be doing that in the future and making a donation. They are doing a very nice job here. The dogs look well fed and clean. "
The owner and founder of the ESMA group, Mona Khalil claims that dogs are being killed with strychnine, a poison which is banned in many countries around the world.
ESMA says it has treated over 1200 animals since it opened its doors in 2007.
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