“Unfolding the Chronicles with a Homeless Dog, a Trembling Soul Navigating the Harsh Realities of Life on the Streets. His spirit was broken, and his heart bore the invisible scars of abandonment and neglect. Fear had become his constant companion, and he sought refuge in the shadows of a world that had shown him little kindness.
But amidst the indifference of the world, there were those who saw the urgency of his situation. Compassionate individuals, driven by empathy and a deep love for animals, recognized the urgency of his plight. Their hearts ached at the sight of a dog so scarred and broken, and they endeavored to offer him a lifeline of hope.
The road to healing was a delicate mission, marked by patience and gentleness. The scarred homeless dog, initially wary and fearful of human contact, was approached with utmost care. It took time, but slowly, trust began to form between the dog and his newfound caretakers. Commissioned by passion and genuine concern, they worked tirelessly to offer him a lifeline of hope.
The journey to healing was a turbulent path, a trial by fire to transform the broken spirit. He was gradually coaxed away from the shadows that had been his refuge, and his heart began to thaw in the embrace of love and reassurance. With each passing day, his fear gave way to trust, and his wounded soul found solace in the silent gestures of compassion.
The pivotal moment of rescue was a triumphant point in the dog’s life. He was gently coaxed away from the haunting memories of his rough background, and he found himself enveloped in an atmosphere of care and belonging. With each passing day, his fear transformed into courage, and he began to blossom in the warmth of genuine affection and understanding.
The dog’s journey from a place of darkness to the embrace of light is a poignant reminder of the capacity for compassion and intervention, even in the face of overwhelming fear and despair. The scarred homeless dog, once abandoned and broken, became a beacon of resilience and hope.
This tale is a testament to the power of resilience in the face of adversity, a celebration of the indomitable spirit that, despite all odds, strives for love and redemption. It stands as a reminder that, even in the darkest corners of life, there is always room for a brighter tomorrow, fueled by love, compassion, and the unyielding spirit to overcome.”
Animal rescue volunteers launch Gaza’s first spay-and-neuter scheme
In the impoverished Gaza Strip, where most people struggle to make ends meet amid a crippling blockade, the suffering of stray dogs and cats often goes unnoticed.
Said el-Er, who founded the territory’s only animal rescue organisation in 2006, has been trying to change that. He and other volunteers rescue dogs and cats that have been struck by cars or abused and nurse them back to health – but there are too many.
So in recent weeks they have launched Gaza’s first spay-and-neuter programme. It goes against taboos in the conservative Palestinian territory, where feral dogs and cats are widely seen as pests and many view spaying and neutering as forbidden by Islam.
“Because the society is Muslim, they talk about halal (allowed) and haram (forbidden),” Mr El-Er said. “We know what halal is and what haram is, and it’s haram (for the animals) to be widespread in the streets where they can be run over, shot or poisoned.”
Islam teaches kindness towards animals, but Muslim scholars are divided on whether spaying and neutering causes harm. Across the Arab world, dogs are widely shunned as unclean and potentially dangerous, and cats do not fare much better.
Mr El-Er and other advocates for the humane treatment of animals face an added challenge in Gaza, which has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since the Islamic militant group Hamas seized power in 2007. Gaza’s two million residents suffer from nearly 50 per cent unemployment, frequent power outages and heavy travel restrictions.
With many struggling to meet basic needs, animal care is seen as a waste of precious resources or a luxury at best. Mr El-Er’s group, Sulala for Animal Care, relies on private donations, which can be hard to come by.
Mr El-Er says his team can no longer keep up with the number of injured animals that they find or that are brought to the clinic. “The large number of daily injuries is beyond our capacity,” he said. “That’s why we resorted to neutering.”
On a recent day, volunteers neutered a street dog and two cats that had been brought in. There are few veterinary clinics and no animal hospitals in Gaza, so they performed the operations in a section of a pet store that had been cleaned and disinfected.
“We have shortages in capabilities, tools, especially those needed for orthopaedic surgeries,” said Bashar Shehada, a local veterinarian. “There is no suitable place for operations.”
Mr El-Er has spent years trying to organise a spay and neutering campaign but met with resistance from local authorities and vets, who said it was forbidden. He eventually secured a fatwa, or religious ruling, stating that it is more humane to spay and neuter animals than to consign an ever-growing population to misery and abuse.
Once the fatwa was issued, Mr El-Er said local authorities did not object to the campaign as a way of promoting public health and safety. The Hamas-run health and agriculture ministries allowed veterinarians to carry out operations and purchase supplies and medicine, he said.
The Gaza City municipality provided land for a shelter earlier this year. Before that, Mr El-Er kept the rescued animals at his home and on two small tracts of land that he leased.
The new shelter currently houses around 200 dogs, many of them blind, bearing scars from abuse or missing limbs from being hit by cars. At least one was adjusting to walking with a prosthetic limb. A separate section holds cats in similar shape.
The group tries to find homes for the animals, but here too it faces both economic and cultural challenges. Very few Gazans would keep a dog as a pet, and there’s little demand for cats. Some people adopt the animals from abroad, sending money for their food and care.
Over the past decade, international animal welfare groups have carried out numerous missions to evacuate anguished animals from makeshift zoos in Gaza and relocate them to sanctuaries in the West Bank, Jordan and Africa.
But there are no similar campaigns for dogs and cats, and Gaza has been sealed off from all but returning residents since March to prevent a coronavirus outbreak.
Mr El-Er’s phone rang recently and the caller said a dog had been hit by a car. Volunteers from Sulala brought it back to the shelter on the back of a three-wheeled motorbike and began treating it. Mr El-Er says they receive around five such calls every day.
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