Sharjah: On October 18, 2013, my dog Chiku ran away from our villa, as the gate was mistakenly left open. After we realised that she was missing, we went looking for her in our neighbourhood of the Al Ramla area, in Sharjah. We distributed almost 100 posters and immediately put up advertisements on social media and even online classified pages offering a reward to the person who helped us find her.
We visited the Sharjah Municipality’s office for the next one week to check if they had come across any dogs in our neighbourhood, fearing that she might have been harmed in an accident. We even informed the police and visited the animal market in Sharjah for an entire month, in case someone tried to sell her there. But, all our efforts were in vain.
Months passed by and the pain of losing her deepened. We knew for a fact that she was stolen.
I continued to check the online classifieds for nine months and on July 12, 2014, I saw an advertisement of a rescued dog that looked similar to mine. I sent a message to the person who had advertised, alongwith a photograph of my dog.
What happened next was unbelievable! The individual replied with pictures of my dog in a rescue van operated by Little Angels, a non-profit organisation based in Sharjah that helps save injured, stray and abandoned animals.
I contacted the company and they mentioned that they had found her near Sharjah’s University City a week ago and had taken her to the Sharjah Cat and Dog Shelter (Scads). She was going to be operated for a cyst.
I was asked to visit the next morning and the doctor asked me to prove if it was my dog. I showed them pictures and was then asked to wait to see if Chiku recognised me. The minute I saw her, I went down on my knees and opened my arms, and she came running to me even though she was in pain and kept licking me thereafter.
She was completely traumatised, and I could see fear in her eyes. She seemed to have been abused in the nine months, because she had lost almost three-fourth of her body weight and looked completely lost. We also assume that she had been used for breeding and then abandoned on the streets once that was done.
After being at the shelter, I was surprised to see the number of abandoned animals. They have already suffered a lot in the past and deserve a good life ahead.
What I suggest is don’t buy, rather adopt a rescued animal if you want a pet. We can definitely make a difference to the lives of these little ones by giving a little of what we have.
The reader is a banker based in Sharjah.
