Long ago, Queeny was a beautiful puppy. She got all the food and attention she deserved. But when she was five months old, she abruptly found herself chained to a tree in the garden for days.
She fell pregnant and was thrown out on the street. For days, she tried to make it back inside, but the shouts, stones and abuse slowly pushed her away until she became known as "Queeny from the streets of Al Barsha".
Years passed, she had many puppies and was abused time and again. Still, she managed to survive and live in empty plots before being pushed out by another house under construction.
She has broken teeth — very likely from a stick, stone or kick.
Queeny was brought to my attention by people living in Al Barsha. During a late night walk, they would hear strange sounds from behind the bushes. Closer investigation showed nine beautiful puppies, round and soft, only a few days old. Their eyes were closed and they were snuggling together during the cold nights of January.
The danger was growing by the day; some workers had spotted the puppies and were trying to make a few dirhams from them. The puppies were about 20 metres from the main street, and the worst fear of all was that people would find these lively pups and take them away from their mother at such a young age.
Without success, we waited two long days with food, traps, sedatives and any other tricks that we could think of to try move the mother and puppies to a safer place.
Where to go?
By the third day, with the help of the authorities concerned, the mother and puppies were rescued. But where would they go?
Since the puppies had not been vaccinated, putting them with other dogs at a kennel meant putting their health at jeopardy.
The last alternative was my one-bedroom home, which is also a residence for another rescued dog and five rescued cats.
The last three weeks have been chaotic as Queeny chases my cats when they jump through the window to go outside. As she was feral and scared, it was impossible to house-train her, so my only alternative was to let her use my patio and clean up after her and her puppies every three hours.
The puppies are almost five weeks old and not old enough to be separated from the mother.
As they are beautiful and lovable, I am sure it would not be an issue to rehome the little ones — especially as K9 Friends has offered to do so once they've been vaccinated in the next three weeks.
My plea here is for Queeny. She is my 2010 challenge.
I pet, scratch and massage her, but because of her history she is often confused, not knowing if I'm going to gently stroke her head or hit her.
She will be happy in a home with a garden and with adults who will treat her lovingly and are ready to take up the challenge.
Deep inside her, Queeny still remembers that humans had loved her when she was a puppy, but she does not understand what went wrong.
Should anyone wish to see the best side of her and is ready to home Queeny, please call me on 050 7706711 or email me on artrepublic30@hotmail.com.
Additionally, you can join our Facebook group Friends of Animals or visit our newly-launched website www.friendsofanimalsdxb.com.
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