Late one evening, around a month ago, I was on my way back home from the stables in the deserted areas of Al Khawaneej when I saw a dog struggling to cross the road.
I pulled over to the side and realised he was in pain. He was a Labrador cross breed and was being followed by a very small, female puppy — she was underweight and her right leg was lame. The Labrador needed [a vet's] assistance, but I could not take him. Money was not the issue — my one-bedroom apartment is already home to five rescued cats and a rescued dog.
I had no choice but to feed them and then leave them behind. I continued to feed them every alternate day, since I found them.
However, a few weeks later, I discovered that the Labrador had a huge abscess under his jaw. The right side of his face was covered with wounds and his eye was also injured. I immediately took him back to the stables, treated him with iodine and disinfectants, washed, cleaned and fed him and took him back.
More recently, when I went on my usual round to feed the dogs, I was shocked to find a metal wire tied up very tightly around the Labrador's paw. The wire dug into his skin, revealing flesh and pus. The sickening reality hit me then — the dogs were being mistreated by human beings.
I left the dogs there and started to call people I knew for help. I got sedative tablets from an emergency veterinary clinic, a can of food, water and some blankets — I was back with the dogs by 4.30am.
I waited for over an hour for the sedatives to work, in order to move the dogs into my car. We reached the veterinary clinic in Arabian Ranches, where the Labrador was taken in. The smaller female dog was able to return, but had to be brought back later for X-rays to the front leg.
Several tests had to be done to establish how severe the injuries to the Labrador were. He was in bad shape, with open wounds, cuts, scars and broken teeth. He was able to recover within a few days and is now in need of a permanent home.
If you can help even for a short while, until we are able to find him a good home, please call me on 050 770 6711 or Jackie from K9 Friends on 050 274 1949.
The reader is a creative director, based in Dubai.
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