Abu Dhabi: Animal lovers and concerned residents in Abu Dhabi will breathe a sigh of relief as a new five-building extension of the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital animal shelter opens next month, promising a comfortable place to stay and a chance of a new life to hundreds of stray animals.
The shelter is intended to bring about a change in the way people in the emirate find pets, and will become the first stop for interested families and individuals who are looking to adopt a dog or cat, said Dr Margit Muller, director of the government hospital.
"The shelter is in its last phases of construction and will be an extension of the hospital's current shelter capacities, housing nearly 600 more stray and abandoned cats and dogs until they can be homed," she said.
Dr Muller, who has been with the hospital since 2001, received an Abu Dhabi Award in 2008 for her contribution to animal welfare and for finding a cure for the falcon disease Brotzul.
In addition to her expertise in falcon care, Dr Muller is also experienced in veterinary care of numerous other animals, including cats and dogs.
During an interview with Gulf News, Dr Muller spoke about the new shelter and other animal welfare issues:
GULF NEWS: Your existing premises currently house 168 dogs and 19 cats for adoption. In your opinion, what does the extension of this shelter signify for animal lovers and residents?
Dr Muller: The idea is to encourage residents and the general public to embrace the idea of an animal shelter so that the innocent stray animals can find a loving home.
When they decide to get a pet, they should first come to the shelter instead of visiting a pet store. We are beginning to slowly see this shift, and it is extremely positive.
Are there any advantages of adopting pets from a shelter, other than the fact that these animals obviously find a home for themselves?
The advantage in adopting pets from the shelter is that they can get an animal that is healthy, vaccinated, neutered and de-wormed, and we can also advise people about a suitable pet for them.
This way, the pet will be a right match for the family.
How are families or individuals who approach you for adoption screened to ensure that the animals go to a suitable home?
When people approach us for a pet, they have to answer a questionnaire asking important details like whether they already have a dog/cat and whether they have children, whether they are ready to pay the pet's expenses (food, veterinarian, vaccination), and also whether they understand that when going on leave, they need to find a comfortable place for their pet to stay. We also make the expenses clear to them, and then follow up for a month after the adoption to ensure the pet is settling in well.
Since all people are screened before adoption, how often do you allow the people who approach you to adopt a pet?
We work to ensure cats and dogs are homed as much as possible. Since 80 per cent of the people who approach us are friendly, they end up adopting. We do, however, screen some people because pets that end up in unsuitable homes unfortunately soon end up on the streets, and this is unfair for everyone.
What are the facilities you offer for people who are leaving the country, either on vacation or permanently?
We always ask expats whether they plan to take their pets with them when they relocate, and our Pet Care Centre helps in all the relocations and transfer procedures. In addition, when people want to go on vacation, they can leave their pets at our boarding facility that can house cats, dogs, birds and even other animals like tortoises and rabbits.
What can residents do when they find an abandoned or sick pet without an owner?
Residents can always bring abandoned or sick pets to our shelter. In addition, we have a lost-and-found pet service on our website.
Also, if people find sick animals on the street, they can obviously bring them to us, and this has been happening more often recently, which is a positive change.
Have you seen any change in the attitude towards animal welfare since you joined the falcon hospital? If so, is it driving the hospital's plans for further expansion?
People are definitely taking an active interest in the way both strays and pets are treated. When the hospital initially started in 1999, the plan was to keep only pet falcons.
However, most Emirati falcon owners who wanted to leave their birds with us when going on leave also had cats, and so we started offering shelter for these felines and expanded our services. Since then, we have had to expand every year. Now we see pets from Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and even Dubai.
In numbers
- 168 dogs available for adoption
- 19 cats offered for adoption
- 600 animals will be able to stay in the new shelter
