Cycle of abandonment
Aside from the enormous expense of relocation for an animal to the owner’s home country, why do people still insist on keeping pets here (‘Residents urged not to abandon pets,’ Gulf News, June 20)? I love dogs, but do not keep dogs or any other animal under my roof simply because keeping a pet is like having another child. If I think realistically, this is not something I can afford – both morally and financially.
There are now around 20 stray cats living in and around the dumpsters outside of our compound. There seems to be a never ending cycle of cats being thrown out by their ex-owners and eventually being dealt with by the municipality. It’s very sad.
From Ms Sarah Louise
Sharjah
Website comment
Offer them homes
The treatment of animals by some people is downright disgraceful. Cats, dogs and other pets being thrown out and abandoned is rife. People need to realise the commitment and responsibility that comes with caring for a pet.
I have four cats and a dog. All of them are rescued pets that had been thrown out because someone was too lazy, callous or irresponsible to look after them. They will all spend the rest of their days as loved members of our family. I would willingly go without feeding myself in order to make sure they are cared for. This is the amount of commitment that owning a pet takes.
The animal rescue organisations in the UAE do fantastic work but it is often overwhelming. Please support them if you can. If you have the time, foster a homeless animal. If you have the commitment, adopt and give one a permanent home. Donate a few dirhams, some food, or an hour of your free time to one of the animal rescue charities if you can. Never buy a pet. There are thousands of family pets in the UAE that are homeless and just waiting to be given a second chance to go give you back the love they deserve.
From Mr Jon
Dubai
Website comment
Heartless
How can people be so heartless? To abandon a family member simply because it’s not convenient to keep them is both cruel and inhumane.
From Ms Devleena D. Chatterjee
UAE
Facebook comment
Deserve a family
We are all living in a sophisticated world. We are going through that phase where technology has made our work more and more simple, day by day. So, it becomes a duty to spend some time taking care of the abandoned pets. We can a find a number of them in our neighbourhoods. People who own pets must not abandon them and instead they should take care of it. If it’s really not possible, then at least send them to an organisation where pets are taken care of. We can do our part by making donations also. These pets deserve a family!
From Ms Aishwarya
Dubai
Website comment
Guilty conscience
Pets are family members and should not be disposed off due to inconvenience. I have two pets and I find it hard to believe people can muster up the courage to dispose their pets so easily. Even though they give excuses to defend themselves, they will have to live with a guilty conscience.
From Mr N. Ba
UAE
Facebook comment
Animals have rights
Thank you, Gulf News for raising this issue. There are many organisations all over the world to help poor people and there are very few for animals. They have the same right as we have to be alive. These animals help us in so many ways through their companionship. How can people be so cruel with these loving animals?
From Ms Archana Sen
UAE
Don’t speculate
How do we know the person who stabbed her was a British citizen (‘Saudi university student stabbed to death in London,’ Gulf News, June 20)? The person could have been from anywhere. Also, we don’t know for sure why she was targeted. Maybe her actions triggered a response. But maybe it really was a targeted attack because she wore an abaya. How can anyone know? It could be any number of reasons. If we speculate and begin with accusations, it’s going to make people argue and fight. So please, pray for her soul and for the killer to be caught.
From Ms Quiteria Susan Gomes
Dubai
Facebook comment
Saddening attack
It’s a very saddening attack on a student in a peaceful country. If the attack is due to her wearing an abaya, then this is also a very shameful act.
From Mr Hassan Ali Tariq
Sharjah
Acceptance and tolerance
This is so sad. We are all created by God, why have we developed such a hatred towards one another? Wish that we could accept and tolerate each other irrespective of our religion, colour and nationality.
From Ms Tehmina Nadeem
Abu Dhabi
Pray for her
Saying this was a hate crime is only speculation and not actually factual. There are many different nationalities living and working in the UK. How do you know who did it?
Some readers are commenting, speculating and stirring up hate. They do not know who did it yet and they are investigating.
So many people seemed to be filled with hate for other humans without knowing what’s going on. Please pray for the girl’s soul and her family without getting so wound up. Murder is murder, whatever nationality the victim or the attacker is, they should be punished accordingly!
From Ms Caroline Wareham
Dubai
Inconsistent
Awareness on checking tyres in an important subject to bring up but Gulf News should have clearly indicated how many years tyres are valid according to Abu Dhabi (‘Worn tyres could cost you your life, expert warns,’ Gulf News, June 20). There is conflicting information. Some say four years, some say five. I have seen friends who passed their registration test with completely worn out tyres. It seems to be more of a matter of luck than policy.
From Mr P. Bekaert
UAE
Spreading blessings
Ramadan Kareem is a special and prestigious event for Muslims (‘DHA says Ramadan Kareem with charity initiative,’ Gulf News, June 20). We all are ordered by God to stay hungry for hours and hours to feel the pain of hungry people and we donate food, money, clothes and sweets among the less fortunate. In short, Ramadan Kareem is meant to spread blessings and happiness among each other.
From Mr Sadaf Khan
UAE
Wastage of food in food courts
As a conscious resident, I must take issue with the wastage of food in food courts. Recently I had visited a restaurant and what I saw grabbed my attention. As I was the last one to have a meal from a well known food court before it closed for the day, I saw all the leftover food that wasn’t served or used yet, was just getting dumped into a garbage chute.
With due respect, I wish to draw the attention of the concerned authorities and general public through your esteemed newspaper towards the wastage of food in food courts and to take immediate action towards this. It could even be a rounding of customers they would have for each day and prepare only that amount of food rather than throwing it away.
From Ms Aparna Mani
Dubai
Afraid of the bill
I have been using etisalat e-Life service for more than two years and earlier they had 20 minutes free international calling within Dh299 (‘e-Life Triple Play customer says he has been charged for a series of movies he never watched,’ Gulf News, June 20). I was using a landline only for local landline calls within Dubai and internet. Without any prior notice, they have stopped international minutes and we were under the assumption that it still applied and used it within 20 minutes.
Suddenly, our monthly bill went up to Dh450 and doubled every month. I recently received a call from one of the call agencies to increase from 8MB to 10MB speed, and I was told it was a mandatory upgrade and that it will provide me with a complimentary HD connection and free telephone receiver for Dh349.
Once it was confirmed, it would cost usDh100 to cancel it.
I do not want the HD connection but, I am forced to take it by the call agent, and I am scared how much the bill is going to be every month!
From Mr Yasar Arafat
UAE
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