Saluki on the road to recovery

We received an email from a good Samaritan informing us of this lovely Saluki and his terrible physical condition. He lived in a cage with a very pregnant Saluki that used to attack him during feeding time, which is a normal condition for a gestating animal.

When I collected him, he was simply too painful to look at. He came in a very small travelling cage folded inside like a picnic chair. He was too weak to even support his pitiful weight.

That night was a very long night. We got up every three hours to hand feed him, giving him dog food diluted in water. He was lying flat on the quilt in the same position we placed him hours before, too fragile to even hold his bladder.

The next day we took him directly to the vet clinic where he was exhaustively checked. He remained at the vet for over a month under regular observation to monitor the weight and some deteriorated skin patches, probably due to his living condition.

One very good morning after Atila’s community report appeared in Gulf News, I received a call from a lady called Katia Camp-Campins. She was interested in Atila’s case. She explained that she had two rescued Saluki pets (Shaikha and Jinni), and initially, she said that she would love to foster Atila with the view to permanently adopt him, if it works out.

Unfortunately, Atila was not showing any signs of friendliness and acceptance of other dogs. He was very defensive and aggressive.

We moved him to Michael San Juan, a dog trainer that has helped rehabilitate many of our complicated cases. Three days later, Atila was very entertained by the dogs around him and rediscovered those famous Saluki legs and what they were capable of.

He was finally introduced to the other Salukis, and although he was not very easy at first, Camp-Campins’ determination soon paid of all the fantastic effort.

I went to visit Atila, now named Sheeraz, a month later to see how he was doing. I was simply speechless! Animals are the most generous creatures on earth, and despite his initial misfortune in life, he soon understood that that period of his life was long gone. He looked as if he was not even related to that very sad dog that we rescued six weeks before.

Salukis are the one dog breed that takes a little longer to be homed for the simple reason that people have a misconception about the breed. The general public tend to believe that they are hyper and difficult dogs to have at home, but in fact it is the very opposite. At home, these dogs are calm, observant, static and playful at times, and they are a perfect home companion. They are not aloof or particularly impressed by anybody else, but they are loyal.

Salukis are a precious part of Arabic history and culture. It’s terribly upsetting that many are rescued from careless living conditions. Ultimately the dogs are homed overseas to loving responsible homes, where they will have a dignified life, treated as what they are: real Arabic culture gems.

We will like to thanks each and every individual that got involved with Atila’s case twisting his destiny and catalysing his horrific situation to an incredible happy ending.

- This reader is founder of Friends of Animals in Dubai

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