Dubai: An animal rescue centre in Umm Al Quwain has rescued a stray dog with over 50 pellets lodged inside his body after being shot at multiple times by unknown persons in an industrial area on Saturday.
Amirah Williams, founder of the non-profit Stray Dogs Centre UAQ, told Gulf News, “We received a call informing us that a stray called Peace at one of our 30 feeding stations was badly injured and was lying on the pavement with multiple pellets in his body. Our rescue team rushed to the site and transferred the dog to a vet clinic. It emerged that he had been shot at with a pump action shot gun.”
She said Peace, a Golden Retriever Cross, was sedated and operated upon at the Animal Specialty Clinic in Jumeirah, Dubai, to remove some of the hard pellet masses found in his chest and other critical areas. Not all the pellets could be removed as there were so many of them, she added.
Dr Lenka Prikrylova of the clinic said, “The dog was shot at in different areas - the shoulder, chest and both legs. The bone in his front leg was broken because of the impact of the pellets. He suffered a huge blood loss and was anaemic. He is now stable but not out of danger. The wounds will take a long time to heal and complications cannot be ruled out.”
While the condition of Peace is being closely monitored, Williams said, “What is alarming is that this is the third such incident that our centre has dealt with in the last two months. The earlier two dogs – Faith and Serenity – were fully paralysed after being shot at in a similar fashion. In the last six years, we have rescued 10 such dogs. One of them was shot at point blank range with a shot gun.”
She said it is appalling that the UAE law on animal protection is violated with such brazenness. “There are people getting away with such acts. It puts our rescue teams at risk too.”
She said the public should be more alert to notify those who violate the law. “With every such incident, we lodge a complaint. Hopefully, due action will be taken.”
