House of horror in Al Barsha

Dubai: Instances of animal cruelty are hardly a rarity, but it would be difficult to find a precedent for what happened in a villa near Al Barsha in Dubai recently. In what must surely rank among the worst cases of neglect, a pet owner abandoned eight dogs in unimaginably filthy conditions and left them to fend for themselves.

It was on May 8 that American expatriate Sarah Johnson (name changed on request) found her neighbour’s dogs – a pit bull, three adult chihuahuas and four puppies in despicable conditions in a villa. “There was urine and faeces all over the place. It was so dirty that before putting my foot inside the house I had to clean it thoroughly,” she told XPRESS. She had gone there to check on the animals on the request of her neighbour who had left the villa.

“I made my way to the kitchen first where there were five dogs with little food and water, and their urine and faeces strewn all around. Three other dogs, a chihuahua with her two puppies, were holed up in a non-airconditioned bathroom. They were sitting on their own faeces and looked listless. It was heart-breaking to see the animals in such a miserable condition.”

Johnson said she immediately contacted her neighbour to tell him about the condition of the house. “He did not get back immediately. Then on May 10 he texted me to check on the dogs again. I went again and fed them water and food. Finally I could not bear to see the plight of the animals and contacted an animal rescuer on May 15. I myself took the chihuahua mum and her puppies into my house. The other five dogs were relocated by the animal rescuer,” she said.

The American also believes that three other chihuahua puppies and two Persian cats may have died in the villa some weeks ago as she did not find them on the day she rescued the animals. “I know that the chihuahua mum who was holed up in the bathroom had littered five puppies. But on the day I rescued her, there were only two puppies,” she said.

Animal rescuer Narges Khouzestan, who came to the villa on May 15, said she was shocked to see the state of the house. “The stench was unbearable. It looked as if the dog owner had left them to die,” said the Iranian based in Dubai.

As XPRESS visited the villa, we found the main door to the villa unlocked and the condition inside deplorable. The living room had furniture strewn all over and the kitchen was dirty with unwashed utensils clogging the sink.

“Such animal cruelty begs the need for stricter policies on animal welfare,” said Khouzestan. “Today people buy pets, but simply dump them when they don’t need them anymore. Rising rents too are forcing people to leave their villas and move to smaller apartments. Since pets are not allowed in apartments, they are simply dumped. Authorities have to do something about this and ensure these animals are better protected.

“There is plenty of help in Dubai for pet owners in distress. All you have to do is pick up the phone and ask for help instead of abandoning them in such despicable conditions.”

Animal Protection Law

Federal Law No. 16, issued in 2007 protects the rights of animals in the UAE. However, according to an animal expert, the law is not effective.

“There needs to be stricter policies for people owning pets in the UAE. The system of pet care should also be more transparent and helpful so that those scared to report their neighbours for animal cruelty will see that it is worth it,” said Mel Stones, Founder of Animal Action - Abu Dhabi.