How a British couple in the UAE stepped up to rehome over 50 abandoned dogs and cats: 'A forever home for all'

Where there's hope, there's a will, and when there's a will, there are many, many ways.

It's this iron-clad hope that leads rescuers to the abandoned, injured and traumatised dogs and cats across the UAE. While there are stories within stories, While there are stories within stories, one such story belongs to Charlie and Elsa Bannan, a British couple who have set themselves a target of rehoming over 50 animals, working in partnership with established UAE-based organisations including K9 Friends and Animals & Us, Fujairah. Charlie runs a real estate firm, Haus & Haus, in Dubai.

Their approach: Rather than just donating money or time, the Bannans have donated their own real estate, quite literally. The dogs and cats in need of homes are now being featured directly within actual property listings online, appearing alongside the houses and apartments Haus & Haus has for sale or rent. The idea repurposes something the couple already had in abundance, reach, and listings people actively browse, and turns it into a shopfront for animals that might otherwise go unseen.

Charlie Bannan explains how the idea took root. "The initiative started with our marketing director, Lucy Nickerson," he says. "She created and executed the idea, and the response has been overwhelming." He describes being met with an extraordinary number of people reaching out, stepping up to help animals. "It has been overwhelming. I really didn't anticipate such a reaction."

As he tells it, it was his wife who was the real animal lover, at first. "I didn't have much insight," he admits frankly, adding that the couple already had four cats at home. But three years ago, that changed. He came across Duke, a pug who had been abandoned in a villa, left behind by a tenant moving from one house to another, shut in a building with no air-conditioning. The reality of the situation was crushing, and the couple took Duke into their home, and their hearts. "He has been with us for over two years now," Charlie says.

There are many such Dukes across the UAE, most left without any explanation. Much of it, rescuers say, comes down to a lack of awareness: as people relocate between countries, they often struggle to figure out how to bring their pets with them, or simply don't know it's possible. In the heat of the moment, that confusion turns into surrender, or worse, abandonment.

Siddhi Mulaokar, a volunteer at K9 Friends, has seen the shift firsthand. "Many people now know they can relocate their pets," she says. "In the past 35 years, we have actively tried to find resources to send the cats abroad, or care for them when they're in a dire situation. For the people who are adopting, we instil responsible ownership, you've got to take care of it."

The work doesn't stop once a dog or cat finds a foster spot. "When an animal isn't adopted quickly, we don't stop caring for it," she says. "We medicate it, we look after it properly, we take care of all the dogs."

She also disagrees with the myth that older dogs take longer to find homes. "We've had older dogs get adopted and go all the way to the UK," Mulaokar recalls. "It turned out to be someone's mother, and it worked out perfectly, because the dog was slower, and so was she."

Her favourite story: "We took a call about a saluki at the shelter. This girl cannot be controlled, the caller said, I just cannot keep her. So we took her in, posted about her on social media, and within twenty minutes, we had a call from the Royal Palace. That saluki was adopted, and went on to live in the palace."

Lewis Davey, Founder of Idea Farm, the agency behind the initiative, says that behind these a campaign, is just that a pet, makes a house, a home. "Putting rescue pets in home environments helped potential home buyers visualise a new home, with a new pet. The response has been incredible so far, but the big ambition is to partner with the Government and turn this into an annual initiative and bring together the whole real estate sector to rehome hundreds of pets."

Ben, also from K9 Friends, is candid about the reality of the work: Some dogs stay far longer than others. "Our aim is for it to be forever," he says. "To find a home forever. Somewhere out there, there is a forever for every one of them."

And for the dogs already lucky enough to have found theirs, the outlook is simple. Every day is an adoption day.