Jordan is a terrible place to be a street dog. Less than a decade ago, the country’s unofficial ‘holy war against dogs’ led to what was essentially a genocide, with citizens and municipalities alike poisoning, shooting and killing dogs in cruel and horrific ways.
Archived image from Jordan.
In the years since, street dogs continue to be stigmatized and abused by the public. For these innocent creatures, life is a living hell.
Many Jordanians see dogs as ‘filthy pests’ who are fit for nothing better than extermination, shooting them and deliberately running them over with cars before leaving them for dead.
This is exactly what happened to Zara, a 4-year-old female dog our partner, the Al Rabee shelter, was alerted to. With no time to waste, our partner rushed Zara to the vet for emergency treatment. Her wounds were severe, with bleeding ears and nose, difficulty breathing and nystagmus, a condition that causes her eyes to make repetitive, uncontrolled movements and can lead to compromised vision and loss of balance.
Credit: Al Rabee
A thorough veterinary examination revealed that poor Zara had ruptured eardrums as well as anemia from a pulmonary hemorrhage. The hemorrhage was causing internal bleeding, with blood pooling in her respiratory tract – a serious, life-threatening condition.
Our team believes that Zara was hit by a car, which they suspect dealt a significant blow to her head and chest.
On top of these severe injuries, the vet found a bullet stuck in her back – not only had she been run over by a car, she had been shot!
We discovered that Zara was six weeks pregnant when she was shot and hit by a car – and miraculously, her unborn puppies survived the trauma.
Credit: Al Rabee
She may look dead but Zara and her unborn pups survived against all the odds. Now, they desperately need your help! Will you be their lifeline today?
Al Rabee is the only animal shelter in the Aqaba area, providing crucial food and medical attention for as many dogs in the 144.8-square-mile (375km²) region as possible. But with over 500 dogs at the shelter, and hundreds more street dogs relying on it for care, it is struggling under immense financial strain. Even though the shelter is full, its team continues to take in serious cases, knowing that without help, the dogs will have little chance of survival.
Our team is dedicated to saving as many lives as they can, but they are currently drowning in vet bills, threatening their ability to continue their life-saving work.
This poor young dog was hit by a car. Our team was able to save her life but not her leg.
Credit: Al Rabee
Emergency situations like this happen almost every week.
If we can raise $3,000 (£2,400), we can help cover the vet bill for Zara and her unborn pups, and ensure that other dogs will receive the critical long-term veterinary care they need.
Six of the other puppies that were found terrified and alone.
Credit: Al Rabee
Your donations can provide life-saving care to countless injured, abandoned dogs in Aqaba.
Please donate generously today!
Facing relentless, heart-wrenching abuse, these dogs truly have no one to turn to but you. With your help, we can empower our team to keep saving lives through crucial feeding schemes and veterinary interventions. Please, donate whatever you can today!
For the animals,
P.S. As I wrote this, our team found six terrified puppies hiding after their mother was shot and killed. Without our life-saving work, Zara, her unborn litter, and these rescued puppies would have little chance of survival. There are few areas in the world where street dogs need our help as much as this region in Jordan – please support our mission to save them from suffering today!
Banner credit: Al Rabee