Cotton is welcomed back by her pack. She’s been resting all morning, but now it’s time to play. Cotton has a lower spine injury, and is partly paralysed, but thanks to the dog shelter, she’s recovering and is still able to have fun.
“One day I found a post about a dog. She was hit by a car in the street. I named her Hope, after I rescued her. She had liver damage because of the car accident and passed away like two days later. Then I decided to do something about it. I started to rescue and send my cases to clinics and vets. And then I woke up one day I found out that I have 18 dogs!” said Ahmed El Shorbagy , founder, Hope Rescue and Rehabilitation Shelter.
Today Ahmed and his team care for more than 160 dogs. Most of them are strays, known in Egypt as Baladi.
Limb injuries are the most common, mainly from car accidents. Although some cases are more serious. Like, someone fired a shotgun at Marzouka (dog) and Turbo (dog) survived a fall from the 12th floor.
After treating the animals’ injuries, Ahmed tries to find them new homes.
“In Egypt it’s hard, especially when mostly here we have stray dogs. So no one would adopt a stray tripod dog here in Egypt. In America and Europe it’s easier to find them a home. We adopted out 50 dogs in Europe, Canada and the U.S,” said Ahmed El Shorbagy , founder, Hope Rescue and Rehabilitation Shelter.
There are only six animal rescue centres in Egypt – all of which survive on donations. Hundreds of dogs have been saved, but it’s nowhere near enough.
“We have like almost 800 hundred thousand stray dogs in Egypt so it’s not enough. In Egypt we need more shelters, more rescuers,” said Ahmed El Shorbagy , founder, Hope Rescue and Rehabilitation Shelter.
After a series of unfortunate events, instead of getting the care they need, many of the dogs have found themselves abandoned. Deep inside they’re still the same little fun creatures they used to be. All they need is some love. And despite its humble capabilities the shelter has given them the care and love they need.
