The "Pet" Culture in Doha - Shocking Stories

Today I visited QAWS - Qatar Animal Welfare Society on behalf of the 'Make a Difference Day' committee organized jointly by Reach Out To Asia and Education City. It was around 9:30 AM that almost 30 of us reached QAWS, which looks a lot like a farm, and definitely not Qatar. This is what QAWS looked like when we got off the bus.

I was eager to meet the animals, especially the dogs and puppies. As we entered, we got a tiny tour of the place, instructions and the agenda of the day. We had to walk the dogs, bathe the puppies, feed them and play with them. Basically, have fun , fun and more fun. I was super excited before I entered the dog kennels. I chose a quiet dog named 'Logan', who was an amazing dog to walk with and won my heart in the first minute. This is a picture while I was walking Logan :)

As I was walking him, I was listening to his story from the founder and my heart broke into pieces. Logan was shot in his leg by his owner. He was found by the members of QAWS and they treated him immediately and saved his life.

And guess what, this is only Logan's story, there are many other dogs out there in QAWS who have been rescued from unbelievable conditions. Apparently one of the dogs was found nearby a beach who was buried in the sand till his neck and was left to die. Again thanks to QAWS members who found out about it and reached the location immediately and saved its life. Here is a picture of a dog who only has three legs and the white dog on the right cannot bark. I am not sure of their stories but I would not be surprised if their owners too just dumped them to get rid of them.

I am not really sure of what 'pet culture' might really exist in Qatar. It is a mix of good and bad experience I must say. There are many locals and expats who visit QAWS regularly and volunteer from their daily life to help out the animals. However, certain stories like these horrifies me severly.

Take the Qatar Zoo or the animal section of Souq Waqif for example. Apparently the animals in the Zoo "do not need water because they don't drink water" as an employer claimed. The animals are forced to rely on the small puddles that are made when the employers clean an area. How sad is that?

The animals in Souq Waqif are in disgusting conditions, all of them are sick and are deliberately kept in a poor conditions to evoke customers' emotions to buy them. The more you buy from them, the more encouraged the people get to punish more animals. The only possible solution is educating them or fighting against the animal section of the souq.

More than rescuing and caring about the welfare about the animals, QAWS is more eager to educate the local population including the citizens and non-citizens of Qatar, regarding pet care and its treatment. A pet is not just any other animal but is a part of your family and it deserves all the rights of any living being. In QAWS, we learned about the five freedoms of animals, which are clearly not implemented in Qatar yet, but it will if WE take steps!

We are living in a century of the craziest technological innovations, the best possible health care solutions for human beings and I can't even start thinking the 'impossible' tasks that humans have done so far. From women rights to children rights to human rights, we fight for all. But how often do we fight for animal rights? If we don't fight for them, who will? My message for today's blog is more about raising awareness of the treatment of animals. I heard something that is going to stick with me for the rest of my life which I want to share with you all. As one of the crew members said, 'When you shoot a dog it bleeds, when you beat it up it's hurt it weeps, when you abandon it, it's shocked it's lonely....it has feelings....and only you can make a difference. If you do, others will follow, if you don't, no one will know.'

And this is me giving his first bath ever to Graham, the most adorable puppy. Will you help raise awareness ? Will you help another living soul? You can if you want to....think about it.