Saturday 04 / May / 2024
Muscat: Expats leaving Oman for good are dumping their pets rather than pay to take them home with them.
One dog was left to die on the balcony of an empty apartment, while others were found wandering the streets or tied up in the yards of local dog lovers, rescue workers say.
The economic downturn has resulted in many more pets being dumped by expats leaving the country. They don’t want to spend hundreds of rials transporting their family pet home with them, according to rescuers.
Dr. Elke Heitz, vet and owner at the Al Qurum Veterinary Clinic, told the Times of Oman that people often find their material belongings more important than their pets when they leave the country.
“Working in animal rescue does harden you, because you see how easily people exchange the happiness an animal can give against the OMR300 it would cost to take the pets with them,” she said.
Heitz said she started sheltering stray animals when she arrived in Oman 11 years ago. It has since become her passion.
She said when she saw animals being left behind at her clinic and people not wanting to take the animals she treated, she decided to give them a home herself, “because no one else did anything for the animals here. I just couldn’t say no.”
Her clinic now has 60 cats and dogs, divided between the shelter, staff accommodation and private foster homes. “Everyone has animals, I have eight cats and two dogs in my house,” she said. Heitz said her clinic, which is funding the shelter, saves around 200 cats and dogs a year from the streets.
The vet is also against putting animals to sleep. “You kill an animal and another one will just take its place. You are creating space for the next generation of strays.”
However, with many people leaving Oman these days, Heitz has had to restrict the number of animals that she can help. “I help as many as possible, but I cannot go bankrupt, I have to maintain investments and keep the shelter running,” she stated.
Abandoned thrice
Russell, a Jack Russell terrier, was abandoned thrice; a family left him with their friend because they couldn’t afford to take him back to their home country.
“My friend called my husband and said he’s not settling with his dog and dumped him on us, he stayed with me for a week till we found him a home and they abandoned him too. My aunt found him in her yard, which means someone left him there, and eventually she adopted him despite having three dogs already. Now he’s happy and found his permanent home,” said Krystal Brown, an animal welfare activist. Another such case was of Muffin, a Saluki dog, found roaming the streets of Al Mouj Muscat after being abandoned.
“My friend found her roaming the streets of Muscat, and the security guards said they would dispose of her. So my friend called me in the middle of the night asking for help, and by next morning she was being fostered by another friend. After looking up her history, we realised she was first found in the balcony of a vacant apartment. She never really did find a home to call her own, but is happy where she is now,” Brown added.
Not everyone thinks that only expats moving out of the country contribute to the stray population increasing, there are also locals abandoning their pets.
“The issue of expats leaving pets is true, but if you compare the number of pets that were left by expats and locals, it’s the same thing—the increase is not only because of expats abandoning their pets when they fly back, but it’s also because locals dump their pets when they can’t be bred properly or when they lose too much hair,” said Dr. Palve Dlagojevic of the Sama Veterinary Clinic.
“It is irresponsible for the expats to do that, its better not to keep the animal in the first place if you don’t want to take them back with you. They are not a thing, but part of the family. When you leave, at least make sure that they are taken care of by someone else or just take them back with you,” he added.
“I believe this issue also depends on the economic condition, so with a lot of expats leaving the country due to the current economic crisis, this might be a problem, but I think the figure is usually constant,” Dlagojevic noted.
Not all expats leave their pets, many take them back, but there are always procedures to follow.
“It was fine, but there was lot of paperwork, vaccinations etc. The vets can sort everything out, including paperwork and release forms from the ministry. It’s expensive as well, for me all in all it cost something like OMR500 to 600,” said Matt Blackwell, a western expat, who took his dog back home to the United Kingdom from Oman.
He has a piece of advice for everyone wanting to take their pets back. “The only thing I’d say is to make sure you use a reputable vet, because not all of them know what they’re doing. Once our vets had sorted all the paperwork it was easy, flew him to Europe (Amsterdam) and then got the ferry to England. He was down in a special compartment with the cargo and we had no problems getting home.”
Ross Rosenquist, resident of Al Mouj Muscat, and part of a start-up called CNR (Capture, Neuter and Release) Oman thinks that dumping pets is a barbaric activity.
“Anybody that has any compassion or any kind of humanity in them will say that abandoning pets is absolutely horrendous, disgusting and barbaric, it’s a savage thing to do. The pets when abandoned cannot fend for themselves; they either die a painfully slow death or get tortured by people.”
“Expats also dump their dogs or cats without having them neutered or spayed and they breed with wadi or desert dogs, and that is why you have all these mix breeds and also lots of diseases in the dogs, as a result.”
Heitz has a message for people, “Stray animals are not pests, and they are part of life. It is our duty being humans to not just shoot the dogs and kill the cats, but instead introduce neutering schemes. People, who have cats or dogs, should neuter them to avoid unwanted breeding,” she said.
She concluded that people should share the burden of the problem of strays and not think they can leave the animal at the clinic for free. “I can’t take all of them and if people want to help an animal, they should realise that helping also costs money. If anyone is willing to adopt or shelter an animal, please let us know.”
Jaison Mathai is an animal welfare activist and the founder of ‘Tiger by the Tail’, an animal rescue group which was started last years and not only rescues cats and dogs but also birds and provides adequate foster care for them.
Since last year, he has seen several cases of expats abandoning their pets, some families even go to the extent of locking their pets in the apartments when leaving.
“I have seen quite a few cases of expats abandoning their pets, mostly when they leave the country, because sometimes the money needed to take them back is a lot for them and on other occasions this depends on the country they are flying back to. I have come across cases where expats dump their pets on the streets and in locked apartments.”
Being involved in animal rescue for a while now, Jaison thinks that it is very important for people to know that pets are not just entertainment items but part of the family. “Many buy pets on impulse, but pets need time, love and care, owning a pet is a commitment, they are family and can’t be abandoned.
His group rescues animals and shelters them at the Capital Veterinary Centre LLC, which is run by an animal loving Omani family in Qurum.
“We recently rescued an eight-year-old golden retriever from Madinat Qaboos, he was found wandering the streets. We are going to neuter him soon and he also has an eye infection that treatment is going on, he was also dirty and so we arranged for a complete grooming. We found that he was owned by a well to do family and is in, he is in foster care now.” Mathai added.
Another mix breed cat, a two-year-old Persian and Turkish Angora was rescued by the group from the PDO, Mina al Fahal area.
“When she was rescued, she had a severe eye infection and now is adopted by a doctor.” he said.
Tiger By The Tail (TBTT) is a non profit animal welfare group which rescues sick/ injured and homeless animals. Once rescued, the animal goes through a medical examinations, is treated and neutered and then groomed and put up for foster care and adoption. The group runs on donations, look up TBTT to donate or volunteer.
