Stray dog from waste dump in Peshawar finds home in London

PESHAWAR: Lying in the middle of a garbage dump, a brown and white colour puppy of around one month was groaning in pain because of mutilated ears and tail that were chopped by animal dealers to increase the selling price of the canine.

The pain-filled moaning of the baby dog attracted the attention of a young passerby in Gulbahar area of Peshawar who on search found the puppy in a very miserable condition due to bleeding from chopped ears and tail.

Manzar, who runs a welfare organisation in the name of Pukhar, moved over the heart-breaking condition of the timid puppy and decided to do something to provide relief from extreme pain and distress to the little soul.

He contacted Zeba Masood, a US national with roots in Peshawar and founder of Lucky Animal Protection Shelter (LAPS), the only sanctuary for maltreated, beaten, injured and starving stray dogs in the provincial metropolis of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Over-listening to the pitiful condition of the pup, Zeba forthwith expressed her consent for adoption and asked Manzar to bring the victim of cruelty to her shelter home.

“The puppy was shifted to LAPS around a year ago and provided necessary treatment for healing of wounds and relieving of pain,” stated Javed, husband of Zeba Masood, as he helps his spouse in taking care of dogs taking shelter at LAPS.

Soon after getting treatment and recovering from the trauma, ear and tail sliced puppy started showing affection towards his caretakers including Zeba, Javed recalls.

Like other members of the shelter home, the puppy got the identity of “Rox” and became a favorite of Zeba because of being a victim of a very cruel practice, Javed told this news agency.

It merits a mention here that some animal dealers in Peshawar especially in Changar Abad locality near Gulbahar area are involved in cruel practice of ear cropping and tail docking to present the puppy, mostly of stray dogs, as Kochi breed of Afghanistan which has good demand in market due to its aggressive behavior and better performance in dog fighting.

Some of the puppies, which develop infections due to lack of proper treatment after operation or are not being sold and become a liability for sellers, are thrown into drainage canals or waste dumps for dying.

The pictures of Rox since its arrival in injured condition at LAPS were being uploaded on social media to apprising followers about the activities being taken up for help of stray dogs and also to spread a message regarding the ongoing cruel practice of ear cropping and tail docking of dogs, Javed said.

“Our followers in thousands of numbers expressed their views about the pathetic condition of Rox and the positive gesture of Manzar and Zeba in protecting the dog,” he added.

A few months earlier, Javed continued, they were being approached by a family from London expressing their desire of adopting Rox as their pet animal.

“The offer of Rox adoption surprised us a lot because it reflected true love for animals,” Javed said.

“In our experience, people like those animals which have good looks or have pedigree of purebred, but expressing love for a dog which is apparently looking ugly due to removal of ears and tail and is grown up in waste dumps, is a reflection of true love for animals,” Javed observed.

Such affection for animals is beyond phenomenal and a source of inspiration for all those who claim to be animal lovers or lobbyists for rights of animals, he remarked.

Zeba welcomed the offer and expressed willingness in handing over Rox to those who wanted to adopt it in London.

The procedure for shifting of Rox from Peshawar to London started and most of the paperwork has been completed, Javed informed.

He said the family had also expressed willingness for paying off all the expenses being made in shifting of Rox from Peshawar to London, including paperwork, medical certificates, vaccination and air travel fare.

Shifting of Rox to London from Peshawar is expected to take place in around a month’s period, after which the dog will find a new home and true love, he hoped.

Javed said it is a second case that a dog of LAPS is being shifted from Peshawar to England. A couple of years ago, a stray dog was adopted by someone in the same country.