Final Exit? Leaving for Vacation this Summer? Have you Made Arrangements for Your Pet Yet?

The summer months usually mean that vacations are being planned, trips aboard being booked and ACs put on full blast. Though it’s a season generally spent relaxing with family and friends, for the expat community it can also be that time of year when people decide to leave and not come back. Work contracts come to an end and tickets are booked one way. On a positive note, it is also a time of blessings through the holy month of Ramadan, where families get together and extend their hearts towards helping communities and those in need. Though summer represents many beautiful aspects, sadly it’s also the time of year where we see an increase in pets being left behind and desperately seeking new homes.

In our latest blog post Sonja Svensek, Jeddah Blog columnist and guardian angel to Jeddah’s pet community, discusses the problem of pets being left behind during the summer, and gives us plenty of practical alternatives to ensure our furry friends stay happy and well-looked after.

Pets are for life.

Plan in Advance

Currently, at PIN (Pets in Need) we get at least one message per day from someone who wants to give their pet away because the family has decided to leave for the summer and their plans did not include their four-legged friend. Reasons such as ‘we don’t have the time to process Fido’s travel documents’ to ‘we are leaving on final exit’ are quite common during the summer months because people cannot deal with the sudden situation they find themselves in.

There are also cases where the pet is just left behind to fend for themselves because people think there are no other alternatives. One young pup was tied to a dumpster when the individual packed up and left for his vacation last summer. Veterinary clinics usually have a high number of cats at their boarding facilities which never get picked up again because their owners don’t claim them back. What does this mean for your pet?

Don’t leave me behind. When You Move Away…I Won’t ‘be Alright’!

The sad truth is that your pets are not thought of as a priority and don’t always get another chance of finding a loving home again after you leave. The lucky ones who find another home might take time to readjust, but the others who are not so lucky will either end up at being sold at pet stores, the animal souk or end up being used for breeding and business purposes or simply abandoned where they are at risk of being run over, abused or killed.

We also hear that Pest control carry out more visits during the summer months on compounds where more cats are found left outdoors roaming around because the owners have moved. The only way you can guarantee your pet’s safety and well-being, is to ensure your pet stays with you, or to make well-planned prior arrangements.

A large number of pets will end up being sold at pet stores, the animal souk or end up being used for breeding.

Boarding Facilities

Many schools have already closed for the summer vacation, and we have consequently seen a huge number of animals being posted looking for new homes. Those working for privately owned and run animal rescue organizations in the Kingdom, are bursting at the seams trying to help every pet they get notified about, but the reality is there simply aren’t enough homes for the animals being left behind. Boarding facilities are limited in their capacity of offering pets a temporary place to stay, and adopters cannot guarantee that the pet will be wanted after they are taken in.

Pet-sitting to Buy Time

I urge pet owners to be responsible in making arrangements for their pet before they travel. Animal welfare groups can encourage you to connect with like minded individuals who might be willing to pet-sit whilst you are away, which you could then return the favour at a later stage. Arrangements with family members, close relatives or friends you trust might be able to assist with travel documents if more time is needed to fly your pet out to you.

If you know you are leaving the country for good, please take your pet with you.

It’s important to know that domesticated pets will not survive on the streets – regardless of the animal instincts they have. Having experienced a certain routine and been part of family life will not guarantee the same lifestyle in someone else’s home. The simple fact is that owning a pet is a huge lifetime reasonability, meaning that planning ahead is key, and your pet needs to be included in your plans.

If you are in fact spending the summer months in the Kingdom, please take note of the hot weather. Pets left in a hot car or out in the sun can die of heat exhaustion within minutes.

How Can I Help?

For those who are not travelling during the summer, perhaps you can get in touch with PIN and its members to look after someone’s pet? There are people who are in desperate situations, and time is not on their side if they have been informed of a final exit. They may not have the privilege of arranging papers in time, and they can be assisted by people who could help in the meantime.

Be Responsible

If you know you are leaving the country for good, please take your pet with you. If for whatever reason you know you cannot, make the necessary arrangements beforehand, bearing in mind that there are already hundreds of unwanted pets still looking for homes. Summer is supposed to be a season of joyous experiences filled with opportunities of creating good memories, and as a responsible pet owner, you can ensure the same opportunity is offered to your pet.

Useful Links

For more information about Animal up for adoption, please visit PIN on Facebook.

To know more about dogs being rescued and up for adoption, visit Open Paws Jeddah.

For cat rescues and cat adoptions, visit Gus’s Hope.

 

Don’t Shop…Adopt!

At some point in time, especially if you have children, you will have considered the idea of having a pet. It is all too easy to go to a pet store in Jeddah and pick one up, however is this really the best one can do?

In this blog post, animal lover and founder of Pets in Need Sonja Svensek tackles the dilemma of buying versus adoption and guides us to the reality of the shocking conditions of animals in these stores.

As an animal lover you are probably tempted to walk into a pet store to visit the animals whether you are tempted to buy one or not, and I am sure you will walk out of there feeling angry, helpless and upset by what you find.

It is no secret that all sorts of animals can be found and bought from pet stores. From wild raccoons, to exotic snakes, to birds and cubs, pet stores are trying to cater for all individual’s preferences. However, the reality is, regardless of the animals being sold at stores, the conditions they are kept in is way below acceptable. Not only do the majority of these animals not even belong in pet shops, the cats and dogs as well as other small pets are living in atrocious, hazardous and unhealthy conditions. Upon my own investigation of visiting some of the more popular stores here, most, if not all of the stores, had cats crammed into small cages, where they don’t have enough space to even stretch or lay down. Bowls of fresh water are not always available. Food is scarcely given- if at all- and this is usually because food and water will only encourage more ‘waste’ from the animals which means dirtier cages and more work for staff members.

Dirty and cramped living conditions for cats in the pet store.

 

There are currently no laws or regulations which monitor pet stores so it’s up to the owners to sell whatever animal he likes and keep them in whatever conditions he wants. As long as there is a demand, the supply will be there. Animals are either bred through their own farms or brought in from neighbouring countries, even from as far off as  Bulgaria, and as young as a month old.

The primary goal for pet shops is to be a lucrative and money making business – not one with the welfare of animals in mind. One of such example is the pet store ‘Jeddahs animals and birds’. Is this what one would accept as proper living conditions for animals? Is this the type of scene we wish to educate and teach our children about the treatment of living creatures?

Beautiful cubs neglected with no space to move around.

It is difficult to walk into a pet store and not feel obligated to ‘save’ an animal from these conditions thinking we might be doing something worthy, when really, as soon as one is bought or taken, another will replace it. We always urge people to adopt, and not shop for a pet. There are more unwanted animals than there are people who wish to have them, and for every pet that is bought from a store, it removes the chance for an already un-homed one waiting to be adopted.

Since there are no animal shelters or certified breeders here whose primary focus is the well being of animals, the best option is to adopt from people who are part of a private animal rescue organization. Many animals have been  re-homed through PIN via caring individuals and this should be encouraged amongst more people. Animals are not the property of people to own and sell to the highest bidder, hence the notion of adopting which is free and what could help every pet get a home without the incentive of ‘valuing’ it based on what it cost.

Turtles climbing on top of each other due to their confined and congested living space.

Places such as the animal souq downtown have auctions for their animals. Many of these pets were probably found and/or stolen and are sold to the highest paying individual. In most cases, these pets come with health problems and die shortly after being bought. I’ve seen many incidents where a puppy was bought from a pet store only for it to die a few days later. This could be due to the diseases it contracted whilst being kept in poor conditions, but also because a lot of the puppies sold are removed from their mother far too young.

If you are considering including a pet in your life, then please look into the more humane pet adoption avenues, and make a difference in more ways than one.

What is PIN and What Does it Stand for?

Whether you reside in a compound, apartment or villa, you cannot live in Jeddah for long and not notice the sheer number of cats roaming the streets and feeding off the bins. If you feel that you would like to help these poor animals, but don’t quite know what to do, we’ll be bringing you information and tips on how to assist the widespread cat population and even the best way to look after a pet of your own.

Sonja Svensek, founder of PIN (Pets in Need) will be writing regularly for Jeddah Blog on her campaign to raise animal awareness, which includes taking care of a pet, as well as share tips and helpful information on the benefits of neutering  and spaying, and what one can do to help the many animals in need.

Along with her team, Sonja is helping over 96 dogs who have been saved off the streets since 2008. This is a result of people abandoning their pets on the streets. PIN collect and rescue these animals, and then give them a new lease on life. A puppy or kitten can be cute when young, but unfortunately it is common for people to get rid of them once the pet becomes an adult, and the responsibility grows.

There is help being offered now, all extended by an amazing group of supporters at their own time and expense, such as Ruga and the team who run Open Paws Jeddah and Open Paws Riyadh. “Much more needs to be done,” says Sonja, “And it can’t always be through the same group of people.  We need to be the change we want to see in the world. Awareness and education is key. ”

As the founder of PIN (Pets in Need) my goal was to try and create a community, a movement, to connect like-minded people ‘in one place’ to be proactive in helping animals in the Kingdom. It’s all too easy to call yourself an ‘animal lover’ when one expects others to help and rescue pets, so we need to be the change we want to see happen in the community.

PIN was created in 2008 with just a handful of close friends who came on board to help rescue the animals that needed treatment, and put them up for adoption. It is not a shelter, nor charity-based organization, instead it is an organization that brings people together to help, inform and educate them about what it entails to care for an animal and what one can do to help stop animal abuse.

One of the beautiful cats successfully adopted via Pets in Need.

There are currently no laws or regulations to monitor the conditions of pet stores, nor are there animal shelters or official charities that enable animal welfare, so it is individuals who go out and save abandoned pets on the streets, who pay for their treatments and seek new loving homes for them. We have been able to find over 800 animals new leases on life over the years, however people are still going out to buy a pet from a pet store instead of adopting one. For every pet that is bought from shops, it decreases the chance of a homeless pet finding a new home.

PIN has over 2500 members now, and we ensure that they are screened before being added to the group, and though we are primarily working within Jeddah, we have been successful in helping other pets from other cities with affiliations with other pet society groups in other areas of the country.

This cute canine was rescued by PIN and given a forever home.

If you want to adopt a pet, first learn about what the responsibilities are, and the costs involved. Though adopting is free, over time owning a pet can become costly with vaccines, treatments whenever necessary, and not to mention cat and dog food being expensive in the kingdom. All sorts of pets come up for adoption on PIN and we try our best to ensure that they go to loving, caring, forever homes. We are always looking for new members who can help rescue, and/or foster a pet, as currently there are more animals in need than  people willing to offer help.

For more information please visit PIN on Facebook, Twitter: Pin_Jeddah and Instagram: Pin_Jeddah. We need all the support we can get in helping animals.

Dog Rescue Appeal

Today we bring to you all an appeal from Ruga, an animal lover. Ruga came across a dog hit by a car near Jarir Mall. “We rushed it over to Happy Pet”, says Ruga “and it stayed there for a couple of days after surgery”.

Ruga is fostering the dog temporarily, and has even named the dog ‘Mystery’, but he hasn’t found anyone who is willing to take Mystery on as a pet. Ruga will be travelling in less than a month, and won’t be returning to the Kingdom, and unfortunately can’t take Mystery along with him.

Mystery at Happy Pet.

Mystery is a desert/baladi/feral dog. She doesn’t belong to any particular breed. Ruga estimates her age at approximately 4-6 months, but he is not completely sure as she could just be a small-sized adult.

Mystery will be vaccinated next week as per the vet’s order, and the vaccine has already been paid for. Sadly, she will have to be put to sleep if no home is found.

Mystery having a checkup at the Vet’s.

A condition for adoption is that the new owner sterilizes Mystery, so that she will not be used as a breeding tool. Also the adopter must microchip and vaccinate her against rabies in case he or she returns to his or her country. The food, toys, bowls, etc. will all be given to the adopter.

Mystery taking a break.

If you would like to adopt Mystery, please email iheartba6areeg@gmail.com or call Ruga on 0594302488.