Anyone who knows me, knows that I love animals more than anything. Which makes it all the more strange that I should end up in a country where there is not exactly an abundance of them. Even domestic animals are quite rare, so when I heard about the Dubai Animal Rescue Centre (DARC), I knew I had to go and take a look.
Not surprisingly, I encountered vast amounts of exotic animals (and a few domestic ones) all of whom were former “pets” that had become unwanted. [“Oh mommy, please please please can I have a Andean Alpaca Pleeeeeeeeze? They are SOOOO cute. Daddy can just pay to bring it into the country. I really really want one......".]
Fast forward a few months, and "Valentino", the cold-climate version of a Llama, is now much larger than when she arrived and has a nasty habit of spitting saliva on anyone and anything that comes near her. Can’t send her back home. Now what?
Enter DARC and the incredible woman who has turned her own home into a shelter for these animals who literally have nowhere else to go.
All the animals here have similar stories, and there are none that are indigenous to the Middle East. Meerkats (for crying in a bucket of python poop, what are they doing here????), Capybaras (South America), Iguanas (Indonesia), peacocks (India), Prairie Dogs (USA), Ferrets (wherever, I haven’t got a clue), a pair of owls, species unknown (who keeps an owl? How do you even catch an owl???), tortoises (you have to watch your step everywhere you walk), terrapins, an African Grey Parrot, some antelope, loads of rabbits (long-eared and other varieties), the above-mentioned Alpacas, nine dogs and eight cats.
It’s literally a zoo, in a house, in the middle of the suburbs: small, but immaculate, and each enclosure is lovingly kept in the best condition possible - aircon included. No animal is ever turned away, and the owner does whatever she can, funding it mostly out of her own pocket.
She has a couple of very dedicated volunteers who come in every day - even if it’s just to play with the domestic animals. I spent ages with the cats who behaved more like dogs, just wanting to be petted and loved and picked up and scritched and scratched and were all over me like the rash I would have got if I were allergic to them. Thankfully, I am not.
Sigh. Every now and then my faith in humanity is revived. But I feel compelled to do something to help. Obviously being in television I can create some kind of awareness, (and it’s mostly going to be about attempting to get it into the heads of imbesilic individuals who think that having a wild animal as a pet is acceptable), but on a personal level I would really like to do something. Ideally, DARC needs its own bigger, better property and a regular income that covers expenses for enclosures and food for the animals. Am going to have to be creative about this.... hmmmmmm.....
Something else to keep me awake at night. Not like I have insomnia or anything.
