IDLIB, Syria — Not just Syrians have been suffering from the Syrian regime bombardments during the country's civil war; a large number of animals have perished across Syria, too.

In a first step in Syria to save the animals affected by the shelling or abandoned by their owners, a number of volunteers, including a veterinarian, have established an animal sanctuary in the city of Idlib, which is under the control of the armed opposition factions. 

The sanctuary, called House of Cats Ernesto, includes about 25 animal species — mainly cats, dogs, monkeys, horses and several types of birds such as pigeons, ducks, geese and chickens, in addition to some livestock such as donkeys and goats.

Mohammad Youssef, the veterinarian at the sanctuary, told Al-Monitor, “We are working on sheltering stray animals such as cats and dogs, and we are contacting local councils in the area to help the team carry out awareness campaigns among civilians on the need to care for animals as a humanitarian duty, in addition to the importance of their [animals’] role in maintaining the ecological balance. We are also training cats and dogs on how to deal with humans and how to relieve their needs in the places designated for that, and eat their meals at specific times and places. Then we put them up for adoption. The other part of our work involves rescuing and treating all kinds of injured animals at the clinic [in the sanctuary] and releasing them afterward.”