Giza animal shelter offers hope for Egypt's stray dogs
An Egyptian engineer set up a rescue facility in Giza to care for Egypt's many homeless dogs and find them new homes, and his new one under construction in Alexandria will take in cats, too.
A snapshot of any Egyptian street will include numerous homeless animals that suffer from malnutrition, gruesome diseases and cruelty. Egyptian civil engineer Ahmed Al Shurbaji, who works as a contractor, decided not to turn his back on this misery and has dedicated himself to helping stray dogs and cats find safe homes.
Shurbaji's nonprofit organization in Giza, HOPE Egyptian Baladi Rescue & Rehabilitation, has taken in around 160 dogs and is working online to find them new homes.
Animal shelters worldwide are grappling with funding problems, and in a country plagued by economic turbulence, rescuing animals is an especially daunting task. Shurbaji nevertheless insists on doing as much as he can.
"I was raised among animals and I enjoyed watching them," Shurbaji told Al-Monitor. "Such an idea had never crossed my mind. But one day my cat was extremely sick, and I felt how these animals are weak and cannot verbally express and report their pain like humans. Since then, I became more interested in rescuing animals."
