The Day I Helped Rescue A Canine
On a Saturday afternoon in February, my friend, Mishka and I decided to take a mini trip to Abu Dhabi, to attempt to rescue a dog we’d heard about, a beautiful and affectionate desert dog we named Sandy. Sandy had been abandoned and living in the open, on a private fenced property, a wasteland, for almost eight months now. My former colleague, Anna, whom we were on our way to meet, had been feeding and playing with Sandy throughout this time. She and her husband had wished they could have taken him in, but, by then, they already had a dog, and didn’t know if the two would get along. However, all that mattered now was to get Sandy out of that wasteland and find him shelter someplace else.
Mishka was driving and it took us an hour to reach Anna, and pick her up. We were excited, yet slightly nervous at the same time, because we had no idea if we were going to be able to get Sandy outside the security fence. Luckily, Anna had much of the equipment needed to help get him out of there such as doggy treats and a leash. That ought to do the trick.
Anna knew exactly where Sandy was located so she decided to direct us there, while discussing how it was probably not going to be a simple task getting Sandy out, because she, herself, had never been over the fence. The good news, though, was that we were going to give it a try regardless — and this is what got us the most excited. We were going to do whatever it took to rescue that dog.
We arrived at the destination and a courteous security guard, Ranjid, showed us where Sandy was. For the past eight months or so, Ranjid had been one of the few considerate security guards who had been looking after Sandy and making sure that he was safe and healthy. When Sandy spotted Anna, he immediately ran towards the fence, and started barking with joy, he was so happy to see her!
The challenging aspect was getting Sandy acclimated to me and Mishka. Anna wanted to see how Sandy would react if Mishka and I came closer to the fence. As we approached, Sandy started to growl softly. It was totally understandable, because Sandy was just scared. He had never seen us before, we were complete strangers to him. Fortunately, Anna comforted him and that started to actually calm him down.
Anna managed to carry Sandy over the fence. It was impressive. Mishka and I were so proud of her. Although Sandy was calmer, he was still very excited, in getting out. Anna placed the leash on him, and suggested I walk him a little just so he and I could get used to one another. As it was, I had to hang on to the leash tightly as he was attempting to pull away, potentially running off. He proved to be one heck of a fast runner — in fact he’d make a brilliant workout partner! As some cars were passing by he’d get agitated, leap, and bark. Anna said that that’s how he usually reacted to cars driving by.
Surprisingly, walking him was way easier than we expected. As this was his first time surrounded by multiple humans, we had expected him to whimper incessantly and attempt to run away. That didn’t happen. He was happily trotting along.
Before we managed to get Sandy inside Mishka’s mom’s car, Ranjid gave Sandy a heartfelt goodbye. I was concerned about getting the car dirty, but Mishka assured me we were going to get the car washed, afterwards. Anna handed me a few treats to feed Sandy in the car, but he didn’t seem interested, becoming overbearing with all the excitement — he just couldn’t sit still! After an arduous eight months outdoors, I can imagine what it was like for him to finally be able to see the majority of the city, and not be living in isolation on a vacant piece of land. He was finally free.
We were on our way to a veterinary center, Pets Oasis, having been told by the staff earlier that they could take Sandy in for a week, so he could be neutered and looked after which he then would be transferred to an animal shelter, the Stray Dogs Center, where he’d be able to live with and socialize with other dogs. At that moment, in the car, we were incredibly grateful and happy to finally rescue him. At first, we hadn’t believed we could do it as in the beginning, no other shelter was able to take him in, and we couldn’t bear the thought of him living discarded any longer.
At the vet, the veterinarian, Dr. Steve, welcomed us. He checked Sandy in, had one of the nurses weigh him, and discovered that he had a microchip. Unfortunately, since Sandy had not been microchipped at Pets Oasis, we were unable to detect the previous owner. Dr. Steve also noticed that Sandy was around the age of one-and-a-half to two years old, meaning he was still very much a young dog. As I crouched down to play a little with Sandy, he moved around a bit and even gave me a few kisses. I felt this instant bond, and I had so much more love for him. It almost felt like he was thanking me for saving him.
From the very first moment Anna told me about Sandy, it was my mission to try and save him, and make sure he made it out alive, safe and healthy. Had it not been for Mishka’s help, we’d never have got him to the Stray Dogs Center. She was the one who helped us get in contact with them, so that they could secure a safe spot for him.
As we left Pets Oasis, we all were emotional and hugged in relief. “We did it!”, exclaimed Anna triumphantly. For the three of us, this not only turned out to be a beautiful memory to cherish forever, as one of the greatest days of our lives. For me, this is something I can do over and over — because, if there’s one thing that makes me feel happy in life, it’s saving the life of a dog.
