Dubai is emptying following Iran's recent drone strikes in the region. This situation has driven many residents to flight, but it is also exacerbating a phenomenon that unwittingly involves pets. Dogs, cats, and small companion animals: there are increasing reports from shelters, veterinary clinics, and volunteer groups , denouncing an uncontrolled increase in requests for help. Not only to find new homes for the animals, but also to request euthanasia.
Some people contact clinics to put down dogs and cats because they can't take them with them on a last-minute trip. Then there are those who leave them on the streets, abandon them on the doorsteps of acquaintances or complete strangers , or those who pin the hope of a new life for their (now ex-)best friend to a lamppost . But there are also cases of animals left inside sealed houses , unable to survive in any way.
According to volunteers, one of the causes of the phenomenon lies in bureaucratic obstacles that slow down the process of bringing animals abroad , with health regulations requiring vaccinations and certificates that can take a long time to be issued. Thus, many people, faced with the possibility of a sudden escape from a city they no longer feel safe from, decide to leave their homes, belongings, and animals behind.
Urgent adoption requests and appeals to not abandon the animals are pouring in. Many of them are elderly, properly registered, and microchipped. These characteristics demonstrate how these animals, now among the many "silent" victims of the conflict, were accustomed to living in a home that was suddenly closed and forgotten.
(Unioneonline/vf)