PEOPLE
K9 Friends has been working for more than two decades rescuing and rehoming dogs in UAE . We talk to Jackie Ratcliffe and learn a bit more about the organisation .
TELL US A BIT ABOUT THE ORGANISATION AND IT ’ S FORMATION . K9 Friends began in 1989 with a group of ladies working from home . For years it was run with a mobile phone being handed from person to person and dogs being placed in foster homes . However , as Dubai grew the stray dog population also grew and in 2000 we took a warehouse in Al Quoz filled it with metal kennels and began the UAEs very first dog shelter . We started filling official records from this time . In 2007 we were evicted by the landlord and after an extensive publicity campaign , the Dubai Government heard of our plight and stepped in , building us the fabulous shelter we work out of today . Our new shelter can hold 120 dogs and puppies and is ALWAYS full . We have a wait list of dogs waiting to get in and have to juggle priorities to accommodate the most needy .
WHAT IS IT THAT YOU LOOK FOR IN PEOPLE WILLING TO ADOPT A PET ? We look for people willing to commit to a dog for its entire life . Too often we get people who only want cute puppies and want to give them up when they are bigger less cute and completely untrained . We interview every person coming into adopt , first on the phone , then again when they arrive . We need to know things they may not have thought of such as , what would they do with the dog when they leave ? What will happen to the dog if they go on vacation ? We like to meet the entire family including any home help to ensure everyone is comfortable with the dog . We don ’ t home to anyone under 21 and we never give dogs as gifts , we don ’ t home dogs to people on behalf of other people and we need letters of permission from anyone living in the apartment , from their landlord , as apartments don ’ t always allow dogs . We also ask people about their working hours it is unfair to expect a dog to be on its own all day if no one is around . We are pretty strict but it is very important to us that our dogs go to the right place and don ’ t get abandoned again .
ANY TIPS ON PET ADOPTION ? Think carefully about your situation . Do you work ? Is your house big enough ? Are you ready for the commitment that owning a dog entails ? Puppies are much harder work than adult dogs are you prepared for the training ? Do you have other pets or children ?
Please take the advice of our homers and listen to their recommendations they know the dogs really well and should be able to advise you on what dog will suit your situation best .
Do your homework read up on the type of dogs you want and know what you are getting into , like , Huskies and Beagles are highly intelligent active dogs that will require lots of training and stimulation they are not the type of dog to curl up in a corner
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