Meet Alaa, the Damascene woman who rescues stray animals and dreams of establishing a pet sanctuary

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Alaa Fouad never imagined that finding a kitten shivering in the cold one rainy night would lead her to adopt more than 100 cats into her home.

Alaa spoke about her passion for rescuing cats and dogs from the street and providing them with shelter, food and health care, in Damascus on Monday.

“My story began with one animal, because I know what animals are subjected to outside (in the streets), of harm, beating, burning, eye-poking and trampling. I could not remain silent about it and ignore it, my conscience would not allow me to sleep at night,” she said.

Despite the initial opposition of Alaa’s family due to their ‘fear’ for her “future and ability to raise a family and children,” and in spite of the pressure put on her by her friends to give up her passion for helping animals, her insistence prompted them to provide her with financial and moral support, so that she could continue doing what she loves.

“I didn’t think of it as a project, but rather as an emotion or an excess of mercy which I might have,” she added.

Alaa explained the financial conditions that hinder her work. “Livelihood has become very difficult due to the siege that the country is facing, and there are no organisations or concerned parties that support me, no one helps me to continue and give more and more.” Despite this the pet lover, who dreams of “establishing a very large sanctuary for dogs and cats” in Syria, hosts more than 120 cats and 20 dogs.

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SOT, Alaa Muhammad Fouad, Pet caretaker (Arabic): “My story started when the crisis (war) broke out nearly ten years ago. I was coming back to my home from my grandfather’s house at night, the weather was cold and raining, then I glimpsed a small thing running down the road, so I approached and found it was a small cat, then I carried it with me back home, I took care of her. Now she has grown up and lives with me. The cat gave birth to four kittens who became cats now. Since then, I’ve been taking every cat I found and taking care of them and offering treatment and food in case they were hungry or scared.”

SOT, Alaa Muhammad Fouad, Pet caretaker (Arabic): “I began raising dogs nearly four years ago. Though I did not like dogs or raising them before. Nevertheless, I treated a dog one day, and today it has grown up and lives with me. So, I have been bringing dogs from that moment, and whenever I find a dog in need or it is beaten or got hurt.”

SOT, Alaa Muhammad Fouad, Pet caretaker (Arabic): “I didn’t think of it as a project, but rather as an emotion or an excess of mercy which I might have. My story began with one animal, because I know what animals are subjected to outside (in the streets) of harm, beating, burning, eye-poking and trampling. I could not remain silent about it and ignore it, my conscience would not allow me to sleep at night.”

SOT, Alaa Muhammad Fouad, Pet caretaker (Arabic): “As mentioned before, I began with one cat and dog till the number reached 120 cats and 20 dogs.”

SOT, Alaa Muhammad Fouad, a pet caretaker (Arabic): “My family started to stand against it as the number of animals increased, and they exerted psychological pressure on me out of their concern about my future and ability to raise a family and kids, considering it as an obstacle to me. Therefore, I began to face hardships from people, my parents, my surroundings, my friends, until I eventually found myself alone. But my parents returned and supported me so I wouldn’t be sad.”

SOT, Alaa Muhammad Fouad, Pet caretaker (Arabic): “I became penniless, so I had to sell my phone, my jewelries, my gas cylinders, my furniture, my TV, my air conditioning. It’s my personal belongings that my dad bought me, I have the freedom to sell it. After selling all my stuff, my dad started assisting me, and he sold his car and gave me its price.”

SOT, Alaa Muhammad Fouad, Pet caretaker (Arabic): “Livelihood has become very difficult due to the siege that the country is facing, and there are no organisations or concerned parties that support me, no one helps me to continue and give more and more.”

SOT, Alaa Muhammad Fouad, Pet caretaker (Arabic): “Contrary to others who aspire to fulfill their dreams abroad, my dream lies inside my country, which is to establish a massive dog and cat reserve so that I can help them more and people don’t get upset and animals don’t get hurt.”

#Syria #Damascus #StrayAnimals

Video ID: 20210907-020

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