PESHAWAR: First sanctuary for stray dogs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been established in Peshawar. Zeba Masood, a US national of Pakistan origin, has established Lucky Animal Protection Shelter which is believed to be the firs- ever facility providing refuge to pooches in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “I have set up the sanctuary for providing protection and shelter to maltreated, beaten and starving stray dogs”, Zeba Masood told the Associated Press of Pakistan (PPP). “It makes me sick and breaks my heart to see all these stray dogs, cats, puppies and kittens on roads in pathetic conditions,” said the woman said who resides nowadays in Peshawar to care for her ailing mother. “The objective behind establishing this facility is to provide shelter to maltreated stray dogs, mostly seen roaming around butchers shops or dumps of garbage in search of food. I wanted to do something for these animals which are in need of attention and help from human beings,” she remarked while feeding dogs at her sanctuary set up at the Canal Road, near the University Town in Peshawar. These unattended stray dogs also pose serious health risks to human beings in case of dog bites which causes fatal disease, rabies, said the kind-hearted woman. She disclosed that up to 30 people bitten by dogs were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) Peshawar, the biggest public sector health facility of KP daily. Non-availability of anti-rabies vaccines is also another issue of serious concern, she elaborated. The data compiled by District Health Information System (DHIS) revealed that about 58,252 cases of dog bites were reported last year across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “There is no attention to this problem which is causing fatal rabies, mostly to children,” remarked Dr. Qudratullah, veterinary doctor, who also takes care of dogs getting shelter at Lucky Animal Protection Shelter. There are hundreds of thousands of dogs roaming the streets posing health danger to people, but authorities concerned are not giving due consideration to this problem, Dr. Qudratullah told the APP. Poisoning stray dogs is not a solution to this problem and government should also set up shelter homes for these pooches, he suggested. “We have vaccinated and neutered all the 35 dogs kept at the sanctuary to make them harmless,” said Javed Khan, husband of Zeba Masood. Javed Khan, who supports his wife in animal protection, said he planned to make proper kennel at the site of enclosure to separate puppies from dogs. The daily expense of feeding these dogs is around Rs. 1,500 to 2, 000, Javed explained. He said the services of a man had been hired for monthly salary of Rs 15,000 to take care of dogs besides hiring a veterinary doctor who vaccinate the animals and perform surgeries for healing the injuries and fractured bones. Javed and Zeba have also developed a page on facebook in the name of ‘’Save the animals in Peshawar to get other people involved in this cause of dog protection and for raising funds online. ‘’ Pictures and videos are uploaded on the page, to inform people on how dogs are being protected and cared for at the sanctuary, “Javed Khan added. He said that people were approaching the couple for extending help to the cause and some have also sent donations for running the sanctuary properly. Javed Khan said there was also plan to open a branch of the sanctuary at Hayatabad so that more dogs could be provided shelter. He said the sanctuary also provided dogs or puppies to animal lovers who wanted to adopt them. Earlier we had around 35 dogs in the sanctuary and seven were adopted by people, he explained. “In an Islamic state, providing protection, care and safety to stray animals is responsibility of the state which should set up centers for this purpose,” opined Professor Dr. Abdul Ghafoor, a religious scholar and former director of the Sheikh Zahid Islamic Center Peshawar University. He appreciated establishment of sanctuary for the dogs in Peshawar. However, he continued, such sanctuaries should also be established by the government to provide shelter to maltreated street dogs.
