Dogs

URGENT Help Needed for 100 Defenseless Dogs



This week, an abandoned shelter housing more than 100 dogs was finally broken into to help save the hungry, thirsty, infested and sick dogs and puppies.

The person who used to take care of the shelter in Zahrani, in Lebanon’s south, was forced to abandon it due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control. However, animal rights groups like APAF, BETA and Animals Lebanon were able to secure permission from local authorities to gain access into the shelter and provide immediate relief, like food and water and life-saving medication to more than 100 dogs stuck their for days, under the sun.

We all need your help, no matter how minimal it is, and here’s what you can do:

  • Donate money. If you don’t have the time to go down and volunteer, or materials needed, help those who are get what they need to save the dogs. You can call Hussein Hamzeh on 78872507 or contact APAF, BETA or Animals Lebanon (BETA and Animals Lebanon have a donate button on Facebook, if you can’t go yourself)
  • Adopt. 15 puppies were rescued from the shelter, and are currently being fostered for. If you want a beautiful bundle of joy, who will always be grateful for a loving forever home, then please adopt a puppy or dog by getting in touch with APAF or any of the other organizations working on this.
  • Donate materials. Tragically, several dogs have already died due to dehydration and sickness. The rest are in dire need of better conditions, especially shade. If you have anything that can help make some shade in this heat, like large FLEX materials (the ones ads are printed on), wood, metal structures, etc. Please contact Mr Hussein on 78872507 or APAF so you can coordinate and give them the materials, or better yet go down and help build it (if you’re in a scouts group or other social movement, this would be an amazing service you can do!)


We are lucky to have NGOs like APAF, BETA and Animals Lebanon, as well as amazing human beings like Hussein, Kim and everyone else giving their time and energy to help rescue these defenesless dogs. Thankfully, food and medication has been generously donated by them, but they will always need more food, volunteers, medicine and funds.

Please, take some time to help, adopt one of the puppies, foster some of the dogs, go down and volunteer and help make the shelter more liveable so that no more innocent dogs die for no reason.

This is a large-scale crisis, and every little bit helps.

Quick Contacts


Hariri Municipality Pissed off About Grand Cafe Shaming, Bans Arguilehs in Public Spaces After…


It kinda reads like a cheap soap opera, instead of diligent, honest legislation that’s supposed to serve the people that call Beirut home.

Since their disputed slim victory in May following widespread electoral fraud and dozens of well-documented cases of bribery as well as voter intimidation and an opaque counting process, the coalition of the Garbage Political Parties headed by Hariri continues their assault on the people of Beirut.

Their latest prodigal work is “banning arguileh, motorcylces and dogs from public spaces”. There are many funny things in that statement:

1- We have public spaces in Beirut? Where? Didn’t you sell that last bit off the second you got into office?

2- How are motorcycles, arguilehs and dogs related?

3- How will you enforce the ban? Will people go to jail for letting their dog out of the house? Or will you just charge us Grand-Cafe-Bill amount fines?

Arguilehs are a real problem…

Arguileh Issue

Sure, it’s a horrible health crisis that’s completely unregulated and out of control. But, if there was a true will to solve that, I think a proper enforcement of the indoor smoking ban would be a start. However, if the plan is just to rob money from people who can’t afford Grand Cafe’s 12,000 LBP for a handful of nuts, then why not just say it outright?

Personally, I am a smoker, but I am all for bans of indoor smoking and public places where children and families frequent, such as the Corniche promenade or public parks like Horsh Beirut. However, this ban is like police cars camouflaging themselves behind elaborate hideouts to clock in people doing 57kmh in a 50kmh area: it’s just to make money off of fines, while never really bringing speeding down. So, sending out a cop to get his quota by citing people walking their dogs or having a smoke, is beyond absurd and honestly, frightening even for Hariri cronies known for milking every last possible cent from every possible thing you can think of.

400$ fine for argeling without paying 400$?

No Motorbikes on Pedestrian Walkways?

How is that not already the law?! Why not enforce it? Oh, right, because the cop is probably Whatsapping a pic of a botox survivor he catcalled at the red-light she ignored… What a joke! And again, what does that have to do with dogs and arguilehs?

Dogs

The problem with dog ownership in Lebanon is not the dogs, it’s the owners. Many people buy them as fashion statements to hashtag on Instagram in hopes some pet account with a few thousand followers will repost their dog’s pic. What you don’t see, is that the overwhelming majority of these owners don’t pick up after their dogs. It’s such a huge problem, that Ashrafieh 2020 actually ran ads and an entire campaign to try and curb the dogshit maze that is Ashrafieh’s sidewalks, to no avail.


So, I would recommend instead of an absurd and impossible to enforce ban on dogs in public spaces, to fine dog owners that don’t pick up after their dogs, and allow normal citizens to report such instances. As for parks like Horsh Beirut, there should be sections dedicated for dogs and their owners, where dogs can be unleashed and run around and play, like they’re supposed to, and folks who have a problem with that can stay in the rest of the park. No need to ban dogs and their owners from the most basic things you do with your dog: go play in a park, or go for a walk!