K9 Friends Dubai, the emirate’s largest dog shelter, is struggling to deal with the annual summer influx of abandoned animals, with 20 dogs a week turning up at its door in need of a new home.
Each summer, the staff brace themselves for a rush of unwanted pets left behind by owners who have either gone on holiday or left the country for good.
By mid-July last year, the shelter was trying to rehome 112 abandoned dogs. This year, they are already looking after 120, with resources at breaking point as more dogs arrive each week.
"It’s worrying that we’re at this point already. It feels like they’re coming earlier and in greater numbers than we’ve seen. I’ve not seen it this bad in my five years here," said Alister Milne, from K9 Friends Dubai.
"We took in 33 dogs from the municipality just more than a month ago."
Large numbers of older dogs are being abandoned, older dogs find it difficult to adapt to the shelter environment and are harder to re-home.
Staff have also taken in puppies bought as gifts for Ramadan then dumped, and even a husky that was brought to the shelter a week after having been given to an eight-year-old as a pet.
"We had a good April but in May we homed only 12 of the dogs and we aim for 30 each month," Mr Milne said. Many of the dogs abandoned were left by families relocating abroad.
"There’s no excuse to not relocate an animal these days," he said. "It just takes a little planning, but it’s getting easier and easier. Leaving the country isn’t a reason not to take the dog."
The shelter is desperately seeking foster families to help ease the burden while staff try to find new homes for the dogs.
For more information on how to adopt or foster a dog, visit K9friends.com