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Zawadi Finds A New Home
Bee + Zawadi getting ready to enter the airport
Zawadi taking his last sniff of Egyptian air... on the way to the airport
Snuggling on the sofa pretending to be a Jack Russell ....
Way back in November 2012 whilst doing a PADI open water at the Sea Dancer Acadia Diving School in Dahab, Egypt, I met Zawadi. He was only 8 months old and part of a pack of stray cats and dogs that hung around the hotel lucky to be looked after by Sally, the Diving School Manager and Ninka our diving instructor. Zawadi, with his badly damaged back leg and droopy look stole my heart and Sally agreed to take him home and give him proper care until I could bring him back to the UK. Unfortunately animals are treated really badly in Egypt. They are beaten, starved and poisoned. Animal cruelty is a subject very close to my heart and one I would like to do more about - rescuing Zawadi is a small drop in the ocean and I do hope his story inspires more people to rehome or rescue. The process of getting Zawadi fit for travel began in 2013 and in January 2014 I went to fetch him. DEFRA have made it very easy to bring an animal in from Egypt as long as the right procedure is followed. They have done away with quarantine in the UK so as long as the pet has the correct certification you can bring them straight in. Zawadi was moved to the Sharm Pet Hotel where he was given a fantastic rate as a rescue dog. One of the volunteers, Doreen, oversaw the whole procedure from his arrival, making sure all his papers were in order and that he was well cared for. I arrived in Sharm on the 22nd January and spent the next few days getting to know him. He had grown into a big boy, full of beans and bounce! On the 26th of January Zawadi and I boarded the Jet Airway plane ( a Belgian based pet friendly airline) from Egypt to Brussels where we were fetched by a friend who drove us to East London. What an adventure for a dog - 3 continents in just 12 hours! So now he is a Hackney Hound learning all about cold, wet weather and meeting other dogs in the park. I decided to name him Zawadi after the Swahili word for ‘gift’ and I definitely feel more and more rewarded every day we spend together. Zawadi is settling in very well and I would encourage others to do the same. For more information on the surprisingly simple process of rescuing your own street hound I found the following resources useful: Sea Dancer Diving Academy, Dahab If you do want to rescue a hound yourself please do not hesitate in sending me an email and I will do whatever I can to help. xx Bee
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Zawadi Finds A New Home
