London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Perros abandonados durante la pandemia buscan familia

Dogs abandoned during the pandemic are looking for family

Many pets have been abandoned due to the pandemic, either due to the economic or health situation of their owners, or due to unfounded fears of suspected infections.
Izzy was so emaciated that she was barely standing when she was found with other cubs in a desert in Qatar, a rich country in the Gulf where many pets were abandoned in the midst of the new coronavirus crisis.

Born from a cross between several breeds, this little dog almost died before being adopted by a family living in Germany.

Many other pets were less lucky. With the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, many expat families could leave the country, abandoning their animals.

We had a wave of calls for help. We've already received some, confirms Alison Caldwell, co-founder of the PAWS Rescue Qatar, who saved Izzy.

Stray animals are exposed to many dangers, to which in Qatar are added summer temperatures that reach 50 degrees.

In the early days of the epidemic, PAWS witnessed an increase in the number of abandonments, because some families feared that their animals were a focus of infection. Others were left alone when their owners fell ill.

Since March, the virus has killed 113 people in Qatar out of the 95,000 registered infections. The country has 2.75 million inhabitants.

We have already had a small influx, but there is nothing we can really do, says Alison Caldwell.

PAWS estimates that there are tens of thousands of stray animals in Qatar.

Izzy was adopted in April by a German family who read her story on the PAWS Facebook page. But with the sudden suspension of air traffic, imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, dogs adopted abroad remain locked in Qatar.

From her home near Bremen in northern Germany, Christina Fuehrer says she is waiting for flights to resume so Izzy can come.

Meanwhile, the dog temporarily lives with a foster family.

We have decided that it would be a good thing to do this summer, because obviously we are not going anywhere, said Julie Melville, who welcomed Izzy to stay with them.

PAWS uses "flight friends", volunteer passengers who transport an animal as a baggage supplement, to take it to the adoptive family.

PAWS was founded in 2014 by two British expats in the face of the large number of stray and abandoned animals in Qatar, a gas-rich country where many foreigners live.

It is financed by donations and has a temporary accommodation service for pets. The association accommodates 60 cats and 30 dogs, but members of its volunteer team tend to other animals as well.

It has contributed to the adoption of around a thousand animals, many of them abroad, where Saluki hunting dogs, Persian Greyhounds from the Middle East, are attracting interest.

Animal cruelty is a major problem in Qatar, according to Hester Drewry, due to lack of education and the incessant flow of expatriates who generally live in the country for short periods.

To raise awareness about animal welfare, PAWS gives talks at schools.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×