How much does it cost to adopt a dog in Dubai?

Different rescue organisations charge different amounts, but that will all depend on the good will of the vets that they use and how much of a discount they get. Adoption fees range between AED 1500-2500.

I've heard many people say they're doing the rescuers a favour by taking the dog off their hands and don't see why they should have to pay an adoption fee. I'm sure a lot of people think that fee goes into the pocket of the rescuer, but more often than not, it is the rescuer digging deep into their pockets, after the adoption fee is made to pay the vet bill for all other costs involved.

When a dog is surrendered or more often the case, dumped or found wandering the streets, the dog will be taken to the vets, where a full health check is carried out, it will be dewormed and given up to date, relevant injections. This alone can cost AED 1000, and can be several thousand if the dog is injured or unwell.

The next step is to get the dog spayed or neutered, most 'dumped' dogs usually aren't spayed or neutered. The cost for a medium size dog is in the region of AED 1150. The dog then needs to be microchipped, around AED 200.

Once the dog has been through, and during, the above process, the dog will require somewhere to live. Kennelling ranges from AED 60-80 per night at a minimum cost, so unless the dog can be adopted straight away and a foster family isn't available the costs add up rapidly.

Another argument heard from people wanting to adopt a dog are 'you chose to rescue it' and they often don't see why they're being asked to pay kennelling costs. But as you can see from above, kennelling is usually funded by the rescuer, either personally or through donations.

These costs vary greatly and are just an approximation, breed, size and health of dog need to be taken into account, but you do get an awful lot of dog and peace of mind for your money.

A puppy bought through a pet shop or imported from abroad will cost around AED 4000 upwards, and there is no guarantee that they are in good health and the owner will still have to bare the costs for spaying or neutering and injections.

There are 1000's of dogs in Dubai that need homes, not many pure breeds are available, but there are a lot of puppies and young dogs that come up for adoption weekly.

By adopting, not only do you get a loving, healthy companion and friend, you provide a much needed home for a desperate dog and help the rescuers continue their good work.

Making dog beds for rescues from donations

Bob is a rescue dog, from South Africa, we brought him with us to Dubai and he's been a part of our family since May 2012. Over the past few months we've fostered 2 pit bulls, both have found their forever homes now and I've really enjoyed playing a part in this, however, Peter hasn't been keen on the process and the mess and the chewing, so for now that has to stop. We're also both out the house for 6-8 hours every day and while Bob is fine on his own, the foster dogs haven't been and it's meant rearranging furniture and turning our conservatory into a kennel.

So I took to social media to ask for people to donate their old bedding and curtains and towels so I can make dog beds, to make the rescue dogs lives a little easier and save on costs for those who rescue them. 

The response has been overwhelming and I'm turning these donations into beds right now as in the first photo.

This post was written on October 1st. I'll show you the beds and their new homes in  Animal Tales linky on November 14th. Since then the donations have doubled and I've had to say enough or I'll never get these beds made.

Do you remember the story of Bonnie and Clyde? Well the good news is that Clyde's foster parents felt so bad about returning Clyde that they drove 120km the following morning to pick him back up and make him part of their family.

The next Animal tales linky is November 8th and I'll be joining in with Soft Play for Dogs. You can almost see the look on Peter's face when we got there.

Looking to adopt a dog in Dubai? Meet Bonnie.

She loves to play

Meet Bonnie, she is 8 months old and a new addition in our home for 2 weeks. We are fostering her until the 30th June in the hope that someone will adopt her, when they see how loving she is, how well she gets on with our dog and pretty much ignores the cat.

How could you resist?

Bonnie is under the care of DAWS - Molosser & Bull Breed Rescue UAE to be eligible to adopt you must have a residency visa and live in a Villa. Please contact DAWS directly for enquiries on adopting Bonnie.

We have a few chewing issues, she is a puppy still. A couple of toilet accidents, a few moments when she's helped herself to the contents of the litter tray (gross) and it's fun and games when we go for a walk, as she doesn't want her walk to end and digs her heels in as we round the corner towards home and I end up carrying her home.

 She works well on a lead

But we have had issues persuading her to come home after a walk

I thought the bowl was part of dinner

 Unlike Bob, she eats very well and chews each mouthful

 She has her own bed but wants to share with Bob

 She loves playing with toys and with Bob and shares nicely

Bonnie loves company and her and Bob follow me from room to room

We already have a cat and dog who were rescues when we were living in South Africa.

The cat, Pushkins, is aged 7, and until last month had been a girl for 4 years, the vet informed me, 'she' is actually a 'he' and always has been. We struggle to say 'he' so the poor cat is now referred to as 'it'

The dog, Bob aged 6, is a boy and has been living with us for 3 years.

Both were house trained and Bob has NEVER chewed anything in his life. He pulls when he's on the lead, he prefers to be off lead and responds, eventually, to come back on a walk. Bob follows me from room to room and is constantly under my feet.

Pushkins is currently being kept in the house, due to it being severely over weight, it helps itself to the food left out for the cat feeding scheme in our street.

You can see more photo's and updates on Bonnie on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook or like my page Chickenruby.

Week 16 - One Daily Positive and Project 366

It's been a long week, not tiring, just feels like it's gone on longer than normal, including the weekend. We changed our routine and have decided we will now spend Saturday mornings in the desert and the rest of the day at home, catching up with house work (Peter is currently ironing, I'm currently sitting in Starbucks, but I did do the washing and shopping) and watching the football, rather than Friday's and so far it has been much more relaxing.

This week on the blog:
#MySundayPhoto The #teen has gone home, but there's chocolate in the fridge
#AnimalTales and the Rabbit on the beach
#HDYGG Indoor plants and update on the Geranium
#POCOLO Why my husband has to be my best friend

Sunday Day 108 #onedailypositive #project366 a nice relaxing evening after work, even had time to spend in the garden.

Monday Day 109 #project366 #onedailypositive I hate it when people say Peter and I are lucky to live abroad, as we weren't given this opportunity, we worked hard to get here. But this evening after a day at work for both of this we do feel lucky to be in this situation and say 'let's walk to the beach and grab a burger on the way'

Tuesday Day 110 #onedailypositive #project366 living life dangerously. Chicken soup in a tomato soup bowl. I'm home alone this evening while Peter dines out tonight.

Wednesday Day 111 #onedailypositive #project366 chilling out at home this evening after a trip to the shops for emergency cat food and a few treats as a way of an apology, don't worry Bob did get his share but not without a few hisses as I fed him some biscuits.

Thursday Day 112 #onedailypositive #project366 feeling very lonely this evening as Peter was late home and away a lot over the next few weeks, but cheered up by the pea eating cat.

Friday Day 113 #onedailypositive #project366 we booked a brunch last week but neither is knew what time it started so Peter phoned this morning to confirm. On arrival we were informed brunch was cancelled and replaced with an Indian buffet, so we dined in the @rainforestcafeuae instead with the added bonus of some shopping.

Saturday Day 114 #onedailypositive #project366 this was Bob 3 years ago today, unloved and unwanted at the SPCA in Pretoria. Now living in Dubai and couldn't be loved or wanted any more than he is. It also marks Bob's 6th birthday, there will be cake. 

Holidays for Pets

This is the first time we've boarded our cat and dog whilst going on holiday.

Bob was a rescue with only a few days left at the SPCA when we found him, he was skinny, frightened and looked very sad.

He quickly moved in with us and after a few weeks he seemed to accept he was going to stay.

The cat found us a year earlier, she moved in with us and 6 weeks followed us to our new home.

If we went away for a few days either a neighbour would look after the cat and dog or child no 4 of 5 was at home for the weekend.
For longer periods of time when we were on a road trip a friend would come and stay at the house for a couple of weeks.
Many times we took Bob with us on holiday when we lived in South Africa and our friend would just cat sit the house.

Both the cat and dog had no long term effects from their move to Dubai, in fact there weren't any short term effects after a 8 hour flight and a 4 hour stop over each side before they were delivered to their new home. The dog looked at me for a few minutes, ran and explored the new garden and promptly reverted to his old self. Within a week of trying to keep the cat indoors as we hadn't moved into the house at this point, but visited twice daily, we let her out, she explored a little, came home, ate, slept, ate and repeat.

This is the first time the cat and dog have boarded. My biggest issue was getting the cat in her basket for the car journey, dopey Bob will go anywhere with me, sometimes he just joins me for the short journey to the train station to collect hubby from work.

I've researched the cattery and kennells well, I've asked others about their experiences, I've checked online. I've visited and once I selected one, I took Bob with me to visit, just to gauge his reaction.

Both animals are staying with Posh Paws. The cattery is out on the Al Khawaneej Road past the airport and takes about 35 minutes to reach and the kennels are in Ajman about another 40 minutes away.

Cattery

Kennels

They are very reasonable priced, part of their stay is in peak season, so a little more expensive but it includes all their food, care, baths and nails and frontline on entry.

With their bags packed and water and treats for the journey, as I'm a big softie, we set off with Bob not having a clue where he was going but very excited to be going somewhere.

The cat was dropped off first, she cried all the way there, she really doesn't like being shut in small spaces unless it's by choice and in my wardrobe.

Her room for the next 17 nights is large and comfy, she has controlled access to an outdoor space during the evenings when it has cooled down a little.

Bob sprung out the car and immediately set off after a stray cat, dragging me behind him, he happily entered his new home for the next 17 nights and didn't actually seem that bothered to be in there. He too has access to outdoor space early in the mornings and after sunset, he will also be walked twice a day and be able to use the socialising yard, as he loves being in the company of other dogs.

Bob has a huge bed with blankets and I left a couple of his toys with him.

 Bob needed showing how to get through the plastic doors

I have no idea what they think is happening to them. I'm hoping Bob has a short memory, he fared well with the move from South Africa and the flight to Dubai, I'm just a little worried he'll think he's been abandoned, but I'll be collecting him soon and if he does have a short memory he'll soon forget about his time in the kennels. The only reason I worry is because I know how much he misses me when I'm away.

Who knows what Pushkins will make of the whole ordeal, this is also the first time for her, although going from previous experiences it'll be just something she does.

I dropped them both off yesterday, I'm in the UK now for 17 nights, I'm sure they'll be both ok. I just hope they don't think I've abandoned them, especially as they've been separated. I'll let you know how they react to me when I get back.