No Summer Break For UAE Pet Rescuers As Holiday Travel Adds To Animal Care Needs

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) For many UAE residents, summer means packing a suitcase, boarding a flight and taking a well-earned break. For animal rescuers, there is no such pause.

As temperatures soared and residents left the country for holidays or relocated, rescuers across the UAE say they faced a relentless summer marked by abandoned pets, emergency medical cases, stretched resources, and fewer volunteers and donors.

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For independent ground rescuer and consultant Chiku Singh, the work continues long after a feeding round is over. "You may leave the feeding round, but the feeding round never really leaves you," she said.

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Singh said she has personally noticed more abandonment cases this summer, particularly involving cats, dogs and other domesticated pets.

She said the situation appears more difficult than previous summers, when pet abandonment was often linked to residents traveling during the holidays.

“This year, with the regional tensions and more people relocating or leaving the UAE completely, it feels much worse,” she said.

As an independent rescuer, Singh does not keep formal statistics, but said the number of animals requiring feeding, trap-neuter-return (TNR), emergency assistance and medical treatment has increased.

“The cases also never really stop. One case finishes, and another message comes in,” she said.

'They have no idea how to survive outside'

Among the cases that have stayed with Singh are abandoned pets found trying to survive among established stray colonies.

She described one affectionate, microchipped cat she recently found living in a feral colony in a park. Attempts to trace its owner were unsuccessful because the contact details were no longer working.

“He has gone from having a home to living in a feral cat colony in a park,” she said.“He has adapted because he had no other choice, but that does not mean this is the life he was meant to have.”

Singh said she also recently spotted two dogs, a puppy and a medium-sized dog, among a colony she feeds. Both appeared clean, fearful and unfamiliar with life outdoors, leading her to suspect they had recently been abandoned.

“Sometimes you see an animal once, you immediately know something is wrong, and then it disappears before you can help,” she said.

The summer heat adds another layer of difficulty.

The rescuer noted that some fluffy pets suffer more in the heat, especially animals that have spent their lives indoors. She also freezes bottles of water and wraps them in towels before leaving them near some colonies, while creating shaded areas to keep food and water out of direct sunlight.

Rescuers stretched to the limit

Rescue groups are also feeling the pressure as animals need a permanent place to stay. Claire Hopkin of RescueMe said the past few months had been“relentless”, with a significant increase in surrenders.

“We are seeing so many dogs we can't cope,” she said.

Hopkin said her group, run by just two people, took in more than 20 dogs in five days, compared with the few animals they would normally take in a week.

She said the shelter could take in more animals, but its capacity is limited by the availability of vets and foster homes. Finding fosters has become increasingly difficult, while adoptions have been particularly slow over the summer.

“Adoptions have been very slow over the summer. Almost dead,” she said.

Hopkin attributed the increase to people leaving, economic uncertainty and what she described as a rise in unlicensed breeding. She added that some rescue groups are also seeing more animals from the pet trade as buying patterns change.

“We all use our own funds. There's no rich rescuers here,” she said, adding that sponsors are also becoming harder to find.

The work people don't see

Not all animal welfare work happens inside shelters. Rafah Arjeh, an office manager and pet grooming business owner, supports community rescuers as an individual volunteer.

During the summer, she regularly checks, cleans, and refills community cat feeding and water stations, including one near her villa. For Arjeh, much of the work happens quietly and away from public view.

Through her pet grooming business, Rwoofi Pet Grooming, she also offers free grooming for rescued cats and dogs that need treatment or are being prepared for adoption.

“I believe even small, consistent actions like fresh water, proper food, clean feeding areas, education and supporting rescuers can make a real difference,” she said.

'Can't switch off mentally'

For Singh, the biggest challenge is not only the number of animals, but the inability to switch off mentally. Most independent rescuers fund much of their work themselves, she said, with money going towards food, veterinary bills, TNR and emergency cases.

She said summer travel can reduce the pool of volunteers and individual donors at a time when cases are increasing. The impact is both physical and emotional.

Singh said she keeps cat and dog food in her car because she never knows what she may encounter.

Even during what is supposed to be personal time, rescuers can find themselves immediately thinking about whether an animal needs medical attention, whether it has a microchip, who can help and where it can go.

“That is why rescue is not really something you clock out from,” Singh said.

More than rescuing

Both rescuers stressed that helping animals does not necessarily mean taking every stray into a home or shelter.

Singh said healthy community cats can sometimes remain outdoors safely when they have regular access to food, clean water, shade and TNR, with someone consistently checking on them.

She warned that taking in more animals than a person can financially or physically care for can create another welfare problem.

“Rescue should improve an animal's life, not simply move its suffering from the street into a cage,” she said.

Hopkin urged residents who cannot adopt to consider fostering or sponsoring instead. "Please don't buy. Please adopt. If you can't adopt, foster. If you can't do either, sponsor,” she said.

Arjeh said the need for community support does not end when summer does.“Community animals depend on people throughout the year, not just during summer,” she said.

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