Egypt’s Strays Find New Heaven for Them

Egyptian veterinarian Karim Hegazi, 32, spends his days in Cairo at a clinic taking care of stray animals found in every Cairo neighborhood.

The street “baladi” dogs are finally finding the love they deserve, along with it, popular acceptance and surging support — the Egyptian government says that there are around 15 million of them.

Also, people began to take care of their needs such as adoption and medical care, as well as spaying and neutering.

Moreover, volunteers began to surge, partaking in animals rescue missions while armed with giant fishing nets and tranquilizer darts to catch, vaccinate, and sterilize dogs before letting them loose.

“I’ve seen a major shift ... people are seeing a value in strays,” said Hegazi from his veterinary hospital in the upscale suburb of Maadi.

He says he’s no longer treating just foreign dogs, but also a growing number of adopted “baladi” dogs.

Local advocate Amina Abaza pointed out that pet hotels, cafes and grooming emporiums are sprouting up in major Egyptian cities fueled by social media redefined the animals' rights.

The stray animals had found a niche for them on social media as tens of thousands of animal lovers and humanities trade stray rescue stories and about people who care for animals, in addition, to assisting animals that needed help.

Moreover, celebrities have also been advocating for their rights and welfare in the past years, such as Egyptian actresses Sherine Reda, and Tara Emad.

It is worth mentioning that in Arabic “Baladi” means “of town” or “local”, which is comparable to"rural” in English.

When the word is used in terms of dogs, it generally refers to the local stray dogs who wander in the streets of Egypt. They are generally light and skinny with long lanky legs, big ears, and curly tail.