Day 13: Animal Care in Egypt

Many people, including Dad, returned to the River Anuket after our tour of Karnak, but I decided to go to the "Discovery Series event" - a tour of a local animal hospital. The hospital was founded by a couple of British ladies who had visited Egypt on holiday and were appalled at the conditions endured by the horses and donkeys they saw in and around Luxor. They eventually founded Animal Care in Egypt, originally just as a place where the animals could be groomed so they didn't get harness sores, but it expanded into a much larger operation over the years.

When we arrived the first thing we saw was a sandbox for horses!

The horses and donkeys like to roll around in there - I guess to scratch their backs. The founder, Julie,

told us about the work they do here while he

looked on and neighed at us repeatedly, and he

wreathed around our ankles and generally behaved charmingly.
This little donkey

was not at all interested in a roll.

It got sadder from there, since Julie took us in the office and told us some of the terrible things she's seen, complete with pictures. I couldn't look at a lot of them; instead I looked at Arthur:

He's Julie's new puppy. Most of the veterinary practice here is large-animal: horses, donkeys, the occasional water buffalo, but they occasionally get a dog or cat. A couple of kids brought Arthur in - for what, I don't remember - but they'd cropped his ears and tail because they were going to use him for dogfighting.

Well, she just plain took him away from them and now he has a good home! And for all he's been through, he's still such a gentle and outgoing little guy, not shy or defensive toward people at all. He's going to be the Hospital Dog I guess.

I gave them money.