Today’s Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants
will be presented
in Arabic and English,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English,
French, German,
Indonesian, Italian,
Japanese, Korean,
Malay, Mongolian,
Persian, Portuguese,
Russian, Spanish
and Thai.
Thoughtful viewers,
we invite you to travel
with us today to Dubai of
the United Arab Emirates
to visit the Dubai
Animal Rescue Centre,
an animal sanctuary
founded by
the compassionate
Ayesha Kelaif.
To me a dog, or a cat, or
any pet is like a human.
They need the basics that
we need: food, water,
shelter and kindness.
Ayesha Kelaif was born
in Sri Lanka to a British
father and Portuguese-
Dutch mother.
In her childhood,
she frequently moved
and had little opportunity
to establish lasting
friendships with people,
but she found comfort
and companionship
through animals.
Actually,
since I was a kid,
I was always involved
with animals,
and I always had
a passion for animals.
So, it’s been in my life
ever since I can remember.
As an animal lover,
I thought I want to do
something different.
That was like 11 years ago,
I rescued my first cat
and then as it grew,
and I met a lot of
nice people
who work with me
right now who helped me.
There are a lot of
volunteers, members;
I have a great team who
are always ready to help
animals and in the daily
care of running DARC.
Now living in Dubai
with her husband
and three children,
the family’s villa in
Al Barsha has become
the Dubai Animal
Rescue Centre, which
provides a haven for
a large variety of abused,
injured and
abandoned animals.
The refuge provides
specialized food,
shelter and medical care
to meet the needs of
all of its unique rescues.
The residents
all live harmoniously
in this oasis in the middle
of Dubai.
I have around
162 animals and
that’s including iguanas,
alpacas, deers,
gazelles, ponies, dogs
and cats, owls, parrots,
ferrets and rabbits
and snakes and tortoise
and water turtles, fish.
We have around 14 ACs
running 24/7 for some
animals; like alpacas,
they’re not suited
to the UAE environment
because it’s too hot
for them, they come from
cold climates.
Then we have deer which
are not suited for Dubai,
we have gazelles.
So each one
has a different need.
Due to the lack of
knowledge regarding
the full responsibilities
of caring for animals,
many of the rescues,
once beloved
animal companions,
were sadly abandoned
to the streets
to fend for themselves.
The Dubai Animal
Rescue Centre believes
that the best remedy
to solve the problem
is to raise awareness
in the general public
on the proper concept
of having an animal
family member.
We are trying desperately
to educate the people and
the younger generation
to be responsible.
When you get a pet,
it’s for life.
And it’s so, so important
for us to get that message
across in the hope
that these types
of animals that we’ve got
at the moment
are not bought more
and more and more,
or they’re bred
for profit and so forth.
The Dubai Animal
Rescue Centre hosts
a number of activities
to foster greater respect
for animals
with fellow Emiratis.
One such program is
through a collaboration
with the government
and schools,
wherein schoolchildren
are provided with
the opportunity for close
contact with the animals
and learn about caring
for them.
The interaction
with the animals, you just
learn so much from
watching animals
and it’s peaceful; and I
just like to be part of that.
I do help out with
when the schoolchildren
come over and trying to
re-educate the children.
How to actually
look after an animal;
if they’re going to take
on a pet, if it’s going
to be a cat, a dog,
a guinea pig, rabbit,
they have to know how long
it’s going to live for,
the care that you’ve got
to give, and you have to
have money for the vet fees
and what kind of food
is best suited
for that animal.
After we show them
that these animals
are harmless, and if you
love and respect them,
they will treat children
the same way,
with love and respect.
So, it’s nice at the end
of the day to see children
who are scared of animals
have the feeling of love
and want to learn more
about them.
Through the generous
assistance of
the Nad Al Shiba
Veterinary Clinic,
Al Safa Vets, and other
local veterinarians,
Ayesha receives
professional help
for her rescued animals.
Dubai Animal Rescue
Center also works
hand in hand with
organizations such as
the Abu Dhabi Wildlife
and Sharjah Wildlife
to improve the welfare
of exotic wildlife in the
United Arab Emirates.
The goal of one project
is to breed owls,
to release them
into the wild, to increase
the natural population
of the owls in the wild,
in the UAE habitat.
There are 6 owls
for breeding,
including the program
with Sharjah.
Now, thank God!
We’ve released 14 small
owls back into the wild.
We’re very proud of this.
Most of the animals
were at the brink of death
when they were rescued,
and through dedication,
tender care and
compassion by Ayesha
and her group,
they have recovered
to their original, graceful
and beautiful selves.
The animals have shown
their depth of love
and forgiveness through
their new, trusting bonds
with the staff and
volunteers at the Dubai
Animal Rescue Centre.
A friend of mine
is married to a local guy
and on Eid and
in Ramadan, they go
around to the neighbors’
houses, and they bring
a goat as a present.
And she was up
for the dinner plate, and
she was six months old
at that stage, and
she took pity on the goat,
and she goes, “No way
is this goat going to be
on the dinner plate.”
So she had her
for six months as a pet
and how Marigold
ended up coming here
was because she felt
so sorry for her being out
in the garden in this heat,
and she wanted her
to have a better life.
This is my great friend
and buddy, Caesar.
Caesar is a
German Shepherd dog,
and he’s about two
and a half years old.
He’s been here
with us for,
I think he came when he
was about 11 months old.
He came to us because
he was in danger of
being put to sleep
because he has
very bad hips;
it’s quite normal
in German Shepherds today.
Very many of them
are like it and his family
didn’t want to keep him
because of it.
I’ve been working
and training with him
ever since,
and he’s just my greatest
friend in the world.
This is Shanti,
our rescue dog.
He was found on a farm
in Dubai, and he was tied
to the gates of the farm,
and this is what
he looked like
when we did find him.
He was skin and bones,
and he was only
weighing 17 kilograms,
and he was covered
in ticks as well.
He spent three weeks
in the vet’s and having
lots of injections and
tests which had to be sent
abroad, blood tests, and
into the bone marrow
and things like that.
And he’s such a healthy,
happy-go-lucky boy now,
and he’s weighing
27 kilograms
with all the love that
he’s had from everybody.
We want him to be
with a loving family and
children and everything else
because he absolutely
adores children as well,
because my little
4-year-old boy,
they play lovely together.
Their way in showing
gratitude, it differs
from one to another.
The dog, for example,
runs to you and starts
licking, showing affection
for your care for him.
Cats have their special ways.
Alpacas, especially
the little alpaca,
Valentino, he comes up
and nibbles your ears
and just licks you.
He is very pretty.
Deer, they’re wild animals;
they won’t come to lick
you like dogs or cats but
when you approach them,
they won’t run away.
And that’s nice.
This means they trust you
and don’t fear you.
Ayesha envisions
expanding the Dubai
Animal Rescue Centre
to be able
to house more animals.
She hopes to build
a network with
more organizations
in other areas to provide
broader coverage
for the rescue work.
The unconditional love
and gratitude from
the animals are
what motivates all those
at the shelter
to continue tirelessly
in their noble mission.
I always say to my
friends, or my family,
“I want two wishes
in my life.
One wish is to wish
for the children’s peace.
And my second wish
would be for my animals,
all the animals in the world
to be in peace and
never be slaughtered.
I think animals
are very forgiving.
You just show a little bit
of love, and it comes
wagging its tail
and it licks you,
and I think their love
is so genuine, I don’t
think you can buy
that love from anywhere.
They understand,
they know kindness,
they appreciate it.
You can tell
how grateful they are.
They are really grateful
for a little. They only ask
very little; a little food,
a shelter and a place to stay.
And yes, they do have
a lot of gratitude,
and they give you
unconditional love.
And that’s what keeps me
going on; every day
seeing these animals’
faces, how bright!
And there are so many
kind people in the UAE,
we all can join together
and help much more
animals.
I just love animals.
I watched many
documentaries of how
the animals are treated,
their conditions
in slaughter.
There are many reasons
to become a vegetarian,
but the simplest reason
is love. Animals have
the capacity to forgive
what we have done,
and that's beautiful.
Animals, glory to God,
we must be grateful for them.
They are a gift from God.
Thank God for everything.
The animals trust
and love us.
So, thank God!
Be Veg,
Go Green
2 Save the Planet!
We thank Ayesha and all
the staff and volunteers
of the Dubai
Rescue Centre
for your noble hearts
and loving kindness
for the animals.
Let us regard
all fellow inhabitants
as Allah’s invaluable
creations through
our compassionate
and gentle lifestyles.
For more details
on the Dubai Animal
Rescue Centre,
please visit
Benevolent viewers,
we enjoyed your company
for today’s program.
Coming up next is
Enlightening Entertainment
after Noteworthy News.
May all beings co-exist
in peace and the grace
of the Divine.