Like many dog owners in the UAE, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed spent some of his weekend bonding with his new four-legged companion.
The Crown Prince of Dubai shared videos on his Instagram Stories of him out walking his recently adopted rescue dog, Grace, on Saturday.
“Hey Grace … someone is happy,” he can be heard saying in the video posted on his account, which has nearly 14 million followers.
Sheikh Hamdan adopted the dog two weeks ago after she was found wounded.
The saluki mix is now receiving the best medical treatment in the country as well as rehabilitation treatment to help her overcome any fear or trauma from the incident.
Bubbles Pets Rescue group, who initially rescued Grace, reposted the videos on Instagram and concurred that she “looks incredibly happy, she has even gained some weight.”
The rescue group found the dog wounded in the Al Barashi area of Sharjah last month.
X-rays showed she had been shot several times and pellets were found lodged in her skull, both eye sockets, her neck, chest and back legs.
Vets were able to remove three pellets from her body but said it was too risky to take the others out as doing so could further damage her internal organs.
After the case was documented on Instagram, officials from the Crown Prince’s court contacted the rescue group and took Grace into their care.
Sheikh Hamdan often makes his love of animals clear on social media, posting pictures with his beloved falcons, horses and even giraffes.
He has played a part in various turtle rescue programmes and helped to release turtles back into the wild after being treated for things such as plastic ingestion and injuries.