ABU DHABI // When Keith Qassab stopped for petrol on the way from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, he did not expect to take a pet home with him.
He saw a small, stray dog at the petrol station where he also had a meal.
The dog had been there for some time, neglected by customers and the staff.
“I saw guys shooing it away, so I put the dog in the car and took it home,” Mr Qassab said.
The ears of the mixed breed puppy, about 10 weeks old, had been cut.
“She had badly infected ears. I treated them at home until I had time to take her to the vet,” Mr Qassab said.
“I noticed that the cuts were from the dog being badly mauled by another animal.”
Dr Lucinda Nattrass provided veterinarian care to the dog, which Mr Qassab named Jean.
The managing veterinarian at Dubai Kennels and Cattery said it was impossible to know why Jean’s ears were cut.
She said it could be a case of human cruelty to animals, “but they sometimes use severed ears when they want dogs to fight”.
Jean’s ears were healing well after someone had used a knife or a pair of scissors to cut the tips of them, Dr Nattrass said.
Provoking dogs, she said, was common practice in illegal dog-fighting circles.
“I’ve heard they use the bits of the ear because it is bloody and it’s flesh to get other dogs excited about a fight, but who knows?” she said.
Tania Cherryova, who works at RAK Animal Welfare Clinic, has attended to many dogs that were involved in the cruel practice.
It was unclear how widespread illegal dog fights were in the UAE, she said.
“The dogs could come to us quite badly injured, broken legs and broken bones, and we treat them,” Ms Cherryova said.
“The dogs usually don’t go through any veterinary care because obviously the dog doesn’t usually make it to the vet.”
Ms Cherryova said it was hard to tell what had happened to Jean.
“Well, it depends on the kind of dog. For some, chopping of the ears is considered a breed standard,” she said.
“However, some others will get their ears chopped as part of the treatment. Sometimes when puppies get ill people think that cropping their ears will help them to recover.”
Under the law, all dogs suspected of having being used in dog fighting and taken to vets must be reported to the municipality.
Mr Qassab and Jean are living in harmony these days. “I take her everywhere, she’s doing fine,” Mr Qassab said.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae