De Boer steps in to care for Qatar’s homeless animals

Before the summer heat kicks in, De Boer has stepped in to provide shelter to Qatar’s homeless animals. De Boer is a leading temporary structures organization, that responded immediately to an urgent public appeal for donations. 

De Boer has provided a large temporary event tent for over 100 cats and dogs. The appeal comes as many displaced animals no longer have the shelter options they once did. After one of Qatar’s largest animal shelters, Muaither, was destroyed last year after extensive surface flooding, the entire operation was temporarily relocated at short notice.

Children welcome a new puppy at QAWS

According to Janet Berry, co-founder of Qatar Animal Welfare Society (QAWS), an underground well burst onsite, submerging the Muaither shelter in three feet of water. “The loan tent provided by De Boer Qatar has literally been a life saver. Within 48 hours of the flood disaster De Boer stepped up and provided a safe place for 100 plus dogs to live in,” she said.

Janet added, “We could not have continued without the kindness and generosity of some local companies. I can't stress enough how De Boer Qatar really did save the day for our dogs. We are so very grateful.” 

Graeme Pattison, account manager at De Boer Qatar commented, “De Boer is committed to supporting the local Doha community through these types of initiatives and our staff didn’t hesitate to respond immediately to this urgent call for help.

“We were really pleased to be able to donate a temporary shelter to QAWS and to continue to house the homeless pets of Qatar. This is our way of returning the great support De Boer has received from the Qatari community over the past twelve years,” concluded Graeme. 

Today, hundreds of pets including two dogs, Eggy and Rex, are benefiting from the tempor­ary shelter. Eggy, a white Labrador-Saluki mixed breed, has rickets, which means he was malnourished before arriving at the shelter, causing bone deformity. While not life threatening, it has stunted his growth. He is now getting on well at the shelter and enjoys being around people.

A member of the public rescued Rex after he was found abandoned in the desert. Today Rex is people-friendly and has a new appetite for life. As with all the QAWS pets, Eggy and Rex are ultimately looking to be adopted into permanent homes. 

QAWS has plans in place to relocate its 300 animals to a purpose-built permanent shelter, which is a process that could take up to 18 months.

In the meantime, QAWS has a gofundme account for monetary donations to keep the current operation functioning, and they encourage people to visit the facility to see the animals they are helping.