Marley arrived from Jordan on May 26, 2019. He was adopted right away but unfortunately he needs a new home as his family is moving and unable to keep him. I am fostered in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
My name is Marley and I am now 1.5 year old male dog. I was rescued from the streets of Amman-Jordan with my Mom & siblings when I was still 1 month old. Some kids were chasing my mom and siblings with sticks & stones. My loving mom hid us under a car but neighbor called the municipality to get rid of us! A good neighbor reached out to Al-Rahmeh association because usually getting rid of dogs means shooting them. We were vetted & placed at the shelter where we were safe and taken care of. I was lucky to be the first to get adopted between my siblings. I lived with a family indoors and loved my human sister. Unfortunately, my family abandoned me and returned me back to the shelter because they were relocating and didn’t want to take me with them.
I was sad & depressed at the shelter because I missed my family. I was scared and cried for days. Then I started feeling better & safer. I remembered my mom & friend dogs and now enjoying playing all day and meeting new people.
My rescuers want the best life for me. They want to find me a loving forever home. A family that will love me unconditionally and will never abandon me again. I am a sweet boy, friendly with humans, dogs, cats and children. I love the attention and enjoy cuddling and hugging. I have so much love to give and am such a well behaved loving boy. Please give me a chance to show you and you won’t regret it.
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Jordan is the most welcoming country to refugees in the entire Middle East, but very inhospitable to its own dogs. Amman was a site of human settlement as far back as 7250 B.C., and dogs have likely lived here in uneasy co-existence for just as long. The great prophet Mohammad and founder of Islam was said to have advocated kindness towards all animals, but for centuries now, religion has been used to label dogs as unclean, as vermin instead of as a friend to man. Street dogs have never been safe here, and this past fall, the situation worsened dramatically after the death of a toddler from untreated rabies. In his radio broadcast response to the little girl’s death, Jordan’s highest religious authority, the Grand Mufti, stated that it is justified to kill an attacking dog. Misinterpretation of the Grand Mufti’s statement as a religious fatwa calling for the death of all dogs, no matter how friendly, led to a deluge of killings by snipers, mass poisonings, and bludgeoning of any and all dogs found on the street. Thousands of dogs have been slaughtered, and all dogs on the street suffer from violence and neglect, their lives at great risk.
Although some wealthy Arabs now buy expensive “purebred” dogs as status symbols and for protection, and more European and American expats keep dogs as pets (often to abandon them when they leave the country), far fewer people are willing to adopt puppies from the street. Mixed adult dogs like are seen as unworthy of any kindness, and Jordan’s volunteer animal advocates face an almost insurmountable battle in finding them homes. Partnering with ISDF will unite a lucky handful of dogs with American families while focusing light on the many threats Jordan’s dogs face.
If interested in adopting me please fill out an adoption application and call Dawn at 414-426-4148.