Hi my name is Castella and I am a 4 month old adorable girl from the streets of Jordan. I recently traveled to Chicago with Dawn Trimmel the Founder of ISDF in hopes of finding my family. I rode in cabin with her and she says I was a perfect travel companion and so many people wanted to pet me and hold me. I felt like a superstar to be honest… :)

I am sure to win your heart just give me a chance. I am the sweetest little girl with great house manners. I LOVE all people including kids. I also love all other dogs and love to play with them whenever I have the chance. My best friends at ISDF are Mascara and Guddu.

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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 coexistance 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-broadcasted 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 Joey 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.

  • Hometown Amman, Jordan
  • Rescue Partner Al-Rahmeh for Animal Shelter
  • Arrival Date May 23, 2019
  • AGE/sex/weight 4 months/FEMALE/10 pounds