Hey my name is Heart!I am a 17 months-old puppy from Amman, Jordan. When I was only 6 weeks-old, I was found with three of my siblings in the streets of fuhais which is a rural area near Amman. We were alone and frightened as our mother wasn’t around due to being sick. We didn’t know why she left us, and we couldn’t understand why kids were hitting us and throwing rocks at us. It was a stressful time for us because we missed our mom and were hurt by those kids, but soon a lady that heard about us came to rescue us. At first we were afraid and ran into a corner to hide, but she did not give up on us and insisted to take us with her in the car. I heard her talking to the kids explaining how we should all take care of animals and love them, but the kids were not interested and left.
We arrived to the vet and were given a full exam, what the lady and the vet didn’t know was that my brothers and sister were sick, they were not eating and were tired all the time. Within a few days I found myself alone so I realized at that moment that my siblings went to stay with my mom in Dog
heaven. The lady took good care of me and kept petting me which was very nice. I love closing my eyes when she pets me but I make sure to have a good eye contact as well which makes me feel secure. When I started growing up I realized that I was not the only one at HOME ( our shelter started filling up with other dogs ) I was happy to spend time with my new friends and felt loved by the people around me. Sometimes it looks like I am afraid of new people but just give me a bit of time to get used to you and you will see for yourself that I am a good loving boy. Months passed by at the shelter and I started learning a lot of new things, I loved walking on the leash with my rescuer and loved playing with kids that come to visit us. I am a fast learner, I promise, and I am willing to learn anything for the people I love. I am spayed, fully vaccinated and by the way my name is heart because I have a big black shaped heart on my back. I am very grateful for my life, but if I get to have one wish it will be to find a loving family to take me to my forever HOME.
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 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.