I am a 1 year old puppy from Oman named Poppy. I was named Poppy for the beautiful flower known for it’s exquisite color. These flowers are known to make people smile and so am I. My story began by being adopted by a family who bought me as a gift for their daughter. When they decided owning a dog was too much work they gave me to another family as a toy for their daughter. They were not nice people and I was not treated well. They kept me chained to a tree with no food and water in extreme heat all day. I would have enjoyed playing with the daughter but I was largely ignored and forgotten about. They did not give me regular meals as they sometimes forgot and I often had no water. It was not a fun existence and I began to lose hope.
Luckily a neighbor sometimes bought me food and occasionally took me for a walk but the rest of the time I sat in the heat and waited to be rescued. The neighbor advertised my situation on Facebook asking for help so a foster family invited me into their home to stay with them and their other rescue dogs until a forever home could be found for just me.
I have tried so hard to learn how to be a good dog in such a short time and my foster family think I’m just amazing. I so want to be loved and given lots of cuddles. I love to run and play and explore the big world which I have never seen before.
I am 50 pounds and although I am fully grown people sometimes forget I am still a puppy and think I should be grown up. I am so happy to learn if you are patient with me and if I can get a cuddle out of it I will do anything you ask. I am a smart puppy and want to please – I just need a family who has love to give and has the patience to teach me the rules.
Despite the human abuse I have suffered I love people and trust them. I especially love children and am very gentle. I am coming to Chicago because in my home country Oman there is slim to no chance of me finding my family. I arrive into Chicago on October 9, 2018.
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Oman is an Arab country in the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It has wonderful national treasures, vivid landscapes… and thousands of “wadi”–or street–dogs. These wadi dogs can be seen virtually everywhere. Unfortunately, they face the same plight as dogs in many Muslim countries where they are generally viewed as unclean and not fit to be pets. Dog ownership is rare, and when they are owned, dogs are usually not allowed in the house. Pets are viewed more commonly as guard dogs who roam the outside vicinity of the property.
Humane animal welfare laws don’t exist in Oman, and, worse yet, police have open rights to shoot “any and all” street dogs. There is no requirement that the dogs have to be a nuisance or sick; rather, they will be killed just for having the unfortunate luck of being born on the streets in Oman. Many wadi dogs suffer a slow, painful death caused by festering gunshot wounds. If a gunshot does not kill them, street dogs die of disease, starvation, abuse by people, vehicles, and extreme weather conditions. In the summer, the temperature can easily soar to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Most Omani street dogs do not survive beyond the age of three.
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If you are interested in adopting Poppy, please contact Dawn Trimmel at info@istreetdog.com. You can also find our adoption application here. Your application must be approved before scheduling a meet and greet.