She and her husband were caught in the Iran war
Presenter Vicky Pattison has called out expats who have left their pets in Dubai, after leaving the UAE amid the Middle East conflict.
Pattinson, 38, said that those who have left their animals behind never deserved them in the first place.
“Just a note… if you are abandoning your pets in Dubai – you didn’t deserve that animal to begin with and I pray it finds a better home,” she wrote on her Instagram stories, adding that the behaviour is “shameful”.
She and her husband, Ercan Ramadan, recently fled Dubai where they had been caught in the conflict while on holiday.
Amid the “rising panic”, Pattinson revealed that they had been driven 11 hours across the border to Oman.
After previous flights were cancelled, the couple wanted to return home to their beloved dogs Milo and Max and abandoned plans to try to fly to Australia or New Zealand.
Across social media, images have circiculated of animals tied to lamp posts or left without water.
Vets in the region have reported a surge in rehoming requests as expats fly back to the UK, while some animals are even reportedly being euthanised as a result.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Claire Hopkins, a Dubai resident and animal charity volunteer, said that “some people want to give back their adoptive pets. There are dogs starting to be abandoned.”
“The airlines aren’t taking animals at the moment anyway as the flights are operating a very reduced service. If you wanted to get a rabies jab, then you have to delay your travel by a further three weeks.
“I’m sorry to say that vets have had inquiries about euthanasia, which is disgusting.”
A pet boarding service in Dubai, The Barking Lot, told The Telegraph that shelters are already “at breaking point”, with animal rescue centres now reporting hundreds more abandoned pets than usual.
“Some vets have even confirmed that owners are coming in to euthanise healthy pets because they don’t want to deal with relocation costs or paperwork”, a volunteer at The Barking Lot added.
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