By Peter Townson/Staff Reporter
Qatar’s only animal welfare shelter, the Qatar Animal Welfare Society (QAWS) farm, has been devastated by a fire that tore through it yesterday, killing a number of the rescued animals in its wake and damaging the facilities beyond repair.
At around midday yesterday, chairperson of QAWS, Janet Berry was alerted by someone at the farm about a “small fire” in the shelter’s isolation unit. However, following a change in wind direction, the fire grew out of control and made light work of the predominantly wooden buildings.
Within some 40 minutes, the entire cattery and kennels had been burnt to the ground despite the best efforts of the civil defence authority, who arrived at the scene very promptly according to onlookers.
Although the cause of the fire is as of yet unknown, it has been suggested that it was started because of an electrical fault.
QAWS volunteers rushed to the site as soon as they heard about the inferno, and a frantic rescue operation managed to save most of the animals housed in the shelter. Unfortunately the cattery was unreachable through the flames, and only a handful of the rescue cats who were living in there have been accounted for.
Some 40 cats perished in the fire, and two rescue dogs also lost their lives.
After throwing open all the kennel doors, members managed to rescue almost of all of the dogs in the kennels. Chaos reigned as the dogs were running around the area, attempting to return to their kennels despite the danger, and people literally had to force the animals away from the flames.
When the fire died down, the dogs had to be gathered together and assigned temporary homes. Although the boarding section of the farm has been left unharmed, electricity has been cut off and so all inhabitants have had to be rehomed on a temporary basis.All the animals who were boarding in the ‘Paws and Claws’ section of the farm have been found and accounted for explained group members.
At the moment, around 50 dogs are being held at both the Veterinary Surgery and also the Qatar Veterinary Centre as well as other people’s homes. But as of tomorrow, QAWS face the mammoth task of finding foster homes for all the rescued animals for the foreseeable future.
“Anyone who can offer any help whatsoever should please contact us,” said Berry adding “we have lost absolutely everything – all the food and supplies – and we need any help we can get.”
Looking to the future, Berry said that QAWS would have to start a “major rebuilding process.”
“Qatar cannot be without an animal shelter, so we simply must rebuild,” she stated.
“The response to the fire has been amazing – everyone has been so good,” she said, pointing out the only positive to emerge from a terrible situation. “We just need everyone to help however they can in the coming days,” she added.
QAWS has become an increasingly prominent community group in the past year or so, and the number of concerned residents who turned up to assist following the tragic events yesterday was a clear indication of how important the shelter has become.
And despite the devastation at the site, members were confident that they would build a new shelter – one without using wood as a major material, as the kennels basically became a tinderbox as the fire spread.
“We will be back – and we will be bigger and better than before,” assured Berry.
“Anyone interested in helping can contact QAWS on 5396074,” she said, adding “and please keep an eye on the website and Facebook group as we will be posting updates online.”
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