Bella the dog can barely stand after being abused, but she is now receiving care from a Baghdad refuge that hopes to become Iraq's first veterinary clinic for stray animals.
The Baghdad Animal Rescue opened around a week ago, and Bella, a nervous, fox-like dog who raises her muzzle for strokes while still shaking in fear, is in caring hands.
“We are going to care for all kinds of animals and release them when they are well,” says Nazik, 37, who is among the volunteers.
Having a pet is unusual in Iraq, and many of the cats and dogs that roam Baghdad's streets are mistreated.
More than a decade ago, thousands of stray dogs were shot with automatic weapons after municipalities including Baghdad decided that their numbers were too high.
For now, the shelter is home to a handful of animals, including a black cat called Zaatar – “Thyme” in Arabic – blinded in a car accident.
In a corner, Loulou the cat looks around fearfully after losing a paw in an accident.
Volunteers do their best to provide care, comfort and solace to the distressed creatures.
“People report injured animals to us after accidents. We bring them here and treat them,” says Sally Faysal, 27, another volunteer.
If the animals need more specialised care, they are taken to a veterinary surgeon.
“The team members share the cost of the treatment,” Faysal says.
Innocent
The refuge, just west of the Iraqi capital, consists of a main room where the animals receive treatment, along with a storage area and cages.
It could eventually hold several hundred animals, and aims to one day become a veterinary clinic for strays.
But for now, it lacks funding.
The team was able to buy the plot of land for 25 million dinars (about $17,000) thanks to donations.
Nazik says no public funding has been forthcoming “despite all the promotion we have done on social media".
Iraq is trying to emerge from almost two decades of conflict and has been mired in a political and economic crisis, and animal welfare is far from a priority either for most people or for the authorities.
The UN says about a third of the population lives in poverty, despite the country's oil wealth.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, there are three reserves for wild species such as deer, but no facilities to care for urban animals.
Volunteers say that before the refuge opened, their families responded with perplexity and even hostility if they brought an injured animal back to their homes.
Once the dogs and cats have recovered, they are put up for adoption – but will stay on at the refuge if a home can't be found.
“There needs to be an awareness-raising campaign to stop animal abuse,” Nazik says. “They are innocent, after all.”
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Company Profile
Company name: Big Farm Brothers
Started: September 2020
Founders: Vishal Mahajan and Navneet Kaur
Based: Dubai Investment Park 1
Industry: food and agriculture
Initial investment: $205,000
Current staff: eight to 10
Future plan: to expand to other GCC markets
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
The%20Roundup
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The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
