AL AIN // Weak and dehydrated, the dog was tied to a fence on the busy Al Ain to Dubai road with traffic roaring past when he was found by farm workers.
Severely underweight, he was on the verge of death.
Four months on, the Rhodesian Ridgeback mix is back to full health thanks to the intervention of two farm workers, a Facebook campaign and dozens of kind-hearted animal lovers. Now all that is needed for a happy ending is a new home where he can be pampered for the rest of his days.
Shantih, as he has been named (the name means peace in Sanskrit) was found by two Indian farmhands who led him back to their worksite for food and water.
It was a gesture of kindness that saved the dog's life. As luck would have it, volunteers from the Dubai Animal Rescue Centre (DARC) happened by the farm that day on other business and saw him.
"He was just waiting to die, extremely emaciated, and required immediate emergency veterinary care," said Ayesha Kelaif, DARC's founder. "I asked the men who found him if I could take him with me and they said they didn't want him."
Shantith was rushed to the Nad Al Shiba Veterinary Hospital in Dubai where veterinarians began working on him.
His red blood cell count was low and he was pitifully thin, ribs clearly visible and weighing just 22kg. A healthy Rhodesian Ridgeback dog should weigh at least 36kg.
"He was malnourished and dehydrated and was suffering from kidney damage," said Dr Giulio Russo, one of the veterinarians who treated Shantih. "Fluid had collected in his abdomen and he was covered in ticks."
He was also infected with disease caused by tick bites but it was not chronic and, in time, Shantih was cured.
"The dog stayed in the hospital for almost two months and is now completely healthy with no lasting effects," Dr Russo said.
To pay for Shantih's treatment, volunteers began raising money. His photo was put on the centre's Facebook page and within a matter of days, Dh3,400 was raised. Mrs Kelaif paid for the rest of the Dh7,000 bill herself.
Shantih is about 18 months old and is being cared for by Mrs Kelaif at her Al Barsha home until someone adopts him. Mrs Kelaif shares her home with her husband, daughter and a menagerie of 158 other animals rescued by DARC including dogs, cats, snakes and lizards.
"Shantih is now a healthy, happy, beautiful and loving dog," Mrs Kelaif said. "The only problem is that he doesn't like dogs bigger than him or cats, and that is what has made it difficult for him to be adopted. Many have come to see him but because they all had cats or dogs or both, no one took him."
Anyone interested in Shantih can visit www.darc.com
ealghalib@thenational.ae
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4.30pm: Maiden Dh80,000 1,400m
5pm: Conditions Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Liwa Oasis Group 3 Dh300,000 1,400m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Group 2 Dh300,000 2,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (30-60) Dh80,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (40-70) Dh80,000 1,600m.
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World%20Cup%202023%20ticket%20sales
%3Cp%3EAugust%2025%20%E2%80%93%20Non-India%20warm-up%20matches%20and%20all%20non-India%20event%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3EAugust%2030%20%E2%80%93%20India%20matches%20at%20Guwahati%20and%20Trivandrum%0D%3Cbr%3EAugust%2031%20%E2%80%93%20India%20matches%20at%20Chennai%2C%20Delhi%20and%20Pune%0D%3Cbr%3ESeptember%201%20%E2%80%93%20India%20matches%20at%20Dharamsala%2C%20Lucknow%20and%20Mumbai%0D%3Cbr%3ESeptember%202%20%E2%80%93%20India%20matches%20at%20Bengaluru%20and%20Kolkata%0D%3Cbr%3ESeptember%203%20%E2%80%93%20India%20matches%20at%20Ahmedabad%0D%3Cbr%3ESeptember%2015%20%E2%80%93%20Semi-finals%20and%20Final%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
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Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results:
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Winner: Goshawke, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer)
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Winner: Silva, Oisin Murphy, Pia Brendt
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Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
Winner: Oasis Charm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
Winner: Escalator, Christopher Hayes, Charlie Fellowes
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Scoreline
Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)
New Zealand 9 (Pens: Barrett 2 Drop Goal: Barrett)
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zainab%20Shaheen%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Naser%20Al%20Messabi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
